Exhibition Design

This workbook turns the course into a real exhibit you can hand to a fabricator or show contractor. You will pick an actual show and booth (or a gallery space), define a single big idea, zone the footprint and design visitor flow, size every panel graphic for its reading distance, test the design with a scale model, and assemble a biddable package of a floor plan, elevations, a graphics schedule, and a materials and fire-safety spec. Work through one section per course module, and keep your plan, graphics schedule, and materials spec reconciled as you go.

Pin down the big idea, the goal, the booth configuration, and every constraint hidden in the show kit before you draw.

Choose a real exhibitor (your employer, a client, or a brand you know) and a real or plausible show. In plain language, write the one sentence the whole exhibit exists to communicate, then name the single action you want a visitor to take. Pressure-test it: imagine a stranger glancing at your booth from across the aisle for three seconds.

Identify your booth and look up (or reasonably assume) the show's rules. Fill in each field with your value and the source (e.g., the exhibitor manual page). Confirm the configuration first, because it dictates your height and sightline limits.

Zone the footprint, choreograph flow and sightlines toward the key message, and keep circulation open and accessible.

Sketch your booth footprint to scale on grid paper or in software. Mark the attract, engage, and convert zones plus storage and lead-capture. Then trace, with an arrow, the path you want a visitor to take from the aisle to the demo to a staff conversation, and a separate arrow for fast aisle traffic that should not jam your entrance.

List each zone and the furniture or structure it contains. For each, record the intended visitor behaviour and the surface height. Use the height guides from the course (demo ~36-42 in, seated meeting ~29-30 in, bar/counter ~40-42 in).

Size type for each reading distance, compose panels with hierarchy and contrast at eye level, and prep files for large-format print.

For each key graphic (overhead identifier, back-wall headline, aisle-edge headline, arm's-length body copy), estimate the longest distance it must be read from, then size it. Use the headline rule of about 1 inch of cap height per 10 feet, and the stricter ~1 inch per 25-30 feet for comfortable reading of important copy. Record results in the reading-distance calculator template.

For one key panel, lock in the layout decisions. Fill every field with your decision and a one-line reason. Confirm the most important readable content lands in the eye-level band (roughly 48 to 67 inches, centred near 57 to 60 inches).

Test the design at scale, choose fire-rated reusable materials and a build method, and assemble a contractor-ready package.

Build a scale model of your booth at a standard scale (1:25 or 1:20 metric, or 1/2 inch to 1 foot imperial), physical or as a navigable 3D model. Include a scale human figure. Walk a sight figure along the aisle and through the booth to test the design before fabrication.

For each major element, choose a material and build method and record its fire compliance. Fill every field, because anything blank is something the contractor will guess. Note weight implications, since drayage is billed by weight.