Trade Show Booth Design on a Cost-Conscious Budget

We’ve given our expert advice on where to splurge and where to save during your trade show planning, but there are also plenty of tricks to help you maximize a tight trade show booth design budget! 

Here are our best booth design tips for budgeting business owners and marketing professionals:

1. Keep it compact

Smaller booths minimize your spending on every level. First of all, you’ll spend less on design and fabrication since there are fewer items and surfaces to cover. Secondly, you’ll save big bucks on exhibit space charges, shipping, and drayage. 

And yes, you can still make a big splash with a compact exhibit! Check out our best practices for small booths.

2. Use “evergreen” design methods

Being able to reuse your trade show exhibit graphics can save you loads of dough! Choosing text and images that are relevant any time, any season prevents you from shelling out the dough required to design and print new graphics. 

Choose a basic background that you can “dress up” with accessory pieces.

For example, you could choose a plain, simple color scheme and add feather flags or retractable banner stands to display time-sensitive promotions or seasonal elements. You’ll save plenty of dough by only re-printing small display pieces when you need an update.

3. Know what you want

By solidifying your trade show exhibit needs and knowing what you want and communicating it well to your exhibit house will reduce the number of design cycles, hence, saving you in possible late fees (show forms) and rush fees for custom elements and graphics from your trade show booth design budget.

4. Use portable/prefab booths or rentals

Affordable options are abound, if you know where to look!

• Portable/prefab booths: Not only is the price lower for this kind of booth, you’ll also save big bucks on shipping and storage costs. Plus, setup and takedown are speedy. These are a great option when you need a clean, highly mobile booth setup on a smaller budget.
  
  
• Booth rentals: Are you just dipping your toes in the trade show waters? Do you want to upgrade your booth for a big upcoming show without a huge investment? A rental might be the perfect solution!