3 Simple Rules for Setting Up an Eye-Catching Trade Show Table

1. Keep it simple.

Trade shows and craft fairs (and most events, really) tend to be a visual overload. With tons of attendees passing by every hour, vendors with brightly colored booths, and all sorts of events and demos going on all around, it can be easy for your setup to get lost in all the noise and go unnoticed.

So what’s a surefire way to stand out?

By not overcomplicating things.

With so much visual clutter already around you that you can’t control, cutting down on clutter inside your booth (and especially on your table) is the first step to making sure you’re not overlooked. That goes for both physical products as well as visual design!

Let’s start well before it’s exhibition time. When it comes to designing your custom table cover, don’t overdesign it! Use your logo and brand color(s) prominently and clearly so that a quick glance is all someone needs to know who you are. A good rule of thumb is that your logo should be legible from at least 10 feet away, so be sure to plan for that in your design. If you absolutely need any other text, keep it to a minimum and opt for easy-to-read fonts.

For supplemental visuals to highlight the key aspects of your products or services, don’t make your table cover do all the work! Loading it down with too much extra imagery will just make it easier for your brand to get lost. Consider an easel or tabletop banners to get the job done, and leave that stuff off your table cover to avoid complicating your design.

Avoid clutter whenever you can. If you have a lot of different products to sell, consider separating them out with merchandise risers so everything has enough space to stand out. Or cut down on the number of items you’re selling and just focus on a few key movers.

Use light to your advantage and focus visitor attention on certain items. Adding clip-on spotlights to your table is easy, quick, and goes a long way toward drawing eyeballs without adding to clutter.

Many exhibitors often overlook how their literature is displayed. They put the work into designing it, then just fan it out on the table. Don’t let your table fall prey to this kaleidoscope effect, with ten or twelve or twenty different brochures out there, hoping to catch someone’s eye. Cut it down to just one, if you can! Better yet, highlight your literature with a literature holder or cut out the paper and use a QR code sticker that links to your website or a digital brochure.

2. Make it unique.

This one might sound obvious, but it’s easy to get tunnel vision when it comes to setting up your trade show table and forget that you’re competing for attention with everyone around you. Your booth and table setup look eye-catching in isolation, but what about when there’s a booth on either side, and one across the way?

The simplest way to avoid just blending in is to lean into your branding.

Your branding should already be unique and tied to your identity as a business, so make that the basis of all your design decisions and you should be well on your way to standing out in a sea of similar booths. From the color of your table cover to custom printing on your display fixtures, there are plenty of ways to incorporate your brand visually into your trade show table.

With your brand cohesion squared away, you can start thinking outside the box for how to incorporate other bits of unique visual flair.

For instance, if you’re selling clothing, accessories, or jewelry, a tabletop mannequin outfitted with your offerings will leap out at passersby who normally would look right past your booth.

You can also incorporate tabletop signage with big, bold designs or an enticing message that will get people excited about what you have to offer. Use simple, splashy visuals (that mesh well with your brand, of course) and try to tell your story in as efficient a way as you can. Let visitors know what you’re all about without having to ask!

If you deal mostly in face-to-face interactions and building relationships (or performing hands-on demonstrations) then consider pairing your tabletop display with a portable counter as a secondary point of contact. These stands work in tandem, being where the action takes place, while your trade show table is a more static experience that customers can peruse at their leisure. Don’t try to do it all in one spot! Plus, having something going on at your booth can be a great way to stand out amongst your competitors.

3. Have a clear objective.

Start out with a simple thought exercise.

Ask yourself: Why did you decide to attend this particular event?

To sell products? To generate leads? To demo a service? If you know exactly why you’re there and what you hope to achieve, then you can design your table in a way that makes it clear for visitors, too. They’re making a decision to stop in the split second their eyes pass over your booth, so you need to make sure that they get the right idea.

If you’re selling merchandise, make sure everyone knows it! Don’t just toss your offerings onto your tabletop where they’ll disappear behind a crowd of onlookers. Use merchandising shelves and risers to elevate and separate out what you have for sale and make it visible from a distance.

A simple hook-and-loop display board is great for this kind of thing. For a more cohesive look, go for a custom printed backboard display with side panels. If you’re selling products that can hang on a backer or gridwall, that will immediately signal to passersby that they should come to you to buy. It’s the same principle as window displays — put your most enticing products in your customers’ sightlines and they won’t resist being able to stop in for a closer look.

When it comes to laying out your table space, be sure to arrange your products in a logical way, either by size, usage, or price. You can go linear and arrange from left to right, or opt for a radial design where key products are at the center and add-ons are at the edges. No matter what, make sure you avoid overcrowding your table!

Even the table cover you choose can support your objective. A three-sided table cover keeps the back open, which creates a storage space for backstock that is quickly accessible, so you’re not running around trying to keep your table stocked during hectic busy times.

Some services are not so easy to demonstrate in person. A well-designed display board with photos of your work and in-depth details about your business can show potential clients what you’re all about without you having to explain the finer points to each and every one of them.

While the table is typically the focal point of a booth, it can't do everything at once, and it shouldn’t! Keep the goal of your table focused by incorporating a portable counter. This allows you space to give away samples or show visitors the finer points of your product with hands-on experiences and frees up your display table for inventory and making purchases.

Awareness is often the primary goal of an exhibit booth. It could be for your company in general, a cause you support, or a service you offer. This is where prominently displaying a portable literature holder with plenty of takeaway brochures or pamphlets can come in handy. You’ll be spending a lot of time chatting with visitors (who were hopefully drawn in by your elegant branding and enticing key visuals), and won’t have time to interface with everyone who stops by. Some easily accessible takeaway literature will let everyone know why you’re there, especially if the brochures themselves are visually interesting and broadcast a clear message.

The same principle applies if your primary goal is to generate leads and gather customer information. Making that connection face-to-face with a handshake is ideal, but when that’s not possible, giving attendees an easy way to drop their contact information is the next best thing. A ballot box with contact forms is a clear signal to interested visitors, and your job is to make it visible, attractive, and easily accessible.

Wrapping Up: The Power of a Well-Designed Table Display

In summary, a trade show table display is where customers will be drawn to when they visit your booth, so it pays to to put as much thought into it as you can ahead of time to ensure that you can reach as many attendees as you can. It should represent your brand both visually, as in using your logos and color schemes, as well as your ethos and goals, that is, what you're all about and what customers can expect from you. If you want to make your trade show table work for you, remember these three simple rules:

1. Keep it simple.
2. Make it unique.
3. Have a clear objective.

If you do everything you can to reduce clutter, lean into your branding and think about the overall visual appeal, and plan your table knowing what you hope to accomplish at your next show, then you can be sure to make a great impression and achieve your goals!