Over the last few years, trade show displays have become increasingly sophisticated. The days when showing up at the venue was enough are long gone: there was a time when your booth only needed some table covers and maybe a banner stand. Back then, talking about professionalism mostly referred to your business core function. Nowadays, trade show booth design is science, and exhibits require professional preparation from various disciplines. Here we explain the advantages of getting professional services for the key element of your booth: graphic design.

Of course, efforts oriented at getting a good graphic design in your booth have to be coherent with all the other different levels of event planning: budget, event promotion, and PR, as well as staffing and training. What we would like to do here is give you sound reasons to invest in your trade show graphics, instead of relying on a do-it-yourself approach.

What do we mean by professional graphic services?

In the face-to-face marketing arena, visual signals are key to reach your audience: you want to grab their attention, connect their perceptions with your message, and create an adequate atmosphere for business interactions. Any graphic design service willing to be considered professional should demonstrate trade show experience through a sufficiently good portfolio: their projects should provide evidence of adequately covering all three key aspects.

An eye-catching display

Of course, the first requirement you can think of for a trade show booth is visibility, a feature that must be understood in three ways. First, it should clearly differentiate your brand and product from competitors. Second, it should somehow stand out above them. Finally, it should be easy for any attendee at the tradeshow or convention hall to see you from their standpoint.

Whereas the distinctiveness of your brand is sort of an obvious feature, you want to deliver a trade show graphic image that embodies your brand personality while being truly unique at that particular event. If your brand is widely recognizable in your industry, your competitors will try to outsmart your design with colors, shapes or images that dazzle visitors away from you. However, there’s a delicate balance in eye-catching design, as you approach the thin line between creating a striking image and something that’s just overdone.

Size does matter

Graphic design has a wide range of applications, and trade show exhibits are a peculiar one. A display designer’s most difficult task is creating a composition that works both from a long distance and within close range. That’s not an easy feat to accomplish. Experienced graphic designers are required to accommodate a highly-effective large format appeal and a solid close-at-hand visual layout.

One thing to keep in mind is most of the work that average graphic designers currently do, goes to small format print or digital media. The very scale of a larger-than-life print turns out to be extremely challenging. Obviously, you want to be seen from afar, but you simply cannot just scale up a small design. The danger resides mainly in focusing on the massive aspects of the design only, which might result in an overwhelmed visitor. For example, trade show attendees may feel crushed under humongous typography. It’s not an easy balance to achieve and you need to compromise. You definitely need an expert.

Invest with confidence

Proper professional graphic design is simply invaluable when you consider the awful consequences of going without. Think of all the expenditures in your trade show presence: space rental, booth purchase, trade show services at the venue, shipping and drayage, staffing and travel. All these will go to waste if your booth does not adequately communicate your messaging. Good graphic design not only enhances the features of your product and services, but it also helps you take advantage of functional elements in your exhibit, such as backlighting or three-dimensional components. It effectively multiplies your efforts by increasing visitor awareness and thus lead potential. If you are thinking about saving money, try to save effectively, not dangerously. Keep design as a top priority and you’ll see returns flow back naturally.

How can we help?

Ok. You’ve got it. You are ready to invest in your exhibit’s design, and now it is time to buy those trade show banner stands, hanging banners and flags, literature stands, tension fabric backwalls, backlit displays, and display racks for your next trade show. Where to go? Why not consider a place where you can find professional graphic design services along with all the rest? Select an experienced provider that guarantees the highest quality at the best price, together with impeccable graphic design. Find a provider you can count on.

*DiscountDisplays.com offers two hours of free graphic design, guaranteed by extensive experience as trade show exhibit manufacturer and distributor.