7 Steps to Designing an Indoor Trade Show or Craft Fair Booth

This past week we posted a 4 part blog series that took you through the 7 steps to design the latest Nunn Design Trade Show Booth. Our new booth debuted at the To Bead True Blue Show in Tucson Arizona in February of 2018.

There are many decisions to be made when designing an indoor trade show or craft fair booth. I broke down my design process into 7 steps:

Step 1: Trade Show Booth Side Walls
Step 2: Signage
Step 3: Trade Show Tables
Step 4: Lighting
Step 5: Displays
Step 6: Floor
Step 7: Shipping

Here is a summary of my thoughts, questions I asked myself, research I did, tips I learned, and resources I discovered. I hope that this series of blog posts will jump start your own creative process and make this task less daunting to execute.

Step 1: Trade Show Booth Side Walls

For the trade show booth walls, I knew that I had a limited amount of design solutions to decide from. Those options were:

-Option a: Hard Framed Walls:
-Option b: Fabric Walls:

To learn about how I made me decision and how I executed the trade show booth side walls, read this post!

• Read: Step 1: Trade Show Booth Side Walls

What to Buy!

• Fabric
• Ritz Fabric Dye-Charcoal Gray (we used 6 bottles!)
• Fabric Fuse Tape
• Two 8’ Wooden Dowels (local hardware store)
• Fabric Steamer

Step 2: Signage

For the back wall of the booth I wanted to have a series of photographs that would easily communicate “what we do.” To learn about designing the signage, read this post!

• Read: Step 2: Signage

What to Buy!

• Wooden Frames
• Quality Prints-David Conklin Photography
• Foam Core
• Spray Mount
• Heavy Gauge Wire

Step 3: Trade Show Tables

My husband Brett was the mastermind behind the construction of the tables. He suggested trestle style legs for the base with a wood surface for the top. I wasn’t sure what a “trestle style leg” even was! To learn about the Trade Show Tables that Brett made and how to create them, read this post!

• Read: Step 3: Trade Show Tables

What to Buy!

• IKEA Trestle Legs
• 10 kiln dried tight knot cedar boards 1” x 6” x 10’
• Velcro
• Wolfcraft 5/16” Dowel Pins
• 4 Brass Cup Hooks
• 2 Uline Boxes S-20417 60 x 12 x 12

Step 4: Lighting

To get clear on my lighting needs, I started by making my list of questions. (Are you seeing a pattern in my process for designing? I tend to ask myself a lot of questions and get clear on what it is that I’m trying to solve.) To learn about the list of questions and the design solutions for lighting, read this post!

• Read: Step 4: Lighting

What to Buy for the Lighting:

• Signage Lighting
• Table Lighting
• Replacement Bulbs or Table Lighting
• Extention Cords
• Power Strip

Step 5: Displays

I have an abundance of displays from past trade shows. Mannequins, a spinner display, vintage tins, vintage type trays, wire baskets, stacking wood displays and more. To learn about the variety of displays and where to buy some of them, read this post!

• Read: Step 5: Displays

What to Buy!

• Walnut Ink
• Vintage Type Tray Displays
• Wire Baskets
• Matte Board
• Wooden Stacking Displays
• Repurposed Bracelet Display

Step 6: Flooring

To be honest, I had this Turkish Kilim rug in my past trade show booth stash. I bought it over 25 years ago from a friend who was importing them direct. Sometimes I think about how crazy it is that I bring such nice things to trade shows, but heck, I’m into using things that I have! To see the flooring option we used, read this post!

• Read: Step 6: Flooring

Step 7: Shipping

I discussed shipping a wee bit in Part 2, but here are some additional things to consider when shipping your trade show booth to your show. To learn about some tips about shipping to trade shows, read this post!

• Read: Step 7: Shipping

What Are Your Tips?

Please leave comments on what tips that you have to offer! We would love to hear!

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