Chris Murley. 40-years of Sibos
1985, Brighton Metropole. A young designer nervously checks the exhibition stand he created for a new financial services and banking sector show.
This week, that same designer will step into his 40th Sibos. He’s no longer nervous, but ‘incredulous’ at the passage of time and his journey with the show he helped shape.
We asked him to reflect on a 40-year roller coaster. “Magic moments,” he says. He’s seen the best cities across Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East. Met incredible people. “Doing what you’re passionate about, designing and building amazing structures. What could be better?”
Following that fateful day in 1985, Chris steered the design of SWIFT’s Sibos stand for 28 years, using the methods available then - hand drawn sketches, physical demo models, face-to-face meetings, telephone, and later… fax, email, and digital design tools.
“We didn’t have the technical advantages we have today, it all had to be done by hand,” he says. “But the sense of responsibility and the thrill of making it work always gave me an amazing sense of achievement.”
Sibos has been on its own journey, but it’s still the premier global financial services event. At some points, Chris and the team has overseen a significant portion of the exhibition – almost 60 booths at a time, with design themes spanning Star Trek and Indiana Jones, art deco, even replica airliner and airport lounge.
Back then, rather than handing them off to project teams, Chris remembers designers carried ideas all the way. They’d sell the approach in person, manage it from napkin to sketch pad, all the way to on-site implementation.
“Presenting with a 3D model was always amusing,” he says. “People thought we were a cake delivery business.”
Today, with so much a stake for global brands, he acknowledges that Sibos is creatively more measured. “It's fascinating to see how things have changed and adapted with technological advancements and changing preferences.”
Sibos stands today reflect corporate identities, and engagement has shifted from product demos to conversation and connection. The tools are better, builds and finishes are sharper. Expectations are higher.
But some things don’t change. Like the giveaways you take home but fall just short of Christmas present standard, says Chris.
“The prestige and the buzz of everyone on site pulling together, that hasn’t changed,” he adds. “That’s what’s truly brilliant to be a part of.”
“I suspect it might be my last,” he says of this year’s Sibos (the first in Frankfurt). “But how many times have I said that?”