Effective Exhibition Stand Design

Exhibition stand design provides one of the best marketing tools available to exhibitors who wish to communicate their product/s and/or brand to the public and business to business sector users.

With a huge choice of exhibitions to choose from, companies find themselves attending exhibitions that are not directly related to their core product or service. This can be presented at a local level or on a global platform. 

An exhibitor attending their first exhibition would be offered the option of a shell scheme stand, by the organisers, which consists of a rented floor space complete with carpet, walling, facia and normally a basic lighting track and electrical socket. The exhibitor has the choice of bringing their own display units, counters etc or hire direct from the official contractors nominated by the show organiser and found in the exhibition Manuel.

Seasoned exhibitors would often employ an exhibition stand designer who is often either directly commissioned by the exhibiting company themselves or via their communications agency. Either way, the exhibition stand designer will take a design brief from the exhibiting company and design a three dimensional concept based around the brief.

The exhibition stand designer will pull on all the resources available to him/her taking inspiration from objects and images found around his/her immediate environment such as structures, colours and textures.

Often the exhibition stand designer will restrict his creativity to his/her client’s budget. This often presents a major challenge during the creative process, but can attract some very creative and unique ideas, ideas that can set the designer apart from his contemporary’s and his/her client apart from their competitors. 

Often, the exhibitor will find themselves located within the exhibition hall very close to their competitors. What will make them stand out from their competitors are the exhibition stand design and the build quality.

Exhibition show organisers impose strict guidelines concerning build heights and solid runs of walling. These guidelines are enforced by the exhibition organiser so each exhibitor presents themselves on as much as a level and fair playing field as possible. It is down to the exhibition stand designer to provide to his/her client the best creative, innovative and well built exhibition stand as well as adhering to the restrictions imposed by the exhibition show organisers. 

The materials and finishes chosen by the designer will often reflect the brand values and corporate identity of the exhibiting company. The stand design will also incorporate additional features like audio visual such as large format plasma screens, interactive touch screens, high impact graphics and lighting.

There exists an art in the creation of an exhibition stand. Like many of the other creative discipline’s, such as interior design, architecture, product development, the designer has to strike the right balance between form and function as well as the integration of surface finishes, colours and textures in order to provide a cohesive and attractive environment in which to court business as well as present the company in the best way possible.

An exhibition stand starts life as a pre-determined space often set out on the exhibition hall floor by chalk marks. The exhibitor will be offered various stand size option’s determined by the show organiser and illustrated by a hall floor plan. The exhibiting company may choose as much or as little space has he/she feels will accommodate their needs and normally their budget.

The exhibition stand designer will be given the overall stand dimensions by the client and thus provides the starting point for the creative process. The designer will be told of the maximum build height, normally between 4 and 6m, by the exhibition manual provided by the show organiser and often available on line. This manual is a key source of information for the exhibitor as well as the stand designer. The manual will hold everything from the build-up time’s right through to the marketing and PR information about the particular show.

The stand designer often becomes project manager and is responsible for pulling in all the various trades to ensure a smooth and successful installation. He/she will be responsible for the management of the main stand build contractor, electricians, steelworkers, A/V crews and many other specialist trades.

Many of the exhibitors will want their stands to be reusable as they may attend other shows throughout the year both in Europe and the World.

The stand designer will have to factor in this modularity in the initial design stages as this has a major impact on the overall budget. The stand would have to be flexible in order to cope with the various changes in pre-booked stand space.

The relationship between designer and client is key to a success working relationship. Communication between both parties is paramount in order to maintain continuity and innovative design.