Lead with the job the stand must do
Describe the audience and the conversations you want to have. Explain whether visitors will watch a demonstration, inspect products, sit down for a meeting or place an order. List what the team needs to do behind the scenes, including storing bags, charging devices and replenishing samples.
Give the builder a realistic budget basis and say whether it includes venue services, transport and installation. A clear scope is more useful than asking for the most impressive design at the lowest possible price.
Supply the venue facts
Attach the stand plan with dimensions, open sides, neighbouring stands and any columns or obstructions. Add the organiser’s current technical manual, build and breakdown windows, access instructions and submission deadlines. Mark information that is still provisional.
Tell the builder whether the booking is space-only or an existing stand package. Do not assume a shell-scheme wall can support equipment, that a platform is included or that hanging signs are permitted. Ask the responsible contractor to check the applicable rules.
Turn the brief into a short schedule
- Show, venue, stand number and footprint.
- Primary audience and the action visitors should take.
- Products, demonstrations and equipment, with sizes and weights.
- Power, data, lighting and other services to be confirmed.
- Storage, seating, accessible circulation and staff requirements.
- Brand files, messages, artwork ownership and approval dates.
- Transport, installation, dismantling and storage responsibilities.
- Future shows and alternative footprints if reuse matters.
Include only requirements you actually need. A brief overloaded with optional features makes it harder to protect the essentials.
Ask for proof of the working design
Review a dimensioned layout as well as the visual. Walk through how a visitor approaches, where the conversation happens and whether people can pass while a demonstration is running. Check where coats, stock, cases and cables will go. Ask how the stand can be used by people with different access needs.
For screens and graphics, check viewing distance, content format and what is readable from the aisle. Approve production artwork separately from the concept render. Make sure someone owns each approval and has the final dimensions.
Make the quote comparable
Request an itemised scope showing design, manufacture or hire, graphics, flooring, furniture, lighting, labour and transport. Ask for exclusions and the change process. Confirm who orders venue services and who is responsible for technical submissions.
Discuss handover: who will be on site, when your team can inspect the stand, how defects are recorded and who to contact during the show. Obtain cancellation, damage and storage terms in writing. A photograph of a previous project is evidence of a project, not a guarantee of your own result.
Approve a usable handover pack
Keep the agreed design, artwork, service orders, contacts and schedule together. Give the stand team instructions for equipment, storage and emergency contacts. Plan dismantling before the event opens, including what is retained and where it goes.
Find potential partners in the supplier directory. Listings describe published services; they do not replace your checks, a written contract or the organiser’s requirements.
Sources and research basis
Sources checked 2026-10-17. Supplier capabilities and venue specifications are attributed to their published documentation. No first-hand test or visit is implied.
General planning guidance. Technical suitability must be checked for the actual stand and event.