# Trade show booth design: graphics people see from the aisle [Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/trade-show-booth-design) Visitors decide whether to stop at your stand in the few seconds it takes to walk past. Design the graphics for that walk, not for the proof on your laptop. ## The short version - Trade show booth design works best when every graphic is planned for the distance it is read from: the aisle, the approach and arm's length. - From the aisle, a booth should say only two things: who you are and one clear reason to stop. - The top of the back wall is the only part visible over a crowd, so the name and claim belong high. - Large gradients can show banding when printed big, so add a fine grain and ask for a printed proof. - Back wall, pull up banners, screens and handouts should share one background and type, so the stand reads as one thing. Good **trade show booth design** starts from distance. People read your stand from the aisle first, several metres away and walking, then from the edge of the stand, then at arm's length. Each distance gets its own job: from the aisle, your name and one reason to stop; on the approach, what you offer; up close, the details. Most stands fail because they try to say everything at every distance, and from the aisle that reads as a wall of small words. ## Design for three viewing distances | Distance | Where | What it should say | How it looks | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Aisle, several metres | Top of the back wall, hanging sign | Name and one claim | Two to six words, huge, high contrast | | Approach, a few metres | Middle of the wall, pull up banners | The offer or three benefits | Short lines, still large | | Arm's length | Counter, screen, handouts | Proof, prices, contact, QR code | Normal reading sizes | One stand, three audiences. Every word on the stand belongs to exactly one of these rows. The first row is the one people get wrong. Your claim should finish the sentence a visitor is already thinking: *what is this and is it for me?* "Payroll for restaurants" stops the right people. "Innovative solutions for tomorrow" stops nobody. A trade show graphic with a vague headline and a long list of features in small type Too much for the aisle: a vague claim plus a list nobody can read while walking. A trade show graphic with the company name and the short claim Payroll for restaurants in very large type Readable from the aisle: the name and one specific claim, with the detail saved for the counter. ## The back wall: put the message high On a busy show day, people stand in front of your stand, and so do you. Everything below head height disappears behind bodies. The top band of the back wall is the only part visible over a crowd and from down the aisle, so your name and claim belong there, as large as the wall allows. - **Top band:** name and claim. Nothing else competes with them. - **Middle band:** the offer in a few words, or one strong image of the product in use. - **Lower band:** mostly background. It will be hidden behind people, furniture and the counter. - **Behind the counter:** keep the wall calm, because staff stand in front of it all day. The background does more work on a stand than anywhere else, because it is the largest surface in view. A distinctive colour field is visible across a hall before any word is legible, and it is what visitors remember when they try to find you again. That is the same idea as [distinctive brand assets](https://gradiently.design/guide/distinctive-brand-assets), applied at the scale of a wall. ## Pull up banners, screens and handouts Most stands add smaller pieces around the wall. Each one has a different shape, so design them as versions of one layout rather than crops of the back wall. - Pull up banner 850×2000 mm: 850 × 2000 - Stand screen 1920×1080: 1920 × 1080 - A5 flyer 1748×2480: 1748 × 2480 - Postcard 1800×1200: 1800 × 1200 The pieces around a typical stand, drawn to scale. A pull up banner is tall and thin; keep its words in the top half, above the crowd and the table edge. 1. **Pull up banners** Name and claim in the top third, one benefit or image in the middle, and nothing important in the bottom 40 centimetres, which sits behind tables and feet. 2. **Screens** A slow looping background with one line at a time reads better than a sales video with sound in a noisy hall. Keep each line on screen long enough to read twice. 3. **Handouts** This is where the detail finally goes: prices, features, contact and a QR code. Same background, normal reading sizes. 4. **Badges and lanyards** Staff first names, large. Visitors find it easier to start a conversation with someone whose name they can read. A widescreen trade show screen reading Come and see it live with the stand number above, on the stand's gradient A stand screen in the same background as the wall: one line, large, easy to read from the edge of the stand. ## Printing large gradients and colour Gradients look superb on fabric walls and banners, and they are also where large format printing shows its limits. A smooth blend stretched across three metres can break into visible steps, and colours that glow on screen can print duller. Three habits avoid both problems. - Harbour blue, print safe: `linear-gradient(160deg, #0d2f4f 0%, #1d6fa3 55%, #6fc3df 100%)` - Plum to coral: `linear-gradient(160deg, #3b1236 0%, #a3324f 55%, #f08a5d 100%)` - Forest to lime: `linear-gradient(160deg, #10302a 0%, #2f7a5f 55%, #c9e4a7 100%)` Three stand backgrounds that stay within colours most printers reproduce well. Very bright cyans, magentas and neon greens shift most in print. - **Add a fine grain.** Noise breaks up banding at large sizes and makes the surface feel deliberate. [Print gradients](https://gradiently.design/guide/print-gradients) shows why. - **Ask for a printed proof** of a section at actual size. It is the only honest test of colour and smoothness. - **Follow the printer's template exactly**, including bleed, safe area and resolution. Large walls viewed from metres away are usually printed at a far lower resolution than a flyer, but only the printer can tell you what their machine needs. See [bleed and margins](https://gradiently.design/guide/bleed-and-margins) and [RGB vs CMYK](https://gradiently.design/guide/rgb-vs-cmyk). ## A trade show booth checklist ### Avoid - A vague claim that could belong to anyone - Lists of features on the back wall - Important words below head height - A different look on every piece - Approving colours only on screen ### Do - Name and one specific claim, high and huge - Detail saved for handouts and the counter - The lower wall kept as calm background - One background and type across every piece - A printed proof at actual size The fastest way to keep every piece consistent is to design once and resize. In Gradiently, a design keeps its Mark and type at every size, from the pull up banner to the social posts announcing your stand number, and the Mark keeps a calm region behind the words wherever they move. Pro exports print PDFs with bleed and crop marks, and MP4 loops for the stand screen. For the wider event look, see [event branding](https://gradiently.design/guide/event-branding), [conference branding](https://gradiently.design/guide/conference-branding) and [event backdrop design](https://gradiently.design/guide/event-backdrop-design) for stage screens. ## FAQ ### What should a trade show booth say from the aisle? Your name and one specific claim about what you do and who it is for. Everything else belongs closer to the stand. ### Where should the logo go on a trade show back wall? High, in the top band of the wall. Everything below head height is hidden by people for most of the day. ### What size is a pull up banner? A common size is 850 × 2000 mm, but sizes vary by supplier, so always design to your printer's template. ### Can I use gradients on trade show graphics? Yes. Add a fine grain to avoid banding at large sizes, avoid very bright neon colours that print dull, and check a printed proof. ### What resolution do trade show graphics need? It depends on the size and the printer. Large walls are usually printed at lower resolution than flyers, so ask your printer for their exact requirement.