Best Trade Show Booth Designs

GET YOUR BOOTH DESIGN RIGHT TO ATTRACT POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS

Modern Trade Shows are a blessing in disguise for companies. They get to present their latest range of products and reach out to prospective customers; and connect with them and discover business opportunities.

A recent trade show survey revealed that 95 percent exhibitors affirm live events including trade shows provide immense benefits. The opportunity is there to capitalize upon the same and harvest maximum benefits.

The best way to do it is to deliver a lasting impression with an impressive Trade Show Booth Design. A visually appealing design reflecting your brand identity and highlighting your offerings’ USP spontaneously gets the audience to your booth.

DESIGN YOUR BOOTH THE IMPACTFUL WAY

For your booth to make an effective impact, design plays a key role.

A visually pleasing booth design injects that ‘WOW’ factor into it.

Here is what you need to do to translate it into reality on the trade show floor.

1. MAXIMIZE LOCATION SPOT

Your Trade Show Booth location plays a critical role in deciding the impact of its design on the audience.

Certain trade show venues offer prime display spots for an extra amount. However, they generally will be in great demand as a result of which they sell out fast. Similarly, other trade show venues that provide grandfathered prime spots. Whatever choice you select in the end, ultimately the fruition of the same will depend upon your financial heft, negotiating skills, and of course, the nature of the contract.

According to some top market experts, the key to securing the best booth space is to stay aware of when the trade show organizers will begin to sell the spaces. When you’re aware of the same, next you need to cultivate positive relationships with them. If done, you can be sure to secure the first pick and the best space.

Finally, whatever booth space size you are allocated, large or small, you need to fully utilize and maximize every inch of the allocated space. You can make it a standout with strategically placed signs and banners; or have branded balloons hanging from the ceiling. In addition, you can also have tables with chairs in a strategic area of the booth.

2. BOOTH WALL SPACE

Your booth’s back wall is the main focal point.

If you have a small booth, back wall can be of great help. Use them to display your main marketing materials; and banners/posters your logo and main marketing messaging.

Similarly, if you have a larger booth, you can have two or more back walls as main focal points using them to showcase your designs and messaging.

3. BOOTH FURNITURE

Furniture plays a key role. Its positioning within the booth shapes its look and feel. Let us take the example of a Table. It is best placed at the back of the booth rather than the front where it tends to block the booth entrance sending an unwelcoming message to the visitors. If at all you have placed it in the front, which you may have to in a smaller-sized booth, use a smaller, bar-height table rather than a broad, tall table.

Coming to table placement at the back of the booth, they work well to store samples and marketing materials. They also make it easier for the crowd of visitors to gather and collect them. The gathering can be used by sales staff to make a forceful sales pitch.

When including furniture, make sure

Booth has sufficient space to accommodate staff as well as attendees at the same time. Before looking to include furniture items, determine how many visitors could at a time be in the booth. Then, based on the arrived calculation, work out the space available within the booth for placing furniture. 

Furniture and inventory are not in excess, Keep them to the bare minimum in an open layout and ensure that they do not block entrances.

4. LIGHTING & SOUND

At the trade show, your booth should be easily visible to the audience and not hidden somewhere in between booths or lost amongst the crowd.

A proper combination of lighting and sound can positively alter the look and feel of your booth’s design elements. Correct lighting choices can highlight what is on display like product displays, etc, in certain booth areas. Similarly, sound when aligned with your brand can be a powerful weapon. Its effect can set the mood and flow with the brand story and message conveyed to the audience. This can be especially critical in a crowded trade show hall.

5. GET THE DESIGN PERFECT

At trade shows, you’re competing with rivals to grab visitors’ attention.

To outdo your rivals, the design of your booth plays a key role.

Herein, let us take the example of a billboard on a major road.

The presence of a billboard on a major road is to make an impact instantly.

Likewise, when you work on your trade show booth design, your intention should be to create an instant impact on the audience. To make it a reality, ensure that the design sports an attractive look inclusive of

Minimal text that’s appropriately scaled. The text inclusive of a simple and impactful message should be brief and concise and yet at the same time, powerful enough to appeal to the audience’s sentiments.

Imagery that complements the existing architecture of the venue. This will help to create a soothing effect that blends harmoniously with the venue’s architecture and appearance.

Graphics that offer a quick picture of your brand in a unique way and are highly visible even from a far-off distance. Remember, at a trade show, visitors walk by different booths. There will be competition among the various booths to catch the visitors’ attention. Hence, the design includes graphics that captivate their senses.

Colors and textures that reflect your brand profile and speak about your brand philosophy.

The future of design is already here.

Booth design’s future is not flat. It is dimensional and all about integrating into the design interactive 3D displays with 3D and dimensional content. They add depth to the booth, drive engagement, and deliver an immersive experience.

6. GET YOUR BOOTH ORIENTATION RIGHT

When you’re planning the design of your booth, make sure it is visible to the audience from afar and facilitates hassle-free visitor-traffic flow from the aisles.

A great majority of visitor traffic is driven from the trade show hall door and main aisles. To catch the attention of the audience coming from these spots, your booth design elements should be easily visible to them.

7. MAXIMIZE USE OF WHITE SPACE CREATIVELY

Your Trade Show Booth will have a few seconds to capture visitors’ attention and make an impression.

The first impression counts a lot. Make it positive by ensuring its design has the right blend of graphics and imagery with sufficient white space. Ideally, it should have around 40 percent white space, and the remaining space is not stuffed with excess text or images or graphics. Instead, it should sport a clean and neat design that captures the audience’s attention and enables them to read the text on it clearly from even a distance and make out the intended message.

8. MAXIMIZE USE OF BRAND COLORS CREATIVELY

Creative use of brand colors will help to promote your products.

Many trade show booth designs often employ a smart fusion of brand colors to ensure all eyes at the trade show are on them. This will also subconsciously help the attendees to associate your trade show booth with your brand and company; and the design to your product.

For instance, the color black or deep blue is often associated with lifestyle and fashion brands. Similarly, colors like red, yellow, and orange are associated with food and beverage companies. Cosmetic companies use mostly pink color or purple shades; and tech companies silver with other bright colors as silver color helps to project them as modern and sophisticated companies.

Select the appropriate colors that communicate what your brand is and tell what it offers.

9. USE PROFESSIONAL GRAPHICS THE RIGHT WAY

Graphics and Printed Signs play an important role. They are two major components of a successful trade show booth.

To get them right,

Collect a spec sheet displaying the dimensions of each booth element from the trade show organizers.

Take measurements of your booth.

Get your professional designer as well as printer to design and print graphics to spec.

For maximum effect, use only high-resolution images. Make sure that banners, signs, and other categories of marketing materials are printed to the highest quality standards.

10. HIGHLIGHT BRAND MESSAGE EFFECTIVELY

There will be several booths like yours at trade shows. In many cases, most of the booths seem to look alike. To make your presence felt, distinguish it uniquely.

An effective way to guarantee the same is to make sure the design elements and key messaging make their presence felt.

Design elements should be used to tell visitors clearly what your business does and offers.

Messaging should be in legible font. This makes them appear large, and visible to the naked eye even from a distance. To make them more easily identifiable, place banners containing messaging higher-up so that they can be seen from afar.

If you can get them right on the first attempt, they can be your USP to the audience. They are best used when you’re looking to launch a new product.

11. GET YOUR DESIGN AND BRANDING CONSISTENT

Understanding your USP begins with your Booth Design.

The design of your booth is best used to speak about your brand story. It should reflect your brand vision visually and let the visitors know what your brand is all about, what it offers, and how it benefits customers.

Once you arrive at the right design and branding theme, it should stay consistent throughout the show and across all materials and items like banners, marketing materials like catalogs, brochures, etc, samples, and even staff uniforms. They should all sport the same logo and color theme, tagline, and branding.

12. BOOST YOUR BOOTH VISIBILITY

Most exhibitors tend to use elaborate designer logos in their trade show booth designs to highlight their brand name.

To make a visually appealing and attractive, the inclusion of creative graphics and displays will give a facelift to your design. If done accordingly, it will subtly imprint itself on the attendees’ minds and also ensure greater brand visibility at the trade show.

With the help of a Truss System, you can have a hanging banner suspended with your brand above the design. This will boost your brand’s visibility and also give the design an edge over rival competitor’s booth designs.

13. STAND APART FROM OTHER BOOTHS

Your participation in a trade show is best driven by the fierce desire to be a stand out at the show. To some people, this may sound too lofty but in reality can be achieved if your design is attractive and interactive. They get the audience excited and curious to know about the design and your brand as well.

An attractive and interactive design driven by a captivating theme in bright colors will capture the audience’s attention. When it’s well-supplemented by the best of your products and demonstrations they pique interest in the audience and get them to interact with your brand.

Although most visitors like to be engaged as well as interactively engage your brand in an interactive way, it is important at the same time to make sure that the whole interaction process is not too business-like. It should instead be fun and interesting.

14. OFFER THE VISITORS SOMETHING UNEXPECTED

Your Trade Show Booth Design may look attractive and eye-catching.  However, it will be of little relevance if it’s not appropriately supplemented by visitor-centric elements.

To make it truly attractive, think outside-the-box and come up with some unusual additions. Not the usual routine stuff like a table with comfortable chairs for the visitors to relax and rest; or charging stations for mobiles to be recharged. They are too predictable and something that almost every exhibitor offers.

Instead, offer the visitors

Innovative interactive displays that compel them to engage them. Like for instance, interactive product demo which they can interact with and get hands-on; or fun games with prizes that entices them to take part with passion.

Beneficial Giveaways. Most visitors at trade shows love to receive free stuff. To win them over, give them stuff like branded mobile covers or branded notepads, or a set of branded pens that will be of use to them rather than something that is later dumped into the trash can. Branded giveaways’ also greatly help to promote brand awareness.

Even the best of engaging show booth ideas will fail if the design sports an excessively extravagant look. They only scare away the visitors. A design with a neat and clean look and minimal text about your business will gel well with the visitors while a design that’s too cluttered with excess text and graphics will only result in the brand message losing its relevance.

15. MAKE MAXIMUM USE OF TEHCNOLOGY

Creative use of the latest technology and trends will put your brand in the big league at trade shows; and separate your booth from others at the trade show.

They will make your booth look tech-savvy and relevant to the times. Of late, trade show booths have been using a lot of technology. Some good examples of technology usage include touch-screen displays, DFI Technology, Intelligent Displays, etc. The use of Intelligent Display and DFI Technology has particularly been impressive. They involve the use of a central tower that comprises of multiple screens synchronized with each other and powered with DFI’s own media engine.

Other good examples of technology usage are large flat-screen monitor with a looping sales presentation; and interactive kiosks that allow the visitors to browse through your products/services. The use of tablets has also increased at trade shows, with two-thirds of the exhibitors making use of them in the maximum.

You can also try out large screens to really catch the visitors’ eyes. Several popular brands have figured out a way to attract their target audience while maintaining their brand theme, like using screen projections and jumbo screens that streamed various Polaroid Photo Images. These images are framed with the iconic Pictorial Borders with all of the pictures hung over a comfortable lounge area where the visitors can sit back comfortably to view them.

16. MAKE YOUR SHOW BOOTH SOCIAL FRIENDLY

As your window to the audience at the trade show, your booth should make a strong impact.

Get your designer to work on the design of your booth, taking into consideration the theme of your booth. Let us say yours is a company into vertical farming then you can have shelves with potted plants. They will make your brand feel more reflective of its true image to the audience at the trade show.

An alternative way of making your booth social friendly is the use of vending machine. At trade shows across the world, smart vending machines have become a huge attraction.

Smart vending machines build entire activations around arrangements that trigger the dispensation of items ranging from samples to swag or even sale items; and at the same time, gather verified metrics that allows the exhibitors to measure their marketing ROI and also expand their social media reach.

17. INCORPORATE WEBSITE DESIGN INTO SHOW BOOTH

Certain notable market experts suggest exhibitors should treat their booths like a website for both virtual and in-person booth designs.

Additionally, integration of website elements like colors, fonts, graphics, and palettes into the design will help to cohesively bring brand elements to life.