Articles on exhibition stand & showroom design.

Tips on Writing a Design Brief for an Exhibition Stand or Interior.

This is not meant as a definitive statement of "how to do it right", but as pointer to help focus the mind on your objectives.

A good brief directly affects what you get back from a designer. If you brief up 3 or 4 designers and none of them deliver a proposal with which you're happy, chances are the fault is with the initial brief.

You will only get back what you put in.

Professional designers work in different disciplines, so ensure that you select a designer with relevant experience in the area you're looking to brief about. However happy you might be with them, there is little point briefing your Advertising or PR Agency on a 3-dimensional design project, just as you wouldn't ask an architect to design your website! For an Exhibition Stand or Interior select a designer with a proven track record in 3-dimensional design.

So what is a design brief?

A design brief for an Exhibition Stand or Interior is an explanation, personally delivered to the designer, and preferably backed up by a written document, detailing the aims and objectives of your participation at a show or an event.

The client and designer should enter into a two-way dialogue, with the designer often questioning the assumptions that the client has made. It is a situation in which the client is not always right. A designer is a professional and can often be aware of better solutions to the problem - solutions which the client has not thought of.

Basics

Don't forget the basics. Before informing the designer of who you are, what you want or what you are trying to achieve, they need to be made aware of the physical parameters within which they're going to be working.

For an Exhibition Stand the designer will need to know the following :

The Show name, dates, and venue.
A site plan showing your stand's location, stand number, size and configuration.
Is it an island site?
How many sides is it open on?
Are there any pillars on the stand?
Whereabouts in the hall is it?
Is it important to you where your competitors are located?

All perfectly obvious, but so often people launch into giving a design brief without establishing these important benchmarks.

Company Profile

The designer cannot be expected to know your Company or industry sector. Don't take anything for granted - explain who you are, giving a brief outline of your company.

What your organisation does.
How long you have been established.
How you fit in to your industry sector.
What is your niche market.
How many staff you employ.

Your Aims

Elaborate to the designer why are you going to the Show. Is it to :

Generate sales leads.
Meet existing clients.
Reinforce the Company brand.
Launch a new product or service.
Public Relations

Products

What products will you be showing?
Will they be working?
Any Health and Safety Issues?
What services do they require?
Order of exhibit importance

Provide the designer with copies of product brochures.

Physical Requirements

Will you be providing hospitality on the stand?
Do you want a Bar area?
Do you require a kitchen or Store? If so, what should it contain - plumbed sink, fridge, storage space, etc..
Do you require a seating area? If so, For how many? What type of furniture do you envisage? Lounge furniture, tables and chairs? Or stools?
Do you need a private meeting room? If so for how many?
Do you require a Reception /Information Desk to greet visitors?

Corporate ID

Explain your Corporate ID even if it's well known, and give the designer copies of your logo and Corporate Guidelines (if you have them). Provide copies of your Company's promotional materials.

What is your image in the marketplace?
How do you want to be perceived?
How are you different from the competition?

If there is a design style that you particularly like or dislike - then explain why in the brief.

Budget

Even if you can only provide a ball-park figure, a budget expectation will give the designer a good idea of the type of solution they will realistically be able to provide.

In Conclusion

If answers to these issues are not yet this clearly identifiable, then your design brief has already achieved another purpose. It has helped clarify your thoughts, and focussed in upon issues before any serious work is undertaken.