Highlights of MD&M West 2017

• Open Space Booths

One of the design features that some of the more popular booths had in common was their open-space layout. Having an open floor plan allows for more foot traffic to flow through without feeling crowded. While I was walking the show floor, I noticed those booths had more traffic than others.

• Light Boxes

The light boxes at MD&M West were high quality. The booths with the light boxes that stood out the most had graphics with vibrant colors. It is very tempting for exhibitors to go with a mostly white light box. However, shadows are easier to see when you have a mostly white light box . Colors pop most when illuminated and make a bigger impact on the show floor.

• Incorporating Product in Booth Design

MD&M West is one of those shows you can incorporate your product into your booth design in a unique way. There were a handful of booths that did this and it payed off. Having a unique feature in your booth causes attendees to look closer to see how it was made or constructed, and just like that you have more people approaching your booth.

• Hanging Signs

 Hanging signs tend to be very popular at this trade show and they were popular again this year. If you have a larger booth space it will definitely make a difference to have a hanging sign. Hanging signs allow your booth to be seen by attendees even if they are on the other side of the trade show floor.

• Creative Colors

Using colors other than blue can really help your booth stand out.  This is harder to do if your main brand color is blue, but exhibitors were still able to get creative. These companies used other colors to match like adding black, teal, or purple. Getting creative with colors helped their foot traffic. Using high resolution graphics is a great way to make sure the colors in your booth are vibrant.

• Fabric

 There were a lot of booths using fabric this year which was refreshing. The benefit to using fabric is not having lines like you would on sintra paneling. Also, if you use high quality fabric for your booth you can reduce the amount of wrinkles. Using tension fabric can help with this problem.  

• 10×10 or Inline with Lighting

 If you have a 10×10 and you know your booth is in the middle of a row of 10x10s, it can be very easy for your booth to get lost in the mix. The booths that stood out the most in the rows of 10x10s, were using different light sources. Our eyes are drawn to light, so having even a small light box or using backlit for your logo or company name will likely get more attention.