Murdoch University Career Expo Stand | Custom Exhibition Stand
Creating a Stand Students Wanted to Walk Into
Murdoch University engaged The Cardboard Mill to design and build a custom exhibition stand for a major careers expo.
The university had recently refreshed elements of its branding and wanted its exhibition presence to reflect that evolution. The stand needed to attract attention within a busy expo environment, encourage students to engage with staff, and create a memorable experience that felt distinctly Murdoch.
Project value: Approximately $46,000.
The Challenge
Careers expos are highly competitive environments.
Students are presented with dozens of potential pathways, institutions, and opportunities, often making decisions about which stands to approach within a matter of seconds.
Murdoch University wanted a stand that would help them stand out amongst other exhibitors while creating an environment that felt welcoming and approachable.
The space needed to:
- Capture attention from across the expo floor
- Reflect the university's updated brand direction
- Encourage students to stop and engage
- Communicate information clearly without overwhelming visitors
- Support an interactive custom t-shirt activation
- Provide staff with a practical and functional workspace throughout the event
The university also wanted the stand to feel distinctive and recognisable rather than relying on standard exhibition infrastructure.
The Solution
The Cardboard Mill designed and built a custom exhibition environment that combined architectural features, large-scale branding, information displays, and activation spaces into a single cohesive stand.
Rather than treating the stand as a collection of individual display pieces, the design focused on creating an experience that encouraged exploration and interaction.
A Recognisable Architectural Feature
One of the defining elements of the stand was a custom adaptation of our modular wall system designed to reference the distinctive roofline found throughout the Murdoch University campus.
This immediately connected the exhibition space back to the university itself and gave the stand a recognisable architectural presence within the expo hall.
The structure helped students identify the stand from a distance while reinforcing the university's visual identity.
Information Designed to Be Explored
Careers expos often require large amounts of information to be communicated within a relatively small footprint.
To avoid overwhelming visitors with traditional brochure-heavy displays, information was presented through a range of custom cardboard elements positioned throughout the stand.
These included magazine stands, street-sign-inspired displays, portrait signage, and a giant book installation that transformed key information into a more engaging visual feature.
Each element gave students another reason to stop, explore, and interact with the space.
Supporting Student Engagement
The stand also incorporated a custom t-shirt activation, creating an additional reason for students to enter the space and spend time engaging with the Murdoch team.
Cardboard stools with custom caps were used throughout the stand for seating, styling, and display purposes, helping create a welcoming environment while maintaining a consistent visual language across the entire footprint.
Practical Functionality
Behind the visual elements, the stand was designed to function efficiently for staff throughout the event.
A custom information desk incorporated hidden brochure storage, allowing materials to remain easily accessible without contributing to visual clutter.
This helped maintain a clean and organised presentation throughout the expo while supporting the practical requirements of the team working within the space.
The Process
Initial conversations began in March, with concept development and design refinement taking place throughout April.
During this stage, our team worked closely with Murdoch University to translate their refreshed branding into a physical environment that would feel contemporary, engaging, and immediately recognisable to students.
Production commenced in early May, with the stand manufactured and prepared for installation ahead of the event.
The Outcome
The completed stand created a strong visual presence within the careers expo and provided Murdoch University with a highly customised environment for student engagement.
The architectural wall features, large-scale branding, interactive elements, and creative information displays worked together to create a space that encouraged exploration and conversation.
Students were able to engage with information in multiple ways while staff had the infrastructure needed to comfortably manage interactions throughout the event.
The project demonstrates how custom exhibition environments can help organisations communicate their identity more effectively, create stronger engagement opportunities, and deliver memorable experiences within highly competitive event environments.
It also highlights how large-format cardboard construction can be used to create visually impactful exhibition spaces while reducing reliance on more resource-intensive temporary display materials.
Planning a Careers Expo or Education Event?
The Cardboard Mill designs and builds custom exhibition stands, activation spaces, branded environments, and large-format cardboard installations for organisations across Australia.
Whether you're exhibiting at a careers expo, industry event, conference, or public activation, we can help create a space that attracts attention, supports engagement, and reflects the values of your organisation.