SignWeb | signweb.com

(November 2008) posted on Mon Nov 03, 2008

Use basic building blocks to set the stage for effective tradeshow graphics.

Tweet

By Jan Lorenc

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Throughout its 30-year history, Lorenc+Yoo Design (Roswell, GA) has been designing tradeshow exhibits for domestic and international clients, including UPS, Sony-Ericsson, Haworth and a number of real-estate development firms. We’ve created successful spaces that attract passersby and tell our clients’ stories in meaningful ways.

A tradeshow exhibit is a form of theatre. The stage shouldn’t obscure the plot. Instead, it must provide a setting and a context for the desired business outcome.

But, no matter how compelling the script, the design must draw us in and attract the right audience with the right message.

Here are 10 tips we keep in mind when we work with our clients.

• Focus on the client’s message. This is critical to creating a meaningful, plot-driven space. Sometimes, this means we must understand the client’s branding or backstory better than the client. Thus, the designer serves as an interpreter, challenging the client to ensure that style doesn’t trump clarity of substance.

• Use basic building blocks. We drill down to the basics when we begin the design process. In the book Working with Type: Exhibitions, Barbara Fahs Charles outlined five basic building blocks of tradeshow exhibits: products, words, spatial design, graphic design and lighting. No single element should be dominant – everything should support the storyline that we determine prior to drawing the first concept sketch. Some design elements have starring roles, and others take supporting roles. The best chorus performs when synchronized.

• Consider the big picture. Listen closely to your clients’ ideas, and return to them after having considered the primary focus. For example, if the client wants to use flat-screen, interactive technology, ask why. A PowerPoint slideshow won’t excite anyone, and your client probably doesn’t have the budget to hire Stephen Spielberg to produce a short film.

• Simplify. To keep the exhibit space focused, use simple gestures of color, white space, motion, scale and boldness.

• Insist on appropriate content. If the client can’t provide appropriate content, we ask if we can design simpler, more fitting graphics or work with its creative department to refine the message for the tradeshow’s specific context.

• Use a soft approach. Don’t plaster your graphical elements on the walls or ceiling. A soft approach not only focuses the message, but also communicates a basic respect to the exhibit’s guests that this company’s message is clear, simple and understandable.

• Consider the lifetime of the space. Is this exhibit going to be used once, or should it be designed to adapt to changing product lines or branding? Will it need to be continuously transported and stored, or can it be heavy? Tradeshow exhibits can either be designed with longevity in mind, or they can be highly temporary. We make sure we understand our clients’ intent, as well as their corporate culture. Recycling, for instance, can be on the top of a client’s mind … or not.

• Pay attention to detail. Details matter. Consider how acoustics work in the space. Should elements on the floor relate to a counterpoint design in the ceiling above? People notice the small stuff, and clients appreciate the attention.

• Be flexible. We design spaces for our clients, not merely for our own gratification. Sometimes conflict occurs, but good, respectful communication between the designer and the client usually remedies any problems we encounter. Don’t dig in.

• Exercise restraint. This is the key to making your client’s space stand apart from the pack. With all the bells and whistles at designers’ disposal today, far too many booths are abuzz with graphics, color, posters and monitors that hinder communication of the client’s brand message rather than illuminating it to new and profitable audiences.

In the end, a good designer who listens will make a great design and will keep his or her clients coming back for more.