Our Top 10 Do's and Don'ts for Designing your Exhibition Stand!

Last week, we told you all about how business-beneficial it is to include exhibitions in your 2017 marketing plans, including the importance of a well-designed stand. 

All very well, you might be thinking, but how do you get started on designing that fabulous stand?  What should you think about, and crucially, what should you avoid?  If only you could find a team of experts who can help…that would be really fantastic, wouldn’t it?

Well, you’re in luck…because we’re that very team!  Read on for ten essential stand-design dos and don’ts, brought to you direct from our many years of hard-earned experience.  You’re welcome.

1. DO…keep information at eye level

The best stands work because they make it easy to absorb information, even as people hurry past. Don’t spend time crafting the perfect blend of punchy words and colourful graphics, only for it to end up hidden behind someone’s legs on exhibition day!

2. DO…hire a graphic designer who understands your business

People will notice images before they pay attention to words, so it’s really worth getting this one right.  Ask plenty of questions beforehand to make sure your designer can properly translate your business needs into striking images.

3. DO…understand that image quality counts

The quality of your images will reflect the quality of your customer. Blurry, offset images will impress nobody, except maybe the type of customer who doesn’t pay any attention whatsoever to detail – and as you probably already know, they’re often the hardest to deal with!

4. DON’T…think of your display as a brochure

People tend to concentrate on reading a brochure, so you can take time crafting stories they’ll relate to.  You won’t have that luxury with a stand – it needs to grab attention immediately, then move people on to their next encounter with you, whether that’s a chat during the exhibition or a follow-up afterwards.  Be short, simple and snappy.

5. DO…keep as generic as possible

Being too specific with your stand means people will have to concentrate to understand it.  Many won’t bother, so explain what you do in a quick, simple and easily-understood message that will speak to as many people as possible.

6. DON’T…allow anything to be printed without checking the proof

We mean anything.  Even if you can prove the printer messed up your perfect stand design, it’s your responsibility if you agreed the proof beforehand – so you carry the cost.  More importantly, you’ll be left with a stand you can’t use…and nobody wants that!

7. DO…understand that colour is important

Colour creates powerful associations.  Could you think about Coke without automatically picturing red and white, for example?  Ensure your stand incorporates bright, bold colours associated with your brand, and people will be more likely to remember you later on.

8. DO…know that scale is everything

What looks fantastic on a computer screen can end up cluttered or lost when transferred onto your stand…so make sure you check everything properly beforehand!

9. DON’T…font it up

In other words, don’t try to impress your audience with too many words!  Be clear, and let your bold colours and striking images do most of the talking.

10. DO…think of future uses for your stand

Of course, you’ll probably be able to make use of your stand at plenty of other events…but how about mounting it to the wall, or displaying it in your reception area when it’s not in use?

If you’d rather not go it alone at your next event, why not have a chat with our friendly team?  We’ll take all the pain out of designing your stand, so you can exhibit your business with confidence!  Simply contact us here.

5 reasons why you should go modular

 

Below is a list of 5 reasons why you should choose to go modular –

Zero Wastage

All of our custom modular stand solutions are 100% completely re-usable. This makes modular stands very green and great for the environment. After recently building a stand our client asked us what materials she needed to put on her wastage breakdown form, we replied with "Zero".

Flexible

Our range of custom modular exhibition systems can be shaped and re-shaped so they fit into any stand space you book.

Stylish

Gone are the days where modular equals boring square shapes, with our custom modular solution we can create beautiful eye catching curves, that will fool anyone into thinking that your stand is in fact a purpose built stand.

Economical

All our custom modular solutions are re-useable and without requiring you to purchase any new graphics. This makes the on-going costs really stack up against you old school purpose built MDF solutions.

Practical

We pre-build all our custom modular exhibition stand solutions at our show room in Leigh On Sea. This gives all our clients complete piece of mind before show day that their stand will be 100% ready on time. Seeing your stand in its full glory before show day, also allows for some pre-show marketing, showing visitors what they can expect to see, when they visit your stand.

If you would like more information on how our custom modular exhibition system can help your exhibition campaign, then please either visit our website - www.gdisplay.co.uk or call us on 01702 662111

British Antarctic Survey unveil their new Versaform Lite

BAS approached us as they were looking for a modular exhibition stand that was easy to transport and simple to set up. The required portable display stand needed to have the functionality to be able to swap over panels at ease, allowing them to display different messages for different events. They also wanted to be able to hang a LED screen from the exhibition stand.

BAS went with our Versaform lite system as it ticked all the boxes they required for an exhibition stand. This unique exhibition display stand showed BAS that not only would they be able to build the stand with no tools, it would fit into the boot of a car.

The first outing it was required for was New Scientist Live. This is an event that takes placed at Excel and is billed as a "festival of discovery" the show attracts some big names in the world of technology and science. The show contains 4 mesmerising zones that cover everything from the brain and body, to the earth and cosmos.

We always like to hear from our clients after the shows and we were very gratefully to receive the below feedback.

"Our first exhibition with the new material went really well and everyone was delighted with the stand so many thanks again. We had to adapt the layout slightly as both sides were open on the booth but it worked out better than before and the Versaform setup proved its versatility" Jamie Oliver BAS

   

Winners find a way..!!

This blog is a tale of how a never say die attitude is the only attitude to have in the exhibition game. We have a saying at Guardian “winners find a way” and this was never truer when we were recently faced with a severe lack of travel options when we had to be in Jersey.

When arriving at the airport our intrepid Gdisplay stand fitters were greeted with a smile at check in and told the flight to Jersey was cancelled, “Oh OK, what are our options” they retorted, “The next flight leaves on Saturday” Now this was not very helpful at all.  Our Jersey event started on Saturday at 10am and leaving the client without a stand was not an option.

The airline ring around began and it would appear that everyman and his dog was flying to Jersey on the same day as everything was full, Try a boat I hear you cry, Well there is only one boat that leaves for Jersey each day at 10am from Portsmouth and takes around 9 hours..!!

 More furious tapping was done into the internet to try and find anything. A Friday night flight was found, now this wasn’t ideal as it meant our plucky stand fitters would have to work through the night, and barring anything going wrong they would have the stand finished at roughly 9:30am. Now this was a solution, admittedly not the perfect solution as it was running things close, but a solution it was. This flight was booked as a back up, but the search carried on.

A flight to Dublin was found leaving tonight, with a transfer to Jersey late Friday morning, the thought of a Dublin stopover and a few pints of the black stuff, (purely medicinal to help sleeping), was more appealing than having to work through the night, however, should the transfer be cancelled, our lads would be further away than when they started..!!

How about Guernsey? Anything going to Guernsey tonight...??

And there was, a single flight leaving Gatwick in about 4 hours with space available, it was booked. The missing piece of the puzzle was then booked in a 20 min early morning flight going from Guernsey to Jersey. This combination got our soon to be well traveled lads on stand at exactly the same time as they would’ve originally.

The stand build all went to plan, with the flights coming back being a lot more straight forward.

If you are looking to attend an exhibition in the near future and you want to partner with a company you can trust and rely on, then contact us on 01702 662111 or visit our website www.gdisplay.co.uk