What to Consider When Creating an Exhibition Floor Plan

With a detailed floor plan, your exhibition is less likely to have issues like poor visitor experience and lower engagement levels. Putting a floor plan together isn’t something you should rush – it’s a kind of science that, when done correctly, can lead to amazing results. Here are just some of the points you should consider to ensure your exhibition floor plan is perfect. 

Floor plans at exhibitions

What Kind of Exhibition Are You Holding?

The type of event and venue should influence the kind of floor plan that’s needed. Are visitors expected to move around the exhibition in a particular way? Are there separate rooms that will be used for presentations? Questions like these will determine the overall layout. 

What are you hoping to achieve from the exhibition? If you’re trying to increase visitor purchases from vendors, then you may benefit from a different kind of layout than if the exhibition is more informative. 

Floor plans influence the way that visitors behave as they move around your space. Think about what you’d like them to do and where you’d like them to congregate. Both of these considerations will help you to create a floor plan that’s right for your exhibition. 

It can sometimes help to consider other exhibitions you’ve personally been to. Did you find it easy to get around? Were you often lost? Did you see everything you’d hoped to? Were there areas where visitors most often congregated? Use your own experiences to shape the floor plan for your event. 

 

What’s the Best Use of the Space?

It can be difficult to visualise your exhibition when you’re looking at an empty space. When you’re staring at a basic layout of the room(s), it’s not easy to consider where high traffic areas are and places attendees might not visit. 

When you start to put your plan together, you’ll have a good idea of where you want different exhibitors to go. At this point, it’s important to speak to all of the vendors and exhibitors to determine how they plan to use the space they’re given. 

Do they want their staff to be able to move around their exhibit and speak to visitors? Do they want to show videos or hold interactive presentations at certain points in the day? You’ll need to think about how the answers to these questions impact other exhibitors, the visitors themselves and the space they’ll all be sharing throughout the day. 

 

Is a Detailed Floor Plan Even Necessary?

The short answer? Yes. When you’re planning an event, it can be tempting to find spaces for all of the exhibitors and then call it a day. This is a fast but ineffective approach to planning your event. 

You may have attended an exhibition or event in the past that was planned in this way. They’re usually confusing for visitors and frustrating for exhibitors because there’s been no thought put into how anyone will behave or move. 

One of the main causes of poor events is because the floor plan isn’t detailed or effective enough. The floor plan can help you to create an engaging and interactive experience at your exhibition, ensuring visitors have the best possible time and want to return in the future. 

It’s more than just a technical drawing, it’s a way of guiding visitors through your exhibition and making sure space is used in the best possible way. Visitors and exhibitors will both have a positive experience and engage with each other if the floor plan is created correctly. 

 

Where are Visitors Going to Spend Most of Their Time?

Fail to consider where your visitors are going to congregate at your exhibition and you’re more likely to have unwanted bottlenecks. No one ever wants to feel uncomfortable or claustrophobic at an event. The best way of preemptively dealing with this problem is by ensuring there’s enough space on the floor plan. 

You might have to limit the number of exhibitors you have to make sure there’s enough space for everyone to move around easily. Visitors would much rather see less but be comfortable than there be more exhibitors but not enough space. 

Create an effective floor plan and you’ll have designed a traffic flow pattern for your visitors. You’ll already have determined the best way of moving around the exhibition, allowing them to easily and comfortably see everything you want them to. 

You can even include design elements like floor graphics and banners to help guide visitors as they move from one exhibit to the next. If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to floor plans and the associated design possibilities, make sure to download our free library of templates. 

 

Discover Floor Plan Inspiration in Our Template Library

Our library features example floor plans that will give you the inspiration you need to create the perfect one for your exhibition. The library of floor plan templates is completely free and available to download now using the link below. 

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