Trade Show attendees are drawn to light like moths to a candle. Without light there is no color, form, or texture — period. If your exhibit is not lit properly, let’s be honest, no one will notice it. Always remember that an outstanding exhibit may NOT be seen if it is not properly lit. Lighting will add depth and/or excitement to your exhibit. Most of the time you have less than 5 seconds to capture an attendees interest in your exhibit. Do you really think you can do that without lighting?

Exhibitors realize that good lighting is one of the best techniques to draw attention to their product and key messages. Lighting plays a vital role in creating the mood and message of the exhibit environment. For a long time, lighting seemed to be the item that was removed from a proposed exhibit to keep the project within budget. This trend is changing. The variety of low voltage fixtures is increasing, providing designers with many more choices of hardware that can be stylishly integrated into their designs.

Color, especially changing color, is quite possibly the greatest attention-getter when it comes to exhibit lighting. Changing color and special effects can be achieved by using fiberoptics with color wheels or with light emitting diode (LED) fixtures. Try using a colored lamp (light bulb) when available or place a color filter in front of an existing lamp to provide a constant color for almost any light fixture. Think about the importance of color in your exhibit, then use proper lighting to bring out that dramatic color. Through colored lighting effects, an exhibit space can take on warmth, energy, and strength.

Define the areas of importance in your exhibit with well directed lighting. Sometimes the ambient light provided by the exhibit hall is just too bright for your exhibit lighting to be seen properly. In most cases you can pay an additional fee to have the lighting above your booth turned off. The backlighting of color transparencies can add brilliance to your graphics and really make them stand out. Finally, nothing attracts attention like moving lights.