Exhibition booth and event-space identity
The booth and event-space solve different tasks
The exhibition booth lives 2–4 days and competes for attention in a dense row of other exhibitors. An event-space — a conference hall, showroom, complex like Belexpo — works for years and hosts dozens of foreign brands in succession. Because of this, the requirements for identity here are directly opposite.
| Parameter | Exhibition booth | Event-space |
|---|---|---|
| Time to live | Days, often one-time | Years, repeated use |
| The task of identity | To stand out among competitors on the site | Not to compete with brands inside |
| Tone of delivery | Contrasting, noticeable from 10–15 meters | Subtle, background, functional |
| Flexibility | Designed for one venue and format | Must work under dozens of different events |
| Priority | Impression and conversion to contact | Navigation and comfort during prolonged stay |
Belexpo — a working example of the second case. The brand style of the center is deliberately neutral: inside, foreign exhibitor brands work simultaneously, and the task of the identity of the complex itself is not to overshadow them, but to organize the space through zoning and segmented navigation, where each zone has its own code within the overall system.
Booth is a separate project, not a copy-paste of the logo on the developer's layout
A common mistake is to hand over the decoration to a designer who simply places the logo and brand colors on the developer's blueprint. At this point, the main resource is lost — the super-sign, capable of working independently, without a signature. In the Drone Expo project, the pattern became a direct continuation of the logo and scaled from a small icon in social networks to a large panel on the booth facade — the system was designed for a specific exhibition task, not taken from the brand book as is.
In the project «Shchukin. The Biography of the Collection», the same principle was applied in a different way: recognizable calligraphy passed through a branded metro train, «Troika» cards, and the packaging of a souvenir line from several partner brands. The project's identity worked beyond a single stand — as an independent visual system across dozens of carriers, not directly tied to the museum's logo.
Budgets are not cut evenly, but selectively
The cost of event services has risen by 30–40% over the past couple of years, and the first reaction of the client is to reduce the budget evenly across all items. This is a mistake: evenly reducing the budget equally harms both main and secondary touchpoints, and the stand ends up looking completely deflated rather than selectively simplified. The reverse logic works — reduce secondary decoration but strengthen several key points of perception.
- Facade, signage, large pattern — what should be readable from 10–15 meters, before the visitor even approaches
- Reception desk and promo zone — the first point of personal contact, where the brand impression is formed
- Way-finding navigation — without it, visitors cannot find the required zone even on a compact stand
- One strong carrier for photos and social media — what guests will actually take pictures of and repost
Cutting down almost always is safe: the quantity of small print materials, decorative elements without function, duplicate carriers that repeat the same message for the second and third time.
Way-finding — not arrows, but part of the brand experience
Navigation is often outsourced as a technical task: to place signs so that a person does not get lost. In fact, this is the same pattern, the same palette and the same brand tone, only translated into functional form. At Belexpo, navigation is divided into zones and segments — each has its own visual code within the overall system, which allows for quick orientation even in a complex with dozens of simultaneous events.
Before launching a project, it is necessary to pre-define the hierarchy of media: what the main zone indicator is, what the auxiliary hint is, and what is a decorative element with navigational function. Without this hierarchy, the system becomes visual noise: too many elements of equal weight, and the eye does not know where to look first.
Tactility decides what cannot be seen in a PDF presentation
A flat layout on screen will never show how a booth is perceived in person. The texture of the material of the stand, the sound when touching an interactive screen, the smell in the tasting area, the weight of a souvenir in hand — all of this is part of the identity, even if it is not formally specified in the brandbook. Ignoring this is losing half the impression for which the visitor came to the booth in the first place.
In the CX DAY project, they specifically worked out the typography of the event name so that it remains recognizable from different angles of view — taking into account that a person sees the logo not only head-on but also from the side, on the move, while walking through the hall. This is a specific engineering solution, not an abstract concern for 'sensory experience': the letters maintain their shape when rotated, not just when viewed straight on from the mockup.
Guidelines for repeat participation: what to fix and what to change
If a company participates in trade shows more than once, a one-time layout is a poor investment: it will have to be reassembled from scratch for each venue. A guideline is needed, organized into groups of media, with a clear boundary between what cannot be changed and what can be adapted.
- The immutable core — the logo, the main palette, the key pattern or super-sign, the typography of the name. This is recognized always, regardless of venue and space
- The adaptive layer — the size and density of the pattern, the composition of media, secondary color accents. This changes according to the specific booth, the format of the trade show, and the organizer's requirements
At Dron Expo, the brand guidelines were divided into digital mockups, print, merchandise and environmental elements — each group has its own rules for applying the pattern and logo, while maintaining common constants. CX DAY tackled the same task through narrative development of the pattern: not a mechanical repetition of one element, but variations within one theme for different categories of merchandise — from badges to large-scale navigation. At the new exhibition, the scale and composition of media can be changed, but recognizability will be preserved thanks to the unchanged core of the system.
The booth and event-space solve different tasks
The exhibition booth lives 2–4 days and competes for attention in a dense row of other exhibitors. An event-space — a conference hall, showroom, complex like Belexpo — works for years and hosts dozens of foreign brands in succession. Because of this, the requirements for identity here are directly opposite.
| Parameter | Exhibition booth | Event-space |
|---|---|---|
| Time to live | Days, often one-time | Years, repeated use |
| The task of identity | To stand out among competitors on the site | Not to compete with brands inside |
| Tone of delivery | Contrasting, noticeable from 10–15 meters | Subtle, background, functional |
| Flexibility | Designed for one venue and format | Must work under dozens of different events |
| Priority | Impression and conversion to contact | Navigation and comfort during prolonged stay |
Belexpo — a working example of the second case. The brand style of the center is deliberately neutral: inside, foreign exhibitor brands work simultaneously, and the task of the identity of the complex itself is not to overshadow them, but to organize the space through zoning and segmented navigation, where each zone has its own code within the overall system.
Booth is a separate project, not a copy-paste of the logo on the developer's layout
A common mistake is to hand over the decoration to a designer who simply places the logo and brand colors on the developer's blueprint. At this point, the main resource is lost — the super-sign, capable of working independently, without a signature. In the Drone Expo project, the pattern became a direct continuation of the logo and scaled from a small icon in social networks to a large panel on the booth facade — the system was designed for a specific exhibition task, not taken from the brand book as is.
In the project «Shchukin. The Biography of the Collection», the same principle was applied in a different way: recognizable calligraphy passed through a branded metro train, «Troika» cards, and the packaging of a souvenir line from several partner brands. The project's identity worked beyond a single stand — as an independent visual system across dozens of carriers, not directly tied to the museum's logo.
Budgets are not cut evenly, but selectively
The cost of event services has risen by 30–40% over the past couple of years, and the first reaction of the client is to reduce the budget evenly across all items. This is a mistake: evenly reducing the budget equally harms both main and secondary touchpoints, and the stand ends up looking completely deflated rather than selectively simplified. The reverse logic works — reduce secondary decoration but strengthen several key points of perception.
- Facade, signage, large pattern — what should be readable from 10–15 meters, before the visitor even approaches
- Reception desk and promo zone — the first point of personal contact, where the brand impression is formed
- Way-finding navigation — without it, visitors cannot find the required zone even on a compact stand
- One strong carrier for photos and social media — what guests will actually take pictures of and repost
Cutting down almost always is safe: the quantity of small print materials, decorative elements without function, duplicate carriers that repeat the same message for the second and third time.
Way-finding — not arrows, but part of the brand experience
Navigation is often outsourced as a technical task: to place signs so that a person does not get lost. In fact, this is the same pattern, the same palette and the same brand tone, only translated into functional form. At Belexpo, navigation is divided into zones and segments — each has its own visual code within the overall system, which allows for quick orientation even in a complex with dozens of simultaneous events.
Before launching a project, it is necessary to pre-define the hierarchy of media: what the main zone indicator is, what the auxiliary hint is, and what is a decorative element with navigational function. Without this hierarchy, the system becomes visual noise: too many elements of equal weight, and the eye does not know where to look first.
Tactility decides what cannot be seen in a PDF presentation
A flat layout on screen will never show how a booth is perceived in person. The texture of the material of the stand, the sound when touching an interactive screen, the smell in the tasting area, the weight of a souvenir in hand — all of this is part of the identity, even if it is not formally specified in the brandbook. Ignoring this is losing half the impression for which the visitor came to the booth in the first place.
In the CX DAY project, they specifically worked out the typography of the event name so that it remains recognizable from different angles of view — taking into account that a person sees the logo not only head-on but also from the side, on the move, while walking through the hall. This is a specific engineering solution, not an abstract concern for 'sensory experience': the letters maintain their shape when rotated, not just when viewed straight on from the mockup.
Guidelines for repeat participation: what to fix and what to change
If a company participates in trade shows more than once, a one-time layout is a poor investment: it will have to be reassembled from scratch for each venue. A guideline is needed, organized into groups of media, with a clear boundary between what cannot be changed and what can be adapted.
- The immutable core — the logo, the main palette, the key pattern or super-sign, the typography of the name. This is recognized always, regardless of venue and space
- The adaptive layer — the size and density of the pattern, the composition of media, secondary color accents. This changes according to the specific booth, the format of the trade show, and the organizer's requirements
At Dron Expo, the brand guidelines were divided into digital mockups, print, merchandise and environmental elements — each group has its own rules for applying the pattern and logo, while maintaining common constants. CX DAY tackled the same task through narrative development of the pattern: not a mechanical repetition of one element, but variations within one theme for different categories of merchandise — from badges to large-scale navigation. At the new exhibition, the scale and composition of media can be changed, but recognizability will be preserved thanks to the unchanged core of the system.
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