How the Design of the Pop-Up Stand Can Make All of the Difference

When you are trying to promote your brand; image and the design are absolutely everything. You can commit the majority of your budget towards a complex exhibition stand, but if the design is lacking, then it will drag the whole appeal of your exhibit down. Great designs play on human psychology and often these exemplary designs are dictated by underlying theories of what takes our interest. As you travel home later or when you are sat in front of the television, consider the adverts placed in front of you and look for techniques which they employ to grab your attention. This could be humour, excitement, a snappy headline or just something completely ridiculous like a talking meerkat.
Advertising agencies do very well for themselves because the work that they do can turn around a significant ROI for the companies they work for. The same concept can apply to the design of your pop-up stand. If it has a draw, something which helps it to stand out from the rest of the competition, then it can attract significantly more people to your stand throughout the day. We’ll explore some of the tips and tricks which graphic designers use to create effective exhibition stands and how you can apply them to your pop-up stand.

Layout Comes First

All great things begin with planning and a structure. If you have a few ideas floating around your head, then great, lay them out in front of you. A lot of mistakes can be made at this part of the process by making things look jumbled, cramped in certain areas or a complete mess. While this layout needs to look clean and tidy, it is important to remember that you want your most recognisable characteristic to be at the focal point of the pop-up stand. Whether that is your brand name, company logo or the product itself, make it sure it can be seen clearly from every angle.
This is the area where professional graphic designers can really become worth their weight in gold. Just because an idea looks spectacular in your head does not mean it will be able to translate onto the pop-up stand. Layouts often require a fine balance between bite size content and a moderate amount of space. They are also able to locate your key content in beneficial locations which are going to give the stand as much coverage as possible.

Images Must Be Clear and Concise

If there is one thing which is pivotal to avoid in the design of your pop-up stand, then it must be attracting unwanted attention because of a poor image. Whether you are designing your own or having it done professionally, images must be of a high resolution (at least 300 DPI) to ensure they appear crisp and clear once they are printed. The first place you might look may be on Google, but it is unlikely that you will find the perfect image there in the resolution you require. Stock photography sites such as Flickr and Shutterstock host thousands of images, available in a variety of resolutions are much more suitable for the use with your pop-up stand.
What makes images great, is that they are able to tell a story without introducing a huge wall of text. You may be showing a detailed diagram of your product or simply an image relating to the work that you do, but it is important to find one which is eye-catching and is also able to provide context on your brand as a whole. As a parting note, be careful when including too many images. Much like with the layout, cramming in as many images as possible can be confusing and often detracts away from the message you are trying to send out.

There Are More Colours Out There Than What You See On A Rainbow

Colour can be a wonderful visual tool which you can utilise to make your pop-up stand more appealing. While I’m sure you will be keen to integrate company branding where possible, be careful of introducing harsh colours such as primary reds, blues and yellows. Sure, these are certain to make a statement, but fundamentally, they are not particularly easy on the eye and can often overpower other elements of the design. Cooler colours such as pastel shades are often go-to choices for designers as they integrate far better and they help to keep your important statements at the forefront of the pop-up stand.

Use Text to Tell a Story in as Few Words as Possible

With all these elements laid out, all that is required now are a few choice words to really deliver your message. The most important factor to remember here is that passers-by may only look at your exhibition stand for a few seconds, so you need to deliver that message with short, succinct sentences. Consider when you travel past a billboard, often you may only glance at it, but the design keeps the message short and sweet so that you are able to register it in that short window that you pass it.
Walls of text simply do not work in this field of design. If you want to provide more information on the products and services that you provide, then save it for promotional material such as some leaflets. Similarly, vague and generally unrelated quotes are often unnecessary additions too. Your text needs to explain what you do and how you do it in under ten words ideally. So if your space is dominated by a philosophical quote, then this will just leave bystanders confused about the message you are trying to send out.
With these factors in mind, you should be equipped to begin designing your pop-up stand. As we have discussed in previous posts, it is generally not recommended that you take care of the work yourself unless you have experience in the field and the job is often best left to professional graphic designers. That said, it is still important to have some knowledge of what the design needs to look like to achieve the result that you want. While designers may have some fantastic ideas floating around, there is no guarantee that they will fit the goals that you are hoping to achieve.

Here at Go Displays, we can design and manufacture Pop-Up Stands and Streamline Exhibition Stands for you. We have been working with clients for over 40 years to create stands which deliver their message and we can take care of everything from the stand itself right through to the graphic design. If you would like any further information, then you are more than welcome to get in touch by calling 01733 232000 or by sending an e-mail to sales@go-displays.co.uk.