Plus 2008 a Visual Overview

Better late than never above is a visual guide to this years Plus festival. Only had time to whizz round for an hour or two with my camera so missed the Jonathan Barnbrook talk but all in all the event seemed to be a success, though some of last years contributors were noticeable by their absence.

From talks with some of the exhibitors, this may be due to the current crowd that the exhibition attracts, mainly students. Whilst this is great and I noticed a few coaches outside the venue from around the country, speaking from a business point of view I think a lot of local small companies are becoming increasingly weary in these belt buckling times. 

If you are spending not an insignificant amount of time and money to exhibit the main return for companies is to showcase their skills to potential new clients. Perhaps the entry charge of £15 a day is off putting to a lot of the general public and local businesses. 

I get the feeling the main thing that comes out of the event for many companies is to be inundated with CVs from visiting students. It's a shame as I'm sure the event costs a lot to put on and margins are tight but I do think the entry price a little steep to reach the broad audience the event deserves. 

Regardless of the above it's all about some great work on show. Especially from Fluid, (having done a fair bit of freelance for them recently I was very impressed with their stand and publicity material for the event, as I know how busy they have been of late). Great to see the Cov Uni stand and chat with one of my old tutors, complete with some very nice work and a selection from it's metal type vaults, takes me back to my Uni days! The Baskerville headstone in development was fascinating to watch and I was very impressed with the quality of work from Sutton College.