The DCE Agency Creative Team put their heart and soul into our exhibition stand designs; always striving to create the most captivating and memorable spaces possible. While of course the final result is always a collaborative effort between us and your business, there’s lots to be considered aside from just your brand colours, logo positioning and messaging.
The psychology behind design elements can play a huge part in how and why your stand is approached by attendees, far beyond brand aesthetics and an interest to learn more. Read on for some key points to consider.
Grab Attention
While it may be that attendees to shows and events you’re exhibiting at see and interact with your company often, identifying the brand in a different space may be trickier. It’s important that branding stays coherent (and therefore easily recognisable) across every domain; so that the space is easily identified as belonging to you. Colour palettes and shapes can be experimented with, but it is imperative that your branding remains front and centre so there can be no misunderstanding about who you are and what you do.
Capturing attention to a brand’s stand and making it stand out amongst an otherwise crowded exhibition hall can be done easily by thinking outside of the box. For example, many DCE Agency designed stands have hanging logos to display in space otherwise unused with a clear field of vision around the event, and customers like Kraken play with their branding – see their fantastic octopus tentacle features!
Cover All Interaction Levels
Some event attendees intend to visit everyone they can while present and interact as much as possible; and indeed it would be fantastic if every brand could be guaranteed such consistent enthusiasm but unfortunately this simply isn’t the case every time. The key to be welcoming to all attendees is to ensure that your stand caters for all interaction levels.
This includes facilitating an area for ‘self-serve’ where attendees can wander in and benefit from brand messaging even without needing to interact with a human being, an area for light interaction and somewhere more ‘settling’ for a full conversation. Such a layout presents everyone with an option that suits them, no matter how much they intend to get involved (or not).
Looking To Really Engage? Include Comfortable Space For Meaningful Conversation.
If your brand is intending to have full conversations or meetings with attendees, a dedicated space allowing for this should be included in your stand design. This might be a sofa or seating area with beverages for more informal chats or a separate meeting room for full sessions.
A separate, more private area of your stand also allows for staff briefings, presentations and a ‘break out’ space.
Consider Colour
Colour psychology is something that most business’ branding is designed with in mind, as certain hues and tones evoke particular feelings and align with the brand identity overall. If your immediate brand guidelines don’t allow for a colour palette to reflect your intentions of the messaging on the stand, consider using secondary or third shades to achieve this.
Generally speaking, yellow is said to reflect optimism (Subway, McDonalds, IKEA), red excitement and bold behaviour (Coca-Cola, Netflix, Virgin), and blue trustworthiness and reliability (Dell, Pfizer, Barclays). Orange is favoured by those looking to reflect friendliness and fun (Nickolodeon, Fanta, Hooters), purple by those reflecting creativity (SyFy, Twitch, Yahoo) and grey balance and peace (The Telegraph, Apple, Wikipedia). Indeed one of DCE Agency’s most popular stands belongs to Kraken who present in a bold fuschia shade of pink, reflecting compassion and sincerity (Lyft, Barbie, T-Mobile).
Make Your Stand Shareable
Even if visitors to your brand at an event don’t convert into a customer, they can still very much act as an advocate for the business. Including something shareable or ‘snappable’ on a stand affords the opportunity to take a photo and post about it online – be it on LinkedIn, personal social media or in an email to others.
A competition or giveaway dependent on a post can drive sharing behaviour, or the inclusion of a photo-booth or hashtag. Whatever you choose, do different to your competitors to really stand out and to maximise your chances of getting attention: both online and off.
Shout About Sustainability
People love to think they’re doing something good for the world – and better than that, they love to tell others about it when they do. If your brand is presenting on a sustainable stand (DCE Agency certainly have plenty of experience in designing them!) or taking part in any kind of ethical giveaway such as tree planting, be sure to make this messaging prominent to encourage visitors to share it onwards.
Good news stories are so often left untold by businesses as they focus instead on core sales; but by staying true to your brand values and letting audiences know how you differ from others for the better, attendees are more likely to remember your brand presence and to talk about it to others.
Go With The Flow
People are naturally drawn to easily navigable journeys that lead to more interaction along the way. Designing a stand with a layout that plays into this instinct guides visitors through without them even realising how they’re being ‘processed’ allows for natural progression that can mirror your desired customer touchpoints and conversions.
The DCE Agency team can advise on the strategic placement of focal stand points, key messaging and important exhibits to maintain interest as visitor pass through.
Work With The Experts
When it comes to event presence, no one knows how to make an impression more than the DCE Agency team. We understand the psychology of design and manage your whole exhibition project from end-to-end. Call John (john@dceagency.com) today on +447595 895836 to discuss making memories and converting customers at your events.
