Designing a Display

Before you can start designing a display for any trade show, you need to make sure you know what your goals are. Ask yourself some basic questions before you start talking to trade show display vendors:

• What is your main goal at the show? Making sales? Gathering names? Spreading buzz about your products?
• Who are you trying to reach?
• What is the image you want to project?

Taking the time to think through these concepts will help you when you are ready to start working with a designer or booth vendor.

A more practical decision that you also have make up front is what size booth you'll have at the trade show. 10' x 10' is the basic unit, which is about enough space for 2 or 3 employees, your display, and a table. You can upgrade to a 20' x 10', 20' x 20', or larger booth to have more room for employees, additional tables or demonstration areas.

Keep in mind that bigger isn't always better: you'll probably be happier with a smaller display but better graphics, handouts, and displays than you will with a larger booth but fewer or lower-quality supporting materials.

Designing the display

There are a lot of decisions that go into designing your trade show experience. The display itself is one aspect that can impact many of the others, though. You'll need to consider carpet, furniture (tables and chairs or stools), lighting, and signage, all of which should be influenced by the design of the display itself.

It may be tempting to simply send the trade show display supplier your logo and a product image and have them create a banner or custom-printed panel for you, but we don't recommend it. Even if it costs a little more, having a graphic design professional work on your booth is essential to getting the most effective display you can. You can use an in-house designer if you have one on staff, hire a freelancer, or in some cases you can get professional design help from the trade show display vendor.

At the show

Keep in mind that your trade show display will be competing with hundreds or thousands of other booths in a noisy, visually cluttered environment. The best way to stand out is with strong but simple images and little text. Don't try to include pictures of your entire product line across the back of the display, or worse yet try to describe them all. Save the details for product literature you hand out.

Incorporating lighting into your design is an often-overlooked way to draw attention to specific areas of your booth and improve visibility. Lighting in a large exhibition hall is often uneven, so bring an extra clip lamp or two just in case. Do make sure you have access to electric outlets in your booth — if you don't ask, you may not get it.

Lastly, try not to build obsolescence into your display. What we mean is, don't have a special offer that's only good for one show printed directly on a key portion of the display. Instead, make sure all your messages that are time-sensitive are printed on removable or replaceable signs.

Find a dealer who can help you design an outstanding display: we'll match you to the right providers in your area, free.