10 Trade Show Booth Design Tips – Designing a Show Stopping Booth

Trade Show Booth Design

10 Trade Show Booth Design Tips – Designing a Show Stopping Booth

Are you an exhibitor looking to design a booth that consumers won’t be able to ignore? Having the perfect trade show booth design is exactly what your company needs to increase trade show leads and make an impression on your target audience. However, in order to create a show stopping trade show booth design your company must consider all elements involved in trade show booth design. including graphics, lighting, seating, and layout of the space. Check out the following tips for improving each element of your booth to maximize your company’s ROI at the next trade show!

Trade Show Booth Design Tips for Creating a Show Stopping Trade Show Booth

General Trade Show Booth Tips

  • Your booth needs to reflect your brand and product. For example, if you are a technology company it would behoove you to create a booth that is modern and sleek. Booth designs should directly reflect your brand and make it obvious to exhibitors what your brand stands for. Trade show booth design is the first impression that consumers have of your brand at a trade show, so be sure to make it count!

Trade Show Graphic Tips

  • Find your focus. Although creativity is certainly encouraged on the trade show floor, one thing to keep in mind is that attendees want to get information fast, and do not want to search for it. Your trade show graphics and signage should reflect this by being obvious and to the point. One great trade show booth design tip to live by is to have a main focal point. It could be as simple as your logo if your brand has great brand recognition or a bold sign that shows off your motto, slogan, or list keys factors of your product or services.
  • Do not select a busy pattern for your trade show graphics, this can be difficult to look at and may actually drive attendees away. Patterns that are over-complicated take attention away from the important information that consumers will be looking for, like your brand name!
  • When hanging signage in the trade show booth be sure to position it above eye level to catch the attention of attendees who are gazing around the venue. Signs at eye level may get lost in the crowd, but higher signs can be read from a distance (as long as the font size allows for this). Your brand should also consider using vertical banners in your trade show booth design because vertical banners act as flags catching the attention of people passing by.
  • The font that your brand chooses to use on trade show graphics will represent and symbolize your brand to the attendees at the trade show. So, make sure it’s a good one! Select a font that accurately reflects your brand and creates a positive first impression. Most often, simple fonts are more effective at attracting attention to trade show booths than artistic font styles. Plus, artistic fonts can be harder to read from a distance or many look different on large print than in small. Instead, select a font style that is easily read from far away and will attract attention to your trade show booth. Additionally, the font our brand selects for your trade show graphics should be uncluttered with good spacing. After you have selected a font that is easily read and will work well for your brand, choose two font sizes, one for headers and another for the sub-titles.
  • Use contrasting colors in the text and backgrounds of your trade show graphics is an easy and effective way to make the information stand out to consumers. Contrasting colors make fonts easy to read and provide a clean-cut and simple appearance for your brand that will look outstanding on booth graphics. When selecting color for your trade show graphics, be sure to select colors that contrast, but also complement one another. Do not select colors that when paired together hurt to look at. Instead, create colors that stand out and are appealing to the eye.

Trade Show Lighting Tips

  • Research the venue’s booth lighting to find out what’s available in your space. By doing this, you and your team can accurately plan and design your trade show booth space and organize the layout of signs, seating, product demonstrations and so on. If your company decides to purchase additional lighting to emphasis specific aspects of your booth, be sure to check with the venue beforehand to ensure the additional lighting fits within the venue’s guidelines and regulations.

Trade Show Booth Seating & Layout Tips

  • Another trade show booth design tip is openness. Having an open space within your trade show booth ensures that attendees will feel welcome entering your booth to learn more about your brand. A cluttered booth can intimidate people and be overwhelming to some, so be sure to include an open floor plan within your trade show booth design. If space, or budget hinders your trade show booth from having an open floor plan, try your best to create as much open space in your booth layout. Any open space you can create is better than none. Plus, by creating an open floor plan for your trade show booth you are encouraging trade show attendees to come inside your booth instead of standing outside and getting mixed in with other attendees that are walking by. Not only will this increase the number of trade show attendees that approach your trade show booth, but it will also allow the promotional models and your sales team to target attendees easier, increase trade show leads, and close more sales for your brand.
  • Every trade show booth design needs furniture to create natural conversation arenas. Rather than allowing attendees to sit down on couches or chairs within your booth, stay engaged with attendees by having conversations over counters, stools, and high-top tables where attendees can gather at your booth. High-top tables, in particular, are a great way to create a cocktail setting that encourages conversation and interaction between attendees and your sales team.
  • Finally, design a trade show booth that is visually interesting to look at! This means that your trade show booth should have layers or elements with differing heights. Hanging signs above eye level, utilizing cocktail tables, and creating a booth focal point are all great tips to build an effective and all over visually appealing trade show booth.

Follow these ten tips and your company will create a show-stopping booth that people will not be able to ignore! For more tips on designing a show stopping trade show booth check out our interview with Mel White of Classic Exhibits.