Designing an Exhibition Stand for the Ten-Metre Glance

A stand is judged twice. First from the aisle, in a second or less, and only then from close up. Most of our design time goes on the first judgement, because if a stand fails it nobody will ever see the second.

From ten metres away, detail disappears. What survives is silhouette, colour and one clear idea. We test every stand design by shrinking the render to thumbnail size and squinting. If you cannot tell whose stand it is and what it is for, the design is too busy.

Height does a lot of the work. Show floors are crowded and sightlines are short, so the brand has to sit above head height, on a structure or a hanging element, where it can be seen over the crowd. Then the lower levels can be for people, with warm light, seating and something to touch.

Light is the second tool. A well-lit stand in a dim hall draws people in the way a shop window does. We design the lighting at the same time as the structure, not afterwards, and we render the stand in the surrounding hall wherever we know the show layout.

Then comes the closer look. Once someone has stopped, they need a reason to stay. That might be a product, a demonstration, a conversation area or a kinetic installation. The lesson from our own earliest event work, which began with box stands for Virgin Media, is that movement in a static room is hard to ignore.

Finally, plan for the people working the stand. Where do they stand, where do they store coats and stock, and how does a visitor know where to walk in? A stand that photographs beautifully but traps its own staff has failed.

Whether it is a hospitality conference or a global sponsorship event, the order is the same: glance, pull, stay. Design in that order and the details fall into place.