3 Essential Strategies for Designing Award-Winning Trade Show Booths

You’ve probably seen the value of a great booth firsthand. You’ve seen trade show visitors look toward the booth in awe and step closer to find out what it’s all about. Maybe you even went over to see for yourself. Or perhaps you’ve spent an hour or two on Pinterest seeking inspiration from the most aesthetically pleasing booths. But have you ever considered about what separates the average booth from the award winners?

Here are three things that set the best-in-show booths apart from the rest:

1. Create a design that tells a story

If you’re helping businesses make their operations greener, make sure your booth uses green materials to tell the story of your clean solutions and set a beautiful example.

If you’re publishing children’s books, use illustrated characters to tell a story with your booth graphics. Combine that with an in-show reading to create a magical atmosphere that people are sure to stop by to experience.
Or, if you’re selling an app, get inspired by our client KYON, that asked us to create a custom trade show exhibit design for their first trade show in the United States. The design looked quite like a telephone and allowed the brand to show off their smart dog collar and app, so visitors could get an idea of what the brand does, even from afar. Equipping trade show visitors with this information, visually, is an approach that gets prospects asking relevant questions about your products and services right off the bat.

2. Make it interactive

Share experiences in your design. If you’re selling retail display solutions, spark visitors’ imagination and make them feel like they’re walking into a gorgeous store.

Take it a step further and let visitors interact with products. Let users play with your digital products on touch screens or let them test your products right in the booth. And make that user experience visible across the booth design (not just at a small table!)
Don’t be afraid to find inspiration from trade shows that are outside of your industry. Even ideas from the most “creative” industries can be adapted to more conservative, traditional lines of business. If people are talking about your booth, you can rest assured people will be voting for your booth, too!

3. Use color to your advantage

   Some brands prefer to use a splash of color in their graphics, like FormFast. Others create a full-blown oasis of color that really pulls visitors in. Your both doesn’t have to be bright pink to get attention – many brands achieve a great look using white space. Look how Tache diamonds put their luxury brand front and center with two clean colors across their exhibit.

They key with color is making it look clean, no matter how many colors are in the palette. Standing out from the other exhibitors is best done by creating a color experience that isn’t overbearing.
Exponents specialize in custom trade show exhibit design. Our team will help you with the full booth experience, from design to management to testing, building, and breakdown. Go from an average booth to a show-stopping exhibit! Contact us to learn more or to start designing your team’s next booth.