Three shows planned from Singapore, cleared with organizers and built in Seoul
In English with GitLab's APAC team, on the ground in Korea for organizer rules, customs, and booth setup.
GitLab's AI Summit booth went up as we proposed, balloon hung above and side wall opened toward the center stage. The shows were planned in English with GitLab's APAC contact in Singapore. Organizer rules, booth conditions, and swag customs had to be solved in Korea, and we handled three shows.
Client
GitLab
Working with
GitLab APAC marketing team (in English)
Events
WIS 2026 · AWS Summit Seoul 2026 · AI Summit Seoul & Expo 2026
Venue
COEX, Seoul
Type
On-the-ground execution in Korea for an overseas team
Our role
Researching and proposing events in Korea, reaching out to organizers to check event fit and organizer reliability, and handling organizer approvals and the process from start to finish
Photos
AI Summit Seoul 2026 installation day · AWS Summit Seoul 2026 on site
Challenge
GitLab's APAC team chose its shows, booth designs, and swag from abroad, in English. But organizer paperwork, venue add-on orders, payment methods, customs for imported swag, and orders with Korean vendors all had to be handled inside Korea. Each show had its own rules, too: the WIS shell-scheme booth came with a top sign whose design could not be changed, and the AI Summit booth stood 3m high.
By event
WIS 2026 (World IT Show)
April 22–24, 2026 · COEX Hall A
Shortlisting candidate shows, recommending a booth format and locations (AC132, one 3×3m shell-scheme booth), designing, printing, and installing the booth wall graphics, ordering venue add-ons, producing swag and bringing it in, clearing imported stickers for WIS and AWS Summit through customs, sourcing 15 headsets for mini-sessions, and running the booth.
AWS Summit Seoul 2026
May 20–21, 2026 · COEX
Running booth G-8 (seven NICEMOVE staff registered), sourcing headsets for mini-sessions, bringing in swag, printing three brochures from files GitLab supplied, and shooting and delivering on-site photos.
AI Summit Seoul & Expo 2026
August 19–21, 2026 · COEX
Rebuilding the graphics for booth C501 (6×3m, 3m high) from GitLab's AWS Summit design, adding a side-wall graphic, and checking the submission files and elevation drawing with the booth builder. For the lit balloon GitLab asked for: confirming the organizer would allow it, proposing a different mounting, choosing the vendor, matching the color, ordering, and installing. Sourcing 50 headsets plus 5 spares, a late order for 3 lead scanners, clearing imported stickers for AI Summit through customs, bringing in swag (handheld fans, T-shirts, and more), running the booth, taking photos, and responding when the flyers ran out.
How it went
Behind the work
01
WIS: one shell-scheme booth, no custom build yet
GitLab needed a booth format for WIS, and we judged it was too early for a big build at a show we hadn't yet confirmed was worth it. We compared shell scheme, premium, and raw space: the premium booth's glossy acrylic build didn't fit the GitLab brand, and raw space was premature. We first recommended two shell-scheme booths; after GitLab replied, we advised that one would be enough, and more cost-efficient, if the graphics and swag were done well. The booth went to AC132 (3×3m), one of the locations we had recommended. We designed, printed, and installed the wall graphics.
02
WIS wall copy: two options side by side
GitLab needed Korean copy for the WIS wall, so we gave the team two options to choose from: A used the line GitLab supplied, and B was new Korean copy we wrote. The finished wall carried GitLab's line, “마침내, 소프트웨어 라이프사이클 전체를 위한 AI” (roughly, “Finally, AI for the entire software lifecycle”), and option B was not used. The same line went up again on the AWS Summit and AI Summit booth walls.
03
Getting held-up stickers through customs
Swag stuck at customs is no use at a show, so we listed what the carrier needed and asked GitLab for it; for AI Summit, we also chose a clearance route to meet the show date. Mismatched importer and delivery-address names held up the WIS and AWS Summit stickers; we passed the carrier the invoice and item details GitLab sent, and the stickers reached the warehouse on day one of WIS. No certificate of origin could be obtained to clear the AI Summit stickers duty-free under the Korea–US FTA. Stanley decided to pay the duty and clear them normally; GitLab agreed to cover it if the stickers arrived in time. Six days before the show, the warehouse confirmed they had arrived.
04
Lead scanners: straight to the organizer
GitLab asked whether the organizer would provide lead scanners for capturing booth visitors' contacts, so we went through the organizer's exhibitor briefing document and called the organizer directly. Scanners were paid-only, and the application deadline had already passed. Once GitLab settled on three, we placed a late order and got the user guide from the organizer in time for GitLab's pre-show team briefing. After the show, we passed the original lead file from the organizer to the GitLab team.
Retrospective
How did we fit a booth design and lit balloon chosen by an overseas team to a Korean show floor with a 3m booth, organizer rules, and neighboring booths?
Constraints
Two weeks to the graphics deadline
When GitLab asked for the AI Summit booth design, the organizer's graphics deadline was two weeks away.
A 3m-high booth
The AI Summit booth stood 3m high, taller than at the earlier shows. The balloon stands offered by both Korean vendors we checked went up to 2m.
Neighbors' sightlines
The organizer allowed a lit balloon only at a height that did not block the view from neighboring booths. We also judged that flying the balloon on a string could interfere with the booth next door.
Side walls were a paid option
Side-wall graphics were a paid organizer option, so whether to include them at all had to be settled with GitLab first.
Options we weighed
Proposed by · GitLab request · NICEMOVE mockupNot chosen
The WIS design, widened to 6×3m
Following GitLab's first request, we adapted the orange-toned WIS booth design to 6×3m.
Proposed by · GitLabChosen
Reuse the AWS Summit design
After seeing the first mockup, GitLab decided to use the purple-toned design from its May AWS Summit booth instead of WIS, and sent the original files from its global design team.
Proposed by · NICEMOVE (offered as a choice)Not chosen
Top sign: GitLab in Korean script (깃랩)
Our mockup put GitLab's name in Korean script on the top sign, and we asked the team to choose between that and the English logo.
Proposed by · NICEMOVE (as an option) · chosen by GitLabChosen
Top sign: the English GitLab logo
We offered it alongside the Korean-script version, and GitLab chose it. The installed booth's organizer-standard top sign also carried the English logo.
Proposed by · NICEMOVENot chosen
Leave out the side-wall graphic
With the lit balloon GitLab had asked for already planned for the booth, we thought a side-wall graphic would be too much visually and suggested leaving it out.
Proposed by · NICEMOVE (as an option) · chosen by GitLabAdopted with changes
Add a side-wall graphic
We also laid out the option of adding one, and GitLab chose to add it. Once we had seen the floor plan, it moved from the right side to the left at our suggestion.
Proposed by · GitLab (reference example)Not chosen
A stand-mounted lit balloon
The setup GitLab sent as a reference: a 1.5m sphere on a 2m stand. We judged it would not rise far enough above a 3m booth, so it was not used.
Proposed by · NICEMOVEChosen
Hang the balloon above the booth
We proposed asking the organizer whether the balloon could hang above the booth, and GitLab agreed. The organizer approved it.
Before and after
Base design: from the WIS mockup to the AWS Summit design
Before
First mockup. Orange WIS tones, GitLab in Korean script (깃랩) on the top sign, side wall left blank.
After
Revised mockup, the next day. A purple back wall rebuilt from GitLab's AWS Summit design, with a side-wall graphic on the right wing.
GitLab chose the English logo for the top sign after seeing the first mockup. In the revision, at GitLab's request, we moved the logo up and enlarged the Korean copy.
Side wall: from right to left
Before
Revised mockup. Side-wall graphic on the booth's right wing.
After Installation day. The side-wall graphic is on the left wall, and the right side, facing the center stage, is open.
The floor plan put the booth in the central exhibit area. We suggested moving the side wall from the right wing to the left, so the booth would open wider toward the center stage, the direction we expected most visitors to head, and GitLab agreed right away. When the booth builder sent a drawing to confirm the direction, it showed the wall on the left of the floor plan, which is the booth's right seen from the front. Stanley judged it had to go on the other side for the booth to open toward the center stage, and set the direction again. We checked once more on the builder's final elevation drawing that the wall had moved to the left.
Lit balloon: from a stand to above the booth
Before
First plan: the stand-mounted type GitLab sent as a reference (a 1.5m sphere on a 2m stand).
After Installation day. A purple balloon with a white logo, hung above the booth. It was visible from the center stage side too.
GitLab had used a lit balloon at an event in Singapore the year before and wanted one at AI Summit too. Stanley's test was not the form of the balloon but two things: it had to be easy to see, and it must not get in the way of neighboring booths, as the organizer required. Once the organizer approved hanging it above the booth, we also looked into how long the helium would hold and where the balloon could be tied off. We chose a vendor that could make a purple balloon and matched its printed color samples against the purple of GitLab's stickers. GitLab signed off on the sample photos before we ordered a balloon specified at 2m in diameter.
Submission files: redone to the builder's spec
Before
The first files sent to the booth builder. The back-wall graphic in our design file did not match the builder's spec.
After
Revision. The back-wall graphic was rebuilt at 4,500×1,500mm and sent with the build specs for the side-wall graphic, info desk, and logo.
The organizer asked for the graphic files to go straight to the booth builder. When we sent a version with bleed added, the builder told us to resize the back-wall graphic and to send the side-wall graphic specs as well. The builder then sent GitLab an elevation drawing with the submitted files applied, and GitLab asked us to review it. We checked the logos on the top arch, the back-wall copy, the side wall, and the info desk against the final files, and confirmed to the builder that there were no issues.
Result
The installation-day photos show the organizer-standard top sign with the English GitLab logo, and a back wall carrying the purple graphic rebuilt from the AWS Summit design. The side-wall graphic went on the left wall, leaving the booth open toward the center stage, and the purple lit balloon hung above the booth. On the show's last day, our GitLab marketing contact told us their colleagues were happy with how AI Summit was planned and set up. After the show, we shared a leftover-swag inventory report with the GitLab team. In September we also set up GitLab's booth at Open Technet Summit 2026, and reprinted the flyer files GitLab had supplied for AI Summit.
Limits and open points
We have no data on how the side-wall position or the balloon affected visitor numbers or leads.
What we carry forward
Looking back on this booth, Stanley confirmed three rules for future booths. For a booth with a height limit, we check the sign and balloon setup and the organizer's approval first. We read visitor flow on the floor plan and propose which way the walls go so the entrance faces the better side, then check that the builder's drawings show that direction. Stanley added that NICEMOVE's role is to secure approval before going ahead, and to handle those approvals and the rest of the process. For print, Stanley left the designer a checklist on July 27 for the next jobs: at least 3mm of bleed, the real size and working scale noted, a note on white areas, and both .ai and PDF/X files.
Deliverables
Deliverables
WIS booth wall graphics: design, print, and installation
AI Summit booth graphics rebuilt, a side-wall graphic, and files ready for organizer submission
AI Summit lit balloon: purple, with a white logo on both sides
3D foam stickers, 4,000 sheets (95×175mm), laid out from GitLab brand assets
Three AWS Summit brochures, printed from files GitLab supplied
AI SummitAI Summit Seoul 2026, booth C501 on installation day. English-logo top sign, back wall rebuilt from the AWS Summit design, side wall on the left.
AI SummitThe hall seen from the center stage side, with the GitLab balloon hung above the booth.
AWS SummitAWS Summit Seoul 2026, booth G-8. Seven NICEMOVE staff were registered to work it.
AWS SummitSide-wall graphic at the AWS Summit booth. The AI Summit booth was rebuilt from this GitLab AWS Summit design.
AWS SummitWireless headsets for mini-sessions, sourced by NICEMOVE.
AWS Summit3D foam sticker sheets, laid out from GitLab brand assets.
AWS SummitOne of three brochures printed from files GitLab supplied.
AWS SummitVisitors gathered in front of a demo session.
GitLab decided which shows to join. GitLab prepared the booth copy and the brochure content. The original AWS Summit booth design came from GitLab's global design team. GitLab submitted the AI Summit graphics to the organizer directly.
Process
01Show research and proposals, with fit and organizer checks
02Booth format advice, applications, and venue add-ons
AWS Summit
AWS Summit
AWS Summit
AWS Summit
AWS Summit
