subject: Four Rules to Remember When Designing Trade Show Display Graphics [print this page] Four Rules to Remember When Designing Trade Show Display Graphics
Trade shows are an excellent way to get maximum exposure and make your target audience aware of your business. With only 3-5 seconds to gain the attention of the attendees, your trade show graphics can make or break your trade show booth. Here are a few rules to remember when designing your graphics.
#1 Keep it Simple
Your graphics should answer 3 questions:
Who you are
What you sell
What benefits your products can offer
This should be done in only 1 or 2 short and sweet sentences. Also, only one or two large photos should be used. If too much information is crammed into your trade show booth, it will cause attendees to look the other way. No one wants to feel like they have to read paragraphs of text before they can even figure out who you are. Instead of drawing attention to your trade show exhibit, you'll end up getting ignored and forgotten about.
#2 Use Bold Colors
Use bold colors, like red, orange, yellow, and green to stand out. Avoid colors like brown and tan because they tend to blend into the background.
#3 Think of Billboards
When you're driving along the highway, what do you notice about the billboards? They are sweet, simple, and are easy to understand while driving. Your trade show graphics should use the same concept. Think of the attendees as cars driving down the highway. You have a limited amount of time to get their attention, so make sure your trade show displays are easy to understand from a distance.
Mistakes exhibitors often make are trying to design their trade show graphics to resemble brochures. As I said before, simplicity is critical to having memorable trade show graphics. Most people aren't going to want to stop and read paragraphs of information when there are dozens, maybe hundreds, or other trade show booths to look at.
#4 Use Large, Legible Font
A common font used is Ariel because they are easy to read. Make sure to use text size that is large enough to read from 3 trade show booths away, but not too large where it takes up too much valuable graphic space.
It may sound like a good idea to use a font that swirls the letters and looks like cursive, but that can also be the hardest font to read. The attendees shouldn't have to guess what it is you are trying to say. This type of text will ultimately hurt you instead of helping.
To sum it all up:
Use only one or two large photos and a short and sweet sentence or two that tells attendees who you are
Avoid fancy fonts
Use bold colors that will catch the attention of your audience.
