With the start of the new year comes fresh ideas and perspectives on the trade show floor.  Exhibitors are starting to step away from some of the old trade show exhibit trends and are embracing new ideas.  If you’re eager to find out what these trade show exhibit trends are and how you can use them on the show floor, you’re not alone.  Let’s examine what we’re seeing more of on show floors so far in 2020:

Natural Design Elements as Trade Show Exhibit Trends 

We’re only 5 weeks into 2020 and already we’re seeing a lot of natural elements on the trade show floor.  The reason why this is one of the hot trade show exhibit trends right now is that in 2019 exhibitors embraced technology like never before.  We won’t be seeing a departure from the technologies that exhibitors use, but we will start seeing more of a balance between that technology and natural elements.  This balance will be one of the big trade show exhibit trends in 2020.  The reason why is natural design elements humanize a brand and offer trade show visitors a feeling of comfort.  Inside a trade show booth, natural elements help to create a feeling of a little oasis away from the busy show floor.  For some brands, they embrace natural design elements as a method for communicating their brand story.  For example, if you’ve got a business selling terrariums, you may want to introduce some natural design elements into your booth to convey the feeling of being inside one of their terrariums. In 2020, natural design elements will only continue to grow as one of the top trade show exhibit trends.

trade show booth design

Themed Environments to Tell Your Brand Story

As exhibiting gets more competitive, it will be more critical to get your brand story across to trade show visitors.  This means that people need to be able to tell what you do and what you’re about as they pass by.  Otherwise, they may not stop by at all.  As a solution, many exhibitors are starting to embrace themed environments.  Themed environments allow you to communicate clearly that you are in the home builder space, or that your food is farm to table fresh, for example.  As 2020 stretches on, we’ll start to see more of these trade show exhibit trends where exhibitors are trying to communicate their brand story through the use of smart design.

trade show exhibit trends

Bridge the Gap with Trade Show Visitors

Bridges will continue to make a big appearance in 2020.  Increasingly, exhibitors are finding they can communicate their value proposition through this design principle.  Therefore, bridges are going to stay among the top trade show exhibit trends this year.  Speed, comfort, and luxury are all elements of your brand that can be communicated with the right trade show bridge.  Depending on your product and industry, a bridge might also be communication and progress.  Because of their versatility, bridges will continue to be a mainstay of trade show booth design.

Blacklane trade show exhibit

Sustainable Trade Show Booth Construction 

As society continues to focus on environmental issues, this has carried over into the trade show industry.  In many regions of the world, trade show exhibits are constructed out of wood and then demolished in a “churn and burn” cycle.  As a response, many exhibitors in the American trade show industry have focused on recycling and reusing elements of their trade show display at different shows in different booth spaces.  Exhibit houses like our own tend to hold onto this inventory for them so they’re able to use custom elements again and again.  Trade show exhibit trends like sustainability mean that more exhibitors will be using pieces that also are created out of elements other than wood.  More sustainable products such as stone, granite, printed laminates, or metal will also be integrated into exhibits on the show floor this year, reducing deforestation.

trade show exhibit trends

We’ve only begun the new year, but trade show exhibit trends are starting to jump out on the trade show floor.  If you’re considering upgrading your trade show display or designing something new, take these trade show exhibit trends to heart as you go through the process.