Exhibition Space Design and Signage
Successful exhibition and event signage, and signage in general, can be a powerful tool in marketing your business at a trade show. The cost may be substantial because of the large amount of material used to produce the signage, however this would (most likely) be offset by the exposure you would gain from a successful marketing campaign.
Designing Exhibition and Event Signage for Melbourne Businesses
I’ve created exhibition signage for several companies, but two companies in particular spring to mind – both located in Melbourne. The printing process was undertaken by local companies, too, which made it easy to work in conjunction with. They also assisted with the construction of the banners themselves. The reason why that’s an asset to the process is that large format printing can be a somewhat difficult operation.
Working with the exhibition space
There’s plenty of factors that should be considered, including location of exhibition, booth location, physical space, visibility, lighting and mood of the exhibition itself. It’s important to have a stand that factors in all of those considerations. For example, demographic plays an important factor in the design of the signage because as a promotional tool, you want the target audience to appeal to what you have on display.
Signage design considerations
Viewable Angles
When working on the design for signage at exhibition spaces, it’s important to consider viewing angles. At what angles on a horizontal plane can the artwork be viewed? Will signage be cut off or obscured by additional, manmade elements such as tables, stools and chairs? How can we maximise the brand exposure on the signage itself? The logo of the business should be viewable as practically as possible.
Text and Content
Furthermore, something I always consider is average human height. When you think about signage within a booth, especially with readable elements such as text or iconography, what’s the ideal range to view the content? And, will the content be obscured by other people. Hierarchy of text also plays a role in this case, as perhaps the heading should be the reading element from a far, and subsequent text should be read up close.
Graphics and Artwork
In terms of the artwork itself that is displayed on the signage, a lot of companies want as many vibrant colours as possible to highlight their booth. This might, in fact, draw eyes to your booth, but will it be for the right reasons? You always want your branding material to reflect your product or service.
Marketing your graphics towards your specific target audience is proven to be the best way to sell product / service. Bentley, an expensive automotive manufacturer, use subtle monochromatic tones to sell their premium product. It adds to the depth and quality of their product. And, rightly so. It’s one of the most expensive cars in the world. Toyota, on the other hand, tend to use a lot more colour with a lot more vibrancy to make their product appeal to a broader, cheaper target demographic.
Additional design assets for a successful marketing campaign
Of course, it’s important to remember the other assets in conjunction with your exhibition booth signage, such as a brochure showcasing your product or service, perhaps a flyer to quickly show customers what you offer, and business cards to introduce yourself and employees. Pull-up banners are also a great way of capturing the attention of viewers with short, sharp messages or visuals. All these types of touchpoints are important to impressing potential customers. Why? Because, customers love to see professionalism, quality and most importantly be able to trust the business.