From the practicality of a lightweight portable compatible with standard retail fittings to the breathtaking marriage of design and technology in the 7,500-square-metre Canada Pavilion, this year’s EDDI awards showed that Canada’s displays are as good as they get.

Now in its 17th year, the annual awards for excellence in exhibit design departed sharply from previous years where giants Worden-Watson and Exhibits International dominated the show. This time, the eight awards went to six different design houses.

The Nov. 21 ceremony at Toronto’s St. Lawrence Hall saw several winners bring home EDDIs for the first time in years, and several new clients to share in the glory.

Mississauga’s Mice|Kadoke made a strong showing, winning the ‘Special projects (over $250,000)’ award for the massive Canada Pavilion at Expo 2000, as well as snagging the ‘Exhibits under 400 square feet’ category for a Crystal Springs display. The only other multiple winner was Toronto’s Worden-Watson, which won both the ‘Special projects (under $100,000)’ and ‘Best use of visual imagery’ categories with displays for DaimlerChrysler’s PT Cruiser.

Other winners included Exhibits International, Reich + Petch Design International, Exhibitgroup/

Giltspur and ExpoSystems Canada, all based in Toronto. The award for Multimedia Presentations, just introduced last year, was not awarded this year as there were no entries in that category.

The judging of the EDDI awards is based on the following criteria: design and visual impact (30%), client identification (15%), product presentation (15%) and client objectives achieved (40%). The competition is organized by the Exhibit and Display Association of Canada (EDAC), a Richmond Hill, Ont.-based organization representing companies that design and build exhibits. Participation in the awards is limited to EDAC member companies, and the entries are judged by a panel of independent experts.

Below, the exhibit designers’ briefs on their winning work…

The winners

Portable exhibits:

ExpoSystems Canada (client: California Innovations)

Exhibits under 400 square feet:

Mice|Kadoke (client: Danone)

Exhibits over 401 square feet:

Exhibitgroup/Giltspur Canada (client: Honda Canada)

Special projects (under $100,000):

Worden-Watson (client: DaimlerChrysler Canada)

Special projects ($100,000 to $250,000):

Reich + Petch Design International

(client: Royal Ontario Museum)

Special projects (over $250,000):

Mice|Kadoke (client: Canada at Expo 2000)

Best use of visual imagery:

Worden-Watson (client: DaimlerChrysler Canada)

Retail installations:

Exhibits International (client: Japan Tobacco/Camel)

Strategy resource member of the year:

Furnishings by Exclusive, Toronto

EDAC president’s award of excellence:

Brian Hull, Communitech, Toronto