A bespoke exhibition stand can help your company stand out at a trade show, so you need to ensure that your design and specifications help you do this. Our guide will tell you everything you need to know to help you achieve maximum impact with your bespoke stand.
What is a Bespoke Exhibition Stand?
A bespoke exhibition stand is a stand custom designed to your specifications. Size, shape and special features are under the control of you and the people you choose to make the designs. They are stands made to align with your unique company brand, goals and marketing strategy.
Bespoke Exhibition Stand Appearance
Want to know what a bespoke stand design can look like? View our gallery which will provide you with an idea of the options available to you.
We have also created an exhibition stand ideas resource, a stand-alone website solely dedicated to a mixture of previous bespoke stand designs, 3D renders and individual features all from Quadrant2Design. In addition, we have a design ideas page already on our website to help spark some creativity.
Size
Unlike pre-designed exhibition stands or stand kits, bespoke stands are designed to fit your booked stand space perfectly while also considering brand style and your exhibiting requirements.
The bespoke design approach works brilliantly in smaller and larger stand spaces, but it also works within the narrow confines of a shell scheme. The stand might now have to fit within a standardised size and shape, but you’re likely to have the most eye-catching shell scheme stand in the venue! Bespoke means versatility: it can be made to work regardless of size restrictions.
Shape
Similarly to sizes, bespoke exhibition stands can come in a limitless range of shapes, as these types of stands are designed to a customer’s brief. While there are limitations to how the stand is actually manufactured, the shape can be tailored to your exact needs and desires.
While a bespoke designed stand can be designed into almost any shape you wish, they are constrained by the space you have booked at a show, spaces are not only defined by the size, but also the number of open sides and therefore the number of sides you are obliged to close off, or “cover” with your stand structure. For example, an open 1 side stand requires you to cover the remaining 3 sides, usually up to at least 2.5m.
There are 4 shapes of space
- Booth (Open 1 Side)
- Corner (Open 2 Sides)
- Peninsular (Open 3 Sides)
- Island (Open 4 Sides)
We recommend working with the designer of your UK bespoke exhibition stand to see what shape stand would work best for your needs. Try and be as creative as you can with your stand shape, as this will help your company stand out from the competition.
Features
Every bespoke exhibition stand boasts different features that help a company stand out and pitch its products or services. These features can be in the form of interactive elements, lighting effects, high-level branding, product displays, 3D structures, graphic content, AV and photo-floors.
Benefits of Bespoke Exhibition Stands
Uniqueness
As previously discussed, to get the most out of your bespoke exhibition stand, you should try and make sure that it stands out from other companies at the exhibition or trade shows. Having a unique stand can be a real benefit when trying to draw attention and secure new interest in your products and services.
Branding
Bespoke exhibition stands can help drive home your company branding to customers. Designing a bespoke stand allows you to position and scale your logo, imagery and key messages in a way that is most effective for your brand. It’s a great way to catch the eye of new customers and communicate what your company stands for.
Reusability
The reusability of a bespoke exhibition stand depends on how the bespoke design is translated into a final stand. For example if, like Quadrant2Design, the bespoke design uses a custom-modular exhibition system stand can be reused, and even reconfigured for different stand spaces, allowing the ability to redesign and rework a bespoke design for future shows, at a minimal cost. However many bespoke designs use the traditional custom build approach, which does give even more freedom of design, but the options to re-use these one-off creations are limited. Not particularly budget or environmentally friendly.
Drawbacks of Bespoke Exhibition Stands
Cost
The main downside to bespoke exhibition stands is the cost of hiring or purchasing one. Understandably compared to a pre-designed solution considerably more resources are required in the design, manufacturing and delivery of a bespoke stand. However, a bespoke designed stand using a modular approach will allow future stands to be delivered at a considerably lower cost. At Quadrant2Design, we estimate that once the initial investment has been made in a stand the stand cost from show one to show two drops by a massive 70%.
We advise considering your future exhibiting plans and building in flexibility to the design of a bespoke stand to ensure maximum reusability and cost efficiency. A cleverly designed stand can be reworked to account for re-branding, new product launches, changes in stand space and changes in exhibiting strategy.
Our professional CAD team and Artworkers are specially trained to reuse the existing graphics for each reconfiguration of the stand, helping the costs stay at the bare minimum. With this in mind, the pros significantly outweigh the cons.
Design Requirements
More complex stands require more complex designs. If you are an experienced 3D modeller and graphic designer yourself, great! Equally, you may already have an in-house designer or team of designers you can work closely with.
Working with an external partner for the design work is necessary for most companies. If you work with a full-service company of stand designers and builders, like Quadrant2Design, they can design, print and manufacture the stand for you, guiding you through the process from the first ideas to the last day of the show.
Bespoke vs Custom Stands
You might have seen different companies offering ‘custom exhibition stands’ or ‘bespoke exhibition stands‘, so is there a difference between the two options?
While the two terms can be interchangeable and generally refer to a stand that is unique there is a difference between Bespoke/Custom Design stands and Bespoke/Custom Build stands
A bespoke or custom-designed stand refers to any stand that has been designed specifically for companies exhibiting needs. A custom-build stand often refers to a method of manufacture where the stand structure is completely unique and is manufactured in traditional materials such as timber or aluminium frames, clad in painted wooden panels, glass and other materials, these are the stands that give complete design freedom but struggle with reusability.
For the majority of exhibitors, these flashy bespoke designed, custom-build stands might not be a realistic solution, nor one likely to provide a return on investment. The premium bespoke option that most companies should opt for, is a custom-modular solution. Custom-designed exhibition stands delivered using a highly flexible modular stand solution
Can a modular stand solution really be used for a bespoke design?
Yes, but it depends on the modular solution, there are 2 types of modular solutions; Basic-modular and Custom-modular. Quadrant2Design’s Prestige Events System is a Custom modular solution that delivers unique 3D structures like a custom build, but with all the modular benefits. Basic modular solutions can be designed to suit different stand spaces, but can’t be considered a truly bespoke design due to their limitations.
Cost Difference: Basic Modular vs Custom Modular
Basic modular solutions come with a smaller price tag than a custom modular stand, but the question should really be which provides better value? Exhibiting success can often be boiled down to return on investment (ROI). A successful exhibition relies on attracting a large enough volume of your target market to your stand, a stand which is in a hall with hundreds of competitors. If you don’t stand out from the crowd you’re far less likely to attract the visitors you need. a custom modular solution which delivers a bespoke exhibition stand design gives you the best chance of this.
Designing & Planning a Bespoke Exhibition Stand
Whether you’re designing your exhibition display yourself or working with a designer, there are some important factors to consider.
Space
Always consider the space that you’ll have for your stand at a trade show. Too large a space and your budget will be too thinly spread to deliver an eye-catching stand. Too small, you’re limiting the design options and stature of your stand.
Visibility
Use interesting shapes, layouts, branding, heights and technology to help your bespoke exhibition stand catch potential customers’ attention at trade shows. This can be carefully thought out during the design and planning phase.
Storage
Depending on the product you’re trying to sell, you should be considering how much storage space you need when designing your new exhibition display stand. Some companies may bring lots of physical products to trade shows, and you must ensure you have space to store your stock during the exhibition.
In contrast, other companies may not need to bring any physical products to an exhibition, meaning they’re less likely to need space for storage. They can then utilise the space saved, turning it into something more beneficial for their stand, or use a smaller space.
Installing the Stand
The installation process of your display stand depends on your supplier. Some suppliers, like ourselves, offer a full install and dismantle service as well as self-build options, while others may only offer one or other of these services. Read more about our Exhibition Stand Builders Service. We install and dismantle exhibition stands all over the UK and Europe, while we have customers self-building all over the world.
If you’re going to be installing your stand yourself at exhibitions, we recommend a full training session where professional installers show you how to build every element of your stand well in advance of the show.
After the Show
Once an exhibition has come to a close, a lot of exhibition stands to end up in a landfill. The great thing about a bespoke exhibition stand using a custom modular solution is that it can be reused across several shows.
Not only will you be conducting your business for the benefit of the planet, but you’ll also be saving costs in the process. Quadrant2Design store stands completely free of charge for their customers, as long as they exhibit at least once a year.
Cost of Bespoke Exhibition Stands
Throughout this article, the cost of bespoke exhibition stands has been discussed. If you’re looking for more information about this topic, we recommend reading our article about it here – How Much Does an Exhibition Stand Cost?
Alternatively, if you’re looking for a ballpark price or would like a quote and bespoke stand design proposal, contact our team. Email us at design@quadrant2design.com or call on 01202 723 500
How to Find a Great Bespoke Exhibition Stand Contractor
When choosing a bespoke exhibition stand contractor, we consider this to be an important decision. You can ensure that you’re choosing to work with the right company by asking some simple due diligence questions. You will be working closely with them, so you better feel confident in their results and their customer service.
We recommend reading our article about due diligence before choosing your future exhibition stand partner. Read about the important questions to ask when choosing a stand designer to work with.
Your Partner for Bespoke Exhibition Stands
If you’re in the market for a new custom exhibition stand, consider Quadrant2Design to be your Bespoke Exhibition Stand Builder.
Email us at design@quadrant2design.com or call on 01202 723 500 to get a free design proposal, with no obligation.