Feb 09, 2024
Booth Ideas & Examples
Design
3 Future-Proof Trade Show Booth Design Ideas
3 Future-Proof Trade Show Booth Design Ideas
From a run of the mill, everyday product to the groundbreaking, tech advanced gadget, often times it’s not the product itself that sells but rather the ingenuity behind how it’s displayed. If you are worried that your booth design and it’s displays someday becoming obsolete, here are a few new and unique trade show booth design ideas to future proof your investment.
1.Recessed Product Displays
A recessed trade show product display is a great solution for improving existing exhibit structures. Placing boundaries around the object focuses greater attention towards the inset display, making it stand out from a distance. You could think of it as the importance of a frame surrounding a picture. Below are several ways to make recessed displays even more attractive.
Ensuring Proper Lighting:
When it comes to lighting, a greater deal of focus should be on the housing. The housing is the design that will hold and surround the lights which in most cases, should be hidden. LED strip lighting is a common method that also allows for full spectrum color adjustments. Make sure the housing is properly supported and is attractive to the eye
Creating Contrast:
Think of the contrast as the look that your product gives off against a backdrop. You can embellish contrast in a few different ways;
1. Vary the background against the product. If the exhibit wall in question has a lot of trade show graphics a heavy a solid color is best. Inversely, a plain wall will have more opportunity to use image heavy boxes.
2. Again, use lighting to create contrast or emphasize colors within the product. Is the product green? Use a dark wall, a white box and green lighting.
3. Mirrored and textured boxes also amplify the product but in some cases could detract from the exclusivity of the recessed display and product itself.
Small Product Strategies:
Small products offer the flexibility of experimenting with different recessed display design ideas such as varying backdrops dependent on that day’s promo/availability and creating a rhythmic effect with multiple versions of the same product at different angles.
Large Product Gusto:
Got a big product? Go for the gusto with products appearing submerged into the floor. Heck, if your booth was large enough, say a 20×20′ booth or above, you could dedicate an entire section of the booth, say cutting a closet, and make it a full glass demo room!
Recessed Product Displays are relatively easy to execute when using the correct modular exhibit system. Of course, custom exhibit fabrication allows for greater flexibility in design, placement, sizing, etc.
2.Product Demo Displays
With product oriented exhibits being the large majority of all trade show booth designs, attention-grabbing demonstrations could mean the difference between a quick glance or a sale. Here are a few custom trade show booth design ideas you can incorporate into your product demos:
Adding Motion:
People are attracted to activity. Your tradeshow-booth could seek to incorporate your product in motion. This could be as simple as a rotating turntable display or as intricate as full demo manned with booth staff, neither of which will become obsolete in the near future.
Turn it into a game:
Involve the audience! Get the crowd hands on with the product by designing an activity that they might find engaging. Lego does it right every time. Being a 100% hands on product they always have a way to interact collaboratively with their product. Almost all video game booths we’ve designed have had consoles or VR stages set-up waiting for competition. Take it a step further and project the demo up high for added exposure.
Repurpose and Recycle:
You can incorporate unique ideas of positioning your product at trade shows. A common idea we’ve done is to ditch the booth setup entirely and repurpose a mobile marketing vehicle where interested parties can walk inside and have a look at your products from within. The multipurpose concept allows for reduced costs in unison with an experiential mobile campaign but if not executed correctly, they can look “lazy” to the savvy attendee. As long as we continue to drive, these will never become outdated.
3.Tablescaping Displays
A more cost-conscious technique is product tablescaping. Tablescaping involves communicating a story about your product through many small items placed strategically (you guessed it) on top of a table. Although tablescaping does not scream “future-proof”, it is a technique that has been around for ages and will most likely continue to do so. It’s classic feel makes it a prime candidate for a themed trade show booth design. Beware!!! This is not the standard pop up table. If a tablescape is on the…table, here are some best practices:
Match the Style:
Make sure to set the display to match the context surrounding your product! Nothing will look worse than a tablescape that looks like it was randomly set-up as a result of a missing display or poor trade show planning. This means table material (do not use a pop-up with a drape!), accessibility, placement, etc.
Proper Lighting:
Lighting should be arranged around the important elements of the tablescape in order to draw additional attention. Again, match the style! This is critical when tablescaping.
If you are using backlit SEG panels, do not use standard desk lamps! Careful planning should be taken to ensure electrical drops are properly placed as well. No extension cords with duct tape over them!
Product Usage:
The involved components should maximize the use of the product to onlookers. For example, companies that are launching a fitness watch and app could layout the table displaying the watch accompanied with a mobile device with the app ready to use. Is it waterproof? Why not stick it in a mock beach setting it in sand next to water?
Touch Tables:
If budget allows, full-size touch tables are now available. These tables allow are a huge attention grabber and can display virtually anything on them. They’re a statement piece and future-proof for sure!
Final Thoughts:
It may not seem to be worth the time, investment and energy to future-proof these outside the box trade show booth display ideas but when you picture your product next to an almost identical one in the booth next door it suddenly starts to make sense. We have talked to too many exhibitors that look back on how the show went and wished they took that extra step.
Tongue in cheek moments like these should not be taken for granted. It’s the brave and risky exhibitors that see gains in success. Your product may not be future-proof but your trade show display can be.