Skyline Metro Chicago Presents Trade Show Event Exhibiting Tips

I had the chance to check out Graph Expo at McCormick Place last Thursday. The one thing that caught my eye at this year’s Graph Expo, more so than anything else, was overhead signage. You could find anything from basic tension fabric structures to more elaborate signage with multiple structures rigged in a single booth space. I found myself navigating around the show floor, not by way of the show book, but by identifying the hanging signage.

You definitely got a taste of what kind of booth you were going to walk into by looking at of the company’s hanging signage. If designed effectively, the overhead signage was an extension of the overall exhibit design. A few of the show’s larger exhibits went the extra mile and applied hanging illuminated signage over each category of their business. It left me with an impression of walking into a department store instead of a trade show booth.

Granted, there were a lot of hanging structures at this show which, at first glance, looked like a big clutter of colors. That is why it is even more imperative to invest more thought into what to hang over your booth at your next show. While the trade show industry and it’s technology advances, simple fabric structures may not have the same impact on attendees as it once did a few years ago. As an exhibit designer, one thing I will dedicate more time to in the future is overhead signage. It could quite possibly have a direct impact on the amount of traffic your booth space receives.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 17th, 2007 at 9:35 am and is filed under Trade Shows, Trade Show Exhibit Design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.