Exhibitions cost money for businesses and to be successful you need to have a good or well designed stand. From my experience to get potential customers to your stand you need to entice them with highly creative graphic design.

I have worked within this field for over 20 yrs so I can provide some extremely useful tips on how to achieve this. Firstly – If you aren't a professional graphic designer – HIRE ONE! Ii can't stress how important this is for you exhibition. A creative designer can make your exhibition dazzle with nice fonts and graphics that are well polished.

To save money brief the designer with solid outlay of what it is your business wants and any ideas you have. Designers don't have crystal balls and can only work with what they are given. A solid brief will get the message across quickly so the designer doesn't have to fumble around and use your money on time to work out what your business require. Send the designer all the images / text / and possible layout roughs.

Then leave it up to them after all that's there profession give them a deadline and sit back and wait for the magic to appear. The graphic designer you hire should have an online portfolio so make sure to check that they are suitable to do your artwork and you like there style. Each and every graphic designer has a different outlook so portfolios will differ. With the design process rolling now is the time to gather all your content and get the exhibition ready, call printers and gather quotes don't be afraid to ask them to drop the price it's a competitive world. Ok! So you have now briefed the designer, gather quotes from print houses what is next? Arrange for the printer to schedule in the run, ask the graphic designer to make changes if the proof isn't right. Don't keep sending alterations to the designer, they charge an hourly rate and with changes back and forth it soon adds up. Another option is to get the designer to provide a quote for the artwork so you have a one off price for the design work this keeps costs down. Next stage – artwork is ready signed off and ready for print, time to send to the print house.

Usually the graphic designer will liaise with the printers they are used to deal with the printers in terms of spec and output. This is the last stage once you receive the artwork, arrange for the exhibition stand artwork to be built and ready for the show. Visit the stand prior to the show and make sure everything is correct and ready, don't leave it to the last minute. This is not a time to change the graphics though this is just the set-up of the stand making sure the items / products / marketing material is ready to hand.

DON'T FORGET! -the graphic designer you hired can also create your graphics for brochure / flyers / marketing material. I hope these tips help you with your exhibition and commissioning a designer to provide the creative graphic design.