Trade shows are a great way to increase your brand exposure and market your product or service to prospective customers. The key to being successful at a trade show is designing an effective, eye-catching booth. Fortunately, coming up with a design for your booth doesn’t have to be complicated or overwhelming. You just want to follow some simple best practices and strategies, so your booth is interesting and attractive to prospects at your convention.

Part 1: Designing the Display

1. Include a large, striking image in your display to grab people’s attention. Whether you’re using a board or a digital screen for your trade show booth display, an eye-catching image that represents your brand will help attract prospects to your booth. Try not to use more than a few images since too many pictures can make your booth look cluttered and overwhelming. Also, make sure the images you choose are clearly relevant to your company.

• For example, if your company sells state-of-the-art printers, you could include a sleek, high-definition picture of one of the printers you sell.
• If you think you need to include more than a few images to get your point across, that’s OK! Just remember that simplicity is key. You want to attract prospects, not distract them, so make sure your images don’t look cluttered.

2. Make sure your company’s name and purpose is clearly visible. Investing in a trade show booth is a great marketing opportunity, but only if it’s clear to prospects who you are and what goods or services you offer. Put your company’s name somewhere on the display in large font so it’s immediately clear to prospects who they’re dealing with. If it’s not obvious what your company does based on the name, you should also include a brief line that describes your company’s purpose or mission.

• For example, if the name of your company is “Stellar Printers,” it will be fairly obvious to prospects what you’re offering. However, if your company is called “Optimus,” you’d want to add something like “Easy-to-use content platform” somewhere on your display so no one is left wondering what your company does.

3. Use a large font that’s easy-to-read. The most important thing when it comes to the messaging in your trade show booth display is that people can quickly read and understand it. Keep in mind that prospects will have lots of booths to look at, so you want to make things as easy as possible for them. Using a large, simple font is the best way to do that. Try to avoid using ornate, embellished fonts since they’re distracting and hard to read.

• For example, you could use easy-to-read fonts like Helvetica, Verdana, Open Sans, Roboto, and Futura.
• Try not to incorporate too many fonts into your design since that can also be overwhelming. Instead, stick with 1-2 fonts.

4. Get creative and use your display to demonstrate your brand’s identity. When people look at your trade show booth display, they’ll make a snap judgment about your company. That’s why it’s important that your booth does a good job of representing who you are as a brand. To get the right message across, try to find something unique or special about your company and then incorporate it into your display.

• For example, if your company sells food and you’re all about using organic, healthy ingredients, you could incorporate natural wood and live plants into your display. When people check out your booth, they’ll think of the environment and sustainability.
• Or, say your company is going for a wholesome, part-of-the-neighborhood vibe. You could display your content on a chalkboard and put up some cozy string lights so prospects think of a quaint, local cafe when they see your booth. 

5. Keep your design simple so people don’t get overwhelmed. A good trade show booth is meant to attract prospects, not explain everything you want people to know about your company. That’s what your trade booth staff is for. Keep that in mind when you’re coming up with your design. If you have a striking image and the name and purpose of your company on your display, that should be enough. Avoid cluttering your display with lots of pictures or fine print that will ultimately distract and confuse prospects.

• Just because your design is simple doesn’t mean it has to be boring or plain. Experiment with interesting ways of incorporating your image and text into the design. For example, you could make your image the entire background of your display and then superimpose your text over it.
• You can also use your company’s color scheme for the background of your display to help it pop while still keeping things simple.

Part 2: Optimizing the Layout

1. Keep your trade show booth obstacle-free so people can easily access it. Some trade show booths have tables, counters, or other obstacles near the front or middle of the booth, which can make it hard for people to enter and check out the display. It can also make a booth look less inviting. Instead of doing this, keep large items away from the front or middle of your booth so it’s wide open and welcoming. You can still include things like tables and counters, just make sure they’re not in anyone’s way

• For example, instead of having a long table that stretches across the front of your booth, you could have a small podium or counter in one of the corners instead. That way, people will be able to easily walk around your booth and interact with the staff.

2. Make sure nothing is blocking the content on your display. If prospects can’t see the images and company name on your display, all of your hard work will go to waste! Be careful not to position anything in front of your display that might block it, like counters, decor, or additional displays. The same thing goes for your trade show staff—make sure they won’t be standing in front of anything important that you want people to see.

• If you’re worried about the content on your display being blocked, you can always position it higher up on the display. Just make sure it’s around eye-level so it’s still easy for people to read.

3. Use lighting to highlight your booth and help it stand out. This is especially important if you’ll be setting up your booth in a venue that doesn’t have any natural light. If your booth is dark and hard to see, people will be less likely to stop by. You can avoid this by bringing your own lighting and using it to brighten up your space.

• Try getting creative with your lighting. For example, if there’s an element of your booth that you really want to draw people’s attention to, try shining a bright light on it so it stands out.
• Reach out to the venue ahead of time to figure out how many outlets you’ll have access to.

4. Have signage that’s visible from multiple viewpoints. Even if your booth is attractive and engaging, it won’t make a difference if people aren’t able to find it. Trade show floors can be chaotic and packed, so you want to make it easy for people to find you. One way you can do this is placing signage at various points in and around your booth so that people on different parts of the floor can see it.

• For example, you could put signage with your company name and logo on it on all sides of your booth so that people approaching your booth from any direction will see it.
• You could also place a sign on top of your booth. The extra height will draw attention. 

Part 3: Designing with a BIG IMPACT with your Graphics

1. Keep key messaging large, brief, and higher than waist-height. Ensure that all of your key messages are easily viewable by placing them higher than 3 to 4 feet. Post your company logo in various areas of the booth to reinforce your brand. Keep your message simple and pared down to a select few impactful headlines printed in large, readable font so that it’s easily viewable at a distance.
2. Don’t forego empty and negative space. While you don’t want your booth to be sparse, realize the benefits of leaving some empty space in your booth. Don’t pack it with clunky furniture and bulky inventory, keep it clean and inviting. When you have this extra bit of space, you can ensure that the customer will remain comfortable when speaking with your representatives.

Likewise, negative space should be present within your graphics. The overall rule of thumb for booth graphics is that they should contain 40 percent empty space. This helps ensure that they aren’t overpowering your message or burying your brand in too many visuals. Remember, you only get one shot at a first impression. Don’t over-clutter your booth with extraneous information.

3. Ensure proper formatting and resolution for images. Although the current iPhone model does take decent pictures and a vignette filter on Instagram gives your cell phone photos that extra “pop,” your trade show displays require high-resolution images and properly formatted graphics. Otherwise, you risk having pixelated, blurry, or stretched items on your printed materials. Hire a professional designer to create your materials in accordance to the spec sheet from your supplier before you go to print.
4. Keep your brand on-point from top to bottom. Design your booth with consistent branding throughout the entire area. From banners and images to freebies and more, your brand’s theme needs to be consistent across all of your design materials.
5. Try the element of surprise. If you really want to grab people’s attention, put something that doesn’t belong in the center of your exhibit space. Whatever you try, aim to inspire wonder, amusement or — best of all — a must-know response within the consumer that encourages them to come inside and engage with your brand.
6. Understand graphical “real estate”. There are certain areas in your booth that are visually more important than others. For example, the back wall is the focal point for most small to mid-sized booths. You should put your most important design element, message, and logo there. Larger booths usually contain multiple focal points and may even feature two back walls. This area will always be central to your booth’s graphical real estate, and it needs to contain the most crucial pieces of information about your brand.
7. Use the right colors. Color psychology is complex. People are drawn to different colors for different reasons. The colors and tones you choose for your display can help you stand out and promote your message. Cooler colors like blue, green, and white appear professional, yet aren’t big attention-grabbers. Warmer colors like red, orange, and yellow are more engaging, yet need to be used wisely because they can be overbearing if used in excess.
   
    Part 4: Attracting Prospects

1. Get some useful promotional items you can give out to prospects. Handing out “swag” at trade show booths is common practice, and it’s an effective way to attract people to your booth. However, not all promotional swag is created equal. Instead of handing out cliché items like pens, stress balls, or keychains, invest in items that are relevant to your company or items that will actually be useful for people. The more memorable and useful your promotional items are, the more likely people will be to visit your booth and talk about your company after they leave.

• Say you’re setting up your trade show booth at a convention that’s located somewhere hot and sunny. Instead of handing out pens with your company’s name of them, you could give out sunglasses or sunscreen, which will be more practical and useful for prospects.
• You can also give people promotional items that relate to what your company offers or sells. For example, if your company sells smartphone accessories, you could give out headphones or small wireless speakers with your company’s name on them.
• If you’re on a budget but you still want to make a big impact, try offering some cheap appetizers or coffee instead. People love free food and drinks, and your staff will have time to talk to them about your company while they are being served.

2. Host a game or contest with prizes. People are drawn to interactive trade show booths, and a game or contest is a great way to get prospects’ attention and engage with them. You can even ask participants to sign up with their name and email first, so you have a useful contact list by the end of your convention. Any kind of game or contest will work, as long as it’s fun, interactive, and relevant to your industry or prospects.

• For example, if you know a lot of your target prospects are into golf, you could set up a simple mini golf hole in your booth and let each visitor take a shot. If they get a hole in one, they win a prize!
• You could also host a fun quiz about your industry. Whenever someone gets all of the questions right, they get a prize. If they get a question wrong, your staff has an opportunity to talk to them about the correct answer and how it relates to your company.
• Try to opt for tempting prizes that will draw people in, like gift cards or a free TV. If you’re on a budget, you can offer a free trial or sample of the service or good that your company sells.

3. Provide a demonstration of your product or service for prospects. Telling people why your company is great is helpful, but showing them is better. If people see that you’re offering demos in your trade show booth, they’ll be more likely to stop by and check things out. Depending on the product or service you offer, you may be able to briefly show prospects what they can expect from your company.

• For example, if your company offers a communication software for businesses, you can set up a computer and have your staff demonstrate how the software works for prospects. You could also let people try out the software for themselves so they can get a feel for how easy it is to use.

4. Use technology to stand out and make your booth more interactive. Things like interactive touch screens, computers, and digital displays can help set your trade show booth apart from the crowd. You can use technology to display information in an interesting, visually appealing way, as well as to help prospects engage with your booth.

• For example, you could set up an interactive touch screen that people can tap on to learn more about the product or service your company offers.
• You could also put out tablets that prospects can use to test out your product when they stop by.