So you have finally made up your mind to promote your company through a trade show. You’ve decided what products you want to promote but want help in designing the graphics and the layout of the trade show stand. You obviously need to have a set of consistent high quality graphics as these important to communicate your brand to your audience. But initially you have to decide what equipment you are going to purchase in order to get the most out of your trade show appearance. Let’s break down the equipment needed to make up a trade show stand.

The piece of equipment that stands out most in a trade show is a trade show stand or exhibition stand. There are many different types of trade show stands ranging from shell scheme stands, gantry stands to the much cheaper folding panel stands.

Shell Scheme Graphic Stands

A Shell scheme stand is a modular exhibition system and normally comes in one metre modules and can be built to any size to suit the exhibitor’s requirements. It is a stand supported by aluminium poles and is quite basic in design. Shell scheme stands are normally suited for exhibitors who don’t have a lot of floor space. Although shell scheme graphics look fairly simple,

they can be heavily enhanced by stunning graphics to entice visitors to come to your stand.

Exhibition Truss Stands

Exhibition truss stands like shell scheme stands, are also modular in nature. However, these stands are generally larger hence having a higher visual impact due to its size. Truss stands (also known as gantry stands) are lightweight despite its size and is easily customisable. Despite the fact that they are generally used as larger stands, they can be constructed to any size to suit.



Pop Up Stands

These freestanding stands consists of large format displays with graphics and are highly portable. Although not as large as shell scheme and gantry stands, they are very easy to use and can be assembled and disassembled very quickly. They are ideal for small exhibitions where space is limited. You can purchase pop up stands on their own or they can be purchased as a kit. The kit normally includes the pop up stand, two banner stands, a literature rack for displaying brochures,halogen lights and an exhibition counter. Some kits also come with trolleys for carrying the kit around.

Display Boards

Perhaps the simplest and least expensive form of stand you can buy is the display board. This consists of a few panels joined together with velcro on the surface. Graphics can be designed to attached perfectly onto the velcro. There are free standing display boards and there are table top display boards. The table top display boards offer more portability and you can place items on the table.Bear in mind that display boards are most suited for small trade fairs with limited space.

When planning your exhibition it important to take into account the trade show you plan to exhibit,  your budget, the space you plan occupy within the premises as well as the type of product you sell. It is also important to establish your goal during the exhibition. If your product requires onscreen demonstration then a monitor stand or ipad holder would be a good investment to compliment your stand. Remember that when creating an exhibition stand, size doesn’t always mean bigger impact. It is the whole customer experience that is more important which will entail what information the customer will walk away with. This information will be transmitted via brochures, leaflets, online demos, videos and last but not least the sales staff.

The customer must be able to engage your products or services as much as possible. Think about what tools can help your customers experience your product. Think of what the customer will expect when they visit your stand. Think of what they don’t expect. Have a surprise or two for them.