Designing Trade Show Graphics
Graphics are the most integral part of any trade show display system, so be sure that your graphics make the best use of images and text. Most trade show attendees will spend very little time looking at the textual content of your booth (about 3 seconds if you're lucky), so you need to have bold images and text that will grab their attention quickly.
Don't try to explain every detail about your company on your trade show booth. Many companies fill their valuable graphic space with tons of text that most attendees will never read. It is the job of your display staff, not your display, to educate attendees on the details of your products and/or services. Make sure your trade show display is designed with the specific goal of luring potential leads to your booth area.
Generally, avoid low-contrast images. Instead, try using bold, vibrant colors that are bright, but not overwhelming. Use colors that compliment your product. For example, if you're company sells food, try adding some red into your booth. It has a tendency to make people hungry. Why do you think all the fast food restaurants use red on their signs? That's not to say you shouldn't use red for things not involving food, just look at the example above.
Make sure your images are high enough resolution to be used for large-format printing. We typically recommend 100 DPI at actual size. This can easily be determined using a program such as Adobe Photoshop under the menu item: "Image: Image Size". It is often difficult to find very large images so never assume it will not be a problem. You never want to use images off the web as they will be much too small. Once you've sized your image to the appropriate size, you can view it at "actual size" or "actual pixels" to get an idea of what it will look like once it's printed.
For more information on image set-up and excepted file formats visit our Send Artwork section.
