Trade show display

7 Elements That Make for Great Trade Show Displays

Making sure you stand out at a trade show is essential to making it successful for your business. Your exhibit design needs to be unique from the competition in a sea of competing colors and booths. At the same time, you also want to make sure that the message you’re trying to send is clear and memorable—one that when anyone walks by it, they instantly know how your brand can help them.

Time and time again, we see many businesses struggle with creating successful trade show displays. At The H&H Group, we want to help your booth stand out with professional event signage. For nearly 50 years, our pop-up displays, wall coverings, floor graphics, retractable banner stands, and kiosks have helped businesses like yours get noticed and earn promising leads at various tradeshows and conferences.

Today, we’re offering seven tips to optimize trade show booths to make your booth as successful as it can be. Be sure to contact our team today to see how we can help you make the most of your sign display and stand out from the crowd at your next promotional event.

1. Remember to Keep Your ONE Goal in Mind

The first thing you should be asking yourself when starting the design process of your trade show display is, “What is my goal?” Whether you’re increasing your brand awareness, pushing a new campaign, or promoting a new product, you should know the answer.

You want to know your goal, but limit it to one goal. Having more than one goal or idea could muddy up the rest of the design process. Keeping it limited will help your business’ exhibit design stay focused and clear. You want people to walk away from your booth knowing your brand’s message and how you can help them.

2. Create Your Brand’s Story

You and your employees all know what your business and brand are about, but how do you convey that to potential customers or clients with just visuals?

Telling your brand’s story can be as simple as a logo and slogan, or it can be more elaborate and include the history of your company. It’s not always simple, but The H&H Group will work with you to create the best signage and products possible to convey your story effectively and consistently.

Remember that your booth and exhibit design should be honest—you want to connect with your audience and pull them in to learn more. The visuals you create attract people walking by your trade show display, but it’s your brand story that will engage them.

3. Make It Interactive

Having passive displays during a trade show exhibit is effective, but engaging an audience with interactive booth design is even better. Now, this doesn’t just mean creating a video or having samples of products lying out—it can also mean creating activities for people. This strategy is called engagement marketing.

If you’ve ever been to a trade show as an attendee, you likely collected a lot of giveaways and pamphlets while walking through the convention hall. You also probably entered to win prizes or played games in an attempt to win a better handout (like a t-shirt, for example).

Even if you just wanted a t-shirt, you likely remember the name of the company and what their brand was about—and you can do the same for your business! Exposure is essential for your brand, so get creative and think of something interactive to add to your booth design. Need some ideas? Our design experts can help!

4. Keep the Message Above Waist Height

Have you ever been looking for something in your house, but you forgot to look above or below you? We’re all guilty of it because we often overlook something unless it’s within direct eyesight. This idea is an excellent concept to remember when planning your trade show display.

Most of the time, people walking by your trade show booth aren’t going to look at what’s on the front of your table cover because they’re either too distracted by what’s at eye level or can’t see it because of other people standing in front of it.

Retractable banners are an excellent option to grab people’s attention because of their height. While it’s essential that you still have your logo and brand colors on point for all your display elements, you want to ensure your main message is displayed above the waist, approximately three to four feet from the ground. People should be able to see what your business is from a distance without having to wade through a sea of people.

5. Be Intentional About White Space

White space can be your best friend when you’re designing your trade show display, so don’t be afraid of it. Adding more colors to your exhibit booth design does not mean it will stand out more. In fact, adding too many colors can make your booth stand out for all the wrong reasons.

Covering an entire surface with photos can be overwhelming for people to look at, but with intelligent design, you can draw people in with a simple glance. White space can help your design breathe and give wandering eyes a break from bold colors. Just remember: don’t overdesign and keep your display simple without being boring—people will thank you for it in the long run.

6. Use a Choice Number of Bright and Bold Colors

Lancaster Cupcake sign

While this may seem the opposite of the advice we just gave, using bright and bold colors in the right ways can be effective when balanced with proper white space.

Depending on your brand, using cool colors can have a more calming and professional vibe. At the same time, using brighter and warmer colors can be more eye-catching but can also be too overwhelming if used in excess. Whatever colors you choose, you’ll want your business to stand out, so try to avoid too many neutral or muted color tones.

7. Don’t Skimp on Image Resolution

With smartphones everywhere you look nowadays, most people assume that the photos they take on their phones will be good enough for their trade show displays. While the quality of most cell phone photos is relatively decent, the resolution (or image size) is likely going to be way too small for your large exhibit design. The H&H Group can help you determine the specifications for whatever you plan on designing, but we also highly recommend using professional-quality photographs for your display.

You want the images and graphics on your booth to look clean and crisp from a distance and up close, so make sure you have a professional designer to help ensure nothing gets pixelated, stretched, or distorted on your display.

For High-Quality Trade Show Displays, Contact The H&H Group!

No matter what your next event is, The H&H Group wants to help elevate your business and its trade show displays to the next level. Our team always strives to make projects succeed with fast turnaround times, nothing but the highest quality work, and custom graphics. Don’t waste time with other companies who look at you as just another client number.

You deserve design professionals who care almost as much as you do about your company. The friendly, reliable design experts at The H&H Group are ready to help your business succeed at your next tradeshow. Start a conversation with us today, and you’ll see that we’re the right fit for your business needs!