Updated: 8th May, 2024

Having a creative, original and visually striking exhibition stand design is a crucial way to succeed at your trade show. A relevant exhibition stand idea makes a brand stand apart from other stands in a trade fair. Part of how to do so, is to hire experienced exhibition stand contractors.

So, here are nine principles to consider when building a creative exhibition stand design.

Graphics, Stand Type and Engagement are your Pillars

Graphics play a major role when executing your exhibition stand. When you hire any exhibition stand contractors, ask for samples from their printing press, so that you can assess its quality. This way during the day of your show appearance, you don’t have to worry about audiences rejecting your stands due to your graphics.

Your stand type is the second pillar you need to consider. Sometime you can combine different stand types to create innovative combinations. For example you can use different displays such as banner stands and backdrops to creatively emphasis your brand.

After you have sorted out your graphics and stand type, then the question comes how are you going to engage your audiences? There are several ways to do this, you can use pop up displays, digital banners, touch pads, AV presentations and other gadgets.

Furthermore, you can leverage engagements ideas such as running games and contests or incorporating a VR/AR experience into your stand design to transform it into an interactive arena that attendees can engage with.

We’ve covered interactive games in depth here, which you can read to widen your knowledge base. These ideas can assist you to create a creative stand design that allows attendees to engage with your brand in a fun and exciting way.

Another tip is for you to figure out what your exhibiting objectives and theme are prior to considering collecting ideas.

Think About Text with Clarity

A good copywriter can help you write snappy and catchy slogans for your brand, which can be placed at strategic places in your exhibition graphics. Try using humorous references to your brand if you can. This will certainly draw the attention of the crowd to your booth. Other creative ideas for exhibition stands text would be to vary the font in size to improve depth perception and the overall look of your stand. With text, consider the ‘less is more’ rule. Putting your company bio on your fascia is a bad idea. Keep the bio for when they are engaging with your sales team. Go with jingles or taglines instead, keep your text concise and to the point for your stand design.

Splash the Right Colour

A correct colour scheme is one of the main factors that make your exhibition graphics relevant and unique.

We have talked in depth about how each colour works over here:

Colours are the secret ingredients to increase footfalls in your exhibition stand

But the main principle is that different colour schemes evoke different emotional responses in people. So you need to make sure that your stand has the relevant colour scheme to ensure that audiences make the right assumptions about your brand. Hence if you are hiring exhibition stand contractors, discuss with them the use of colours that work well with your exhibition stand idea and most importantly, your brand. Find colours that work well with the crowd that is going to attend your exhibition stand.

Also you should consider the principle ‘less is more’ when you brainstorm ideas for your exhibition graphics, more colours does not necessarily mean a more vibrant exhibition stand. It can rather result in a stand design that is garish and hard to understand. This is something you should aim to avoid at all times since the attention span of attendees is always at a premium at exhibition shows. A single bright colour will help you more than several. So, you need to make sure that your stand design portrays what your brand is all about in an instant.

A creative exhibition booth counts floor design

Insist exhibition stand contractors to use the right flooring instead of trying to match the flooring that is similar to the trade venue. A distinct carpeted floor can be part of your exhibition booth design idea. A comfortable floor also makes visitors at your booth feel welcomed.

By considering your exhibition booth flooring, you can develop your exhibition booth design further. Such as putting your exhibition booth on an elevated platform with smooth carpets or matte wooden flooring; you can draw your attendees into very different ambient feels just with that. Good flooring will draw your attendees further into the theme you are going for and making your exhibition stand more memorable.

Why you should include storage space in your exhibition stand rental

When you have several products to display at your exhibition stand rental, then the natural tendency is to put out everything, so that you can surely draw crowds at your stand and fish out some important clients that can turn your efforts into profits. Instead, all of your efforts will go in vain, since if your exhibition stand will look messy. Make enough space to display leaflets and brochures are not feasible. So, ensure that you incorporate storage space to store anything that is not immediately relevant. Have everything at your exhibition stand on the table for convenience, can easily snowball into a mess.

Rather, a tidy exhibition stand, with everything at its right place, optimum banners, displays, and the right amount of tech gadgets will always attract more crowds.

Consider large geometric designs that pop out

Quirky architecture tends to pop out at shows. Large geometric designs can include free-form curved surfaces or even comically large everyday objects. All these can make for appealing visual novelty for visitors at the show. You can combine your geometric architecture with graphics such as font, text and pictures to create this unique look that is visually complex and appealing. If you use geometric designs right, then you can definitely get something unique and exclusive for your stand design.

Don’t chase trends, find what is relevant

Thinking outside the box, isn’t always the best idea. As the saying goes ‘Latest is not greatest’. When you are researching for ideas to make your stand design unique, it might make sense to go with what’s latest. Instead, implement ideas that relevant for your marketing approach. This will make your stand design stick out for your core audience. Don’t be afraid to collect ideas, but be very selective on which ones you want to implement.

Use height and lights to your advantage

Your exhibition space is limited, so consider making the most out of the height allowed at the exhibition show. Some shows let your place 4m high signage, while others allow hanging structures that can be placed on the ceiling. A backlit sign hanging over your exhibition stand is an eye-catcher you can’t miss. Backlight, wall lighting, accent lighting all of them can enhance the look of your exhibition stand and give your stand design its own habitat.

Never compromise on quality

Your choice of exhibition stand design company is important. Don’t let price make you compromise on essential pillars that we discussed before. Otherwise, you might as well not participate. Go with local stand designers that don’t outsource their manufacturing to third party contractors. A company with its own in-house facilities will be able to deliver a more accurate stand design based on your brief.

So there you have it, some exhibition stand design ideas with nine principles to consider when planning the design of your exhibition stand. Of course, not all these principles are applicable at once, but you can use them to brainstorm relevant, creative ideas for exhibition stands and figure out the kind of look you wish to go for, you will be able to better utilize these ideas to the benefit of your exhibition stand design.