Exhibition Stand Advice: Developing A Display Stand Design

By Author: Experienced exhibitors caution that even if you ha
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Experienced exhibitors caution that even if you have a crystal clear vision of your stand's look and feel, work your way carefully through each stage of the design process, and capitalise on the wealth of planning tools at your command. First, for the sake of transposing your design from your imagination into the real world, develop an exhibition brief. Then, working from your brief, collaborate with your builder to bring your vision to life.

Prepare a design brief

Your supervisor may expect you to prepare a brief, a detailed written plan for your display stands. Your brief explains your design and content in detail, saying in words what your exhibition stand probably will communicate in images, icons, and displays. Whether or not the boss requires a brief, though, a precise design document will help you clarify and explain your ideas, and it will facilitate discussion of your plans with your colleagues and service providers.

The process of developing the design brief forces you to make critical choices about your display stand, and it gives you an ...
... opportunity to explain the principles and reasoning behind your choices. If your exhibition's sponsors have distributed an exhibitors' manual, detailing guidelines and constraints for your exhibition stand, your brief will show how you intend to follow the rules and still present a unique, high-pact stand. In your brief, you also should develop your colour scheme, basing your choices on the mood you want to create and the image you want to imprint in clients' minds. Naturally, you will choose your graphics, especially including your font, photos, and icons. Most importantly, you must explain how you plan to integrate sophisticated technology into your display. If you do not have tech features to engage your audience, your exhibition stand will resemble your child's contribution to the middle school science fair.

Collaborate with a professional designer

Unless your job description includes development of graphic arts projects, hire an experienced professional who comes to the product with an extensive portfolio and a dossier full of recommendations. Interviewing prospective designers, pay attention not only to their artistic qualifications but also to the chemistry between you: can you easily envision collaborating with the artist? As the designer reviews your brief, do you become increasingly confident that he or she truly shares your vision and has talent and skill to make it real?

Capitalise on your designer's experience to work out the most practical elements in your exhibition stands design. What kind of display stand will you use? Which display stand works best in the space you have selected, and which display stand will travel easily and safely to and from the exhibition? Which display stands assemble easily and remain secure over several days in non-stop use? Can you find a banner stand that will assemble without tools and distinguish your space? Can your graphic designer do his or her best work on the banner stand you like best? How much will a banner stand or similar display stand add to the cost of your exhibition?

Request a model

Once you and the designer agree that you can achieve all your objectives, ask the artist to prepare either a scale model or a mock-up of the display. You should take that intermediate step in the design and construction process to make absolutely certain you will have exactly the display stand you desire when the process is complete.