subject: The Secrets For Designing Graphics For Successful Trade Show Booths [print this page] The graphics that businesses use in trade show stands and incorporate elsewhere in the design play a huge role in determining the success of their trade show booths. They not only have to grab the attention of attendees, but they also need to get the company's unique message across within seconds of a potential lead seeing it. Unfortunately, too many exhibitors underestimate the power that graphics have on their success and often cut themselves short. Here are a few things to keep in mind when designing the visual aspects of an exhibit:
Stay Consistent
While it may be tempting to get fancy and combine a number of different fonts, concepts, and graphic styles, this just doesn't work. After all, attendees only have approximately three seconds maximum to see and 'read' the message on an exhibitor's trade show stands. Therefore, decide which styles and fonts work best with the image to be portrayed and stick with it. Try not to use more than two fonts or styles at a time.
Branding is also extremely important for successful trade show booths. Make sure the logo, colors, taglines, and other elements used in the company's branding are also used in the displays and marketing materials. This will help ensure it becomes memorable in the minds of attendees and extends the marketing efforts of the show.
Emphasize Benefits And Qualities, Not Products
Attendees visit trade show booths because they're looking for solutions to their problems or needs. They're looking for products and services that satisfy a specific need or have certain qualities. Therefore, don't make the mistake of simply showing off a shiny new product. Instead, help visitors make the connection between the products and services and their problems or needs by creating graphics that focus on the benefits and qualities of what the exhibit is showcasing.
Then, use that same graphics concept for the trade show stands on the other marketing materials in the display as well. This can include brochures, posters, leaflets and other materials attendees can take home with them.
Use White Space Effectively
Empty or 'white' space is just as important in the creation of graphics as the images and text. Make sure there is enough white space included in the design that the eyes can rest and focus on the important elements. Otherwise, the entire visual appears messy and simply too busy to be effective.
Companies can also use this power to their advantage. Use whitespace to segment the various elements and draw the eyes of attendees to the things that will have the most impact. If the design needs to be a little more attention grabbing, use brighter, bolder colors and opposites to give the display that 'wow' factor.
Because of the huge impact graphics can have on the effectiveness of trade show booths, it's worth an exhibitor's time to plan them out carefully. And by taking each of these important points into consideration, creating the perfect images and graphics for trade show stands is much easier than many people think.
