There is a delicate line to walk when choosing colors for your trade show exhibit displays. You want to stay true to your branding, but you also want to stand out from the crowd. When you are at an industry trade show, doing both simultaneously can be difficult. For example, pretend you work in the fast food hamburger industry. At the trade show, the entire exhibit hall is awash with red and yellow. McDonald’s, In-n-Out, Sonic, Burger King and Wendy’s all share the same colors in their branding. It would then become necessary to find some other way to stand out from the crowd. Here are some other things to consider when contemplating color for your booth.
Color Attracts
Color attracts bees to flowers and people to any number of things: sports cars, paintings or a favorite sports team. Something psychological happens when people see certain colors. That is the reason all the fast food hamburgers use the same colors. But for a color to attract people to trade show exhibit displays, those colors need to be in stark contrast to their surroundings. Factors like the color of the carpet in the exhibit hall, trends and competitors’ branding are all indicators about how you should choose a color scheme.
Color Communicates
Blue is viewed as a soothing and reliable color. That’s why so many financial and medical institutions incorporate it in their branding. Red communicates energy, desire and hunger. It also means “stop” so context is important. White indicates cleanliness and purity, purple royalty and green indicates growth, newness and money. What do the colors in your trade show exhibit communicate?
Trends
Every year the people at Pantone select a color of the year. The color of the year for 2013 is Emerald Green. Why does this matter to trade show exhibit displays? There are two reasons. First of all, staying up to date with current trends shows your company is progressive. Secondly, if every other company in your industry follows that trend, you will want to choose something else to stand out. Perhaps you should choose something complementary on the same palette.
Color Can Be Fun
Most people can quickly tell you the colors associated with Mardi Gras, Halloween and the 80s because those colors represent fun and fond memories. Marketing doesn’t have to be dull. Use lively colors to communicate your company likes to enjoy life.
