In trade show marketing, your success begins with the booth. And so does your budget. On average, the trade show booth space itself is (by far) the largest portion of your trade show budget, at 35%, and the booth’s design and construction, including graphics, comprise another 17%, according to Exhibitor Magazine.

But extracting every cent of value out of your trade show booth investment is easier said than done. Read on to learn the ins and outs of designing an incredible trade show booth, choosing a layout, and landing the best spot on the floor.

Trade Show Booth Design: Objectives, Colors, Layout and Flooring

Nailing Down Your Objectives

Your trade show booth is a marketing tool. And before you choose—or design—any tool, you should know exactly what you want that tool to help you accomplish. Is your main objective to increase brand awareness? Close sales? Or generate leads?

By answering these questions upfront, you’ll be able to make more educated decisions about what features need to be included with your booth. For example, if closing sales is your primary goal, you’ll likely want some private, secluded space in your booth for more intimate conversations.

Choose Your Colors Carefully

According to one study, when interacting with people or products, “62% – 90% of the assessment is based on colors alone.” This goes to show just how important it is to carefully consider what colors you choose to include in your trade show booth, both to differentiate your brand from competitors and to influence your prospects’ moods.

Of course, you’ll want to stay consistent with your brand, but be cognizant of how different colors may or may not attract visitors to your booth.

Purchase Your Tradeshow booth from a Quality Printer

The color quality, texture, materials, and design of your booth’s graphics will influence whether or not prospects decide to visit your booth. Use a reputable partner to create trade show graphics, from backlit graphics and displays to specialized event signage, that present your company in its best light.

And don’t make the common mistake of ignoring the importance of your booth’s flooring. Since the trade show floor itself may be a bit drab, this presents an opportunity for you to make your booth stand out in a subtle way. You can also add distinctive floor graphics to give your visitors a strong sense of place when visiting your booth.

Deciding on a Trade Show Booth Layout

The layout of your booth will strongly influence how people move about and interact with your salespeople, products, and other display items. Because of this, choosing a layout is a decision that should be heavily based on your objectives.

Exhibitor Magazine’s design experts overview 6 of the most common booth layouts, which are:

Axis: Products, graphics, and salespeople revolve around a large, central structure.
Centerpiece: An open layout with direct access to a centerpiece that serves as the single focus.
Fortress: An “immersive environment” that’s walled off to present special products and private meeting spaces.
Theater: Ideal for presentations—for example, demos. This layout may be surrounded with additional design elements.
Conglomeration: An “arbitrary arrangement of shapes, activities, and elements.”
Plaza: An open space surrounded by design features and structures.

Choosing the Exhibit Spot

The old real estate cliche about the importance of location is just as relevant in tradeshow marketing. Even the most well-designed, thoughtfully laid-out trade show booth will fail to do its job if it’s hard to access or its visuals are buried behind other displays.

If possible, before choosing the spot for your exhibit, check out the venue itself so you can see the space in person. Pay attention to access and lighting to visualize the benefits and drawbacks of different locations on the floor. Whoever is putting on the trade show should also have a map with other vendors’ and their locations which you should take a look at.

Need More Design Examples to Spark Ideas for Your Next Trade Show?

When it comes to trade show booth displays, graphics, flooring, and more, Riot Creative Imaging has done it all. Explore their wide range of trade show displays and their full suite of design capabilities to see inspirational examples of what you could do with your next trade show booth design.

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