I have walked countless trade show floors covered in the standard blue, red, black and even gray carpeting. In many cases, this carpeting extends into the exhibit booths in one of the chosen "show organizer approved" colors.
Exhibit booth flooring is often referred to as the fifth wall and, surprisingly, it is often overlooked. The floor of your exhibit offers you another opportunity to showcase your brand message and aesthetic to the show attendees.
The next time you sit down to plan the design of your exhibit booth area, don't forget about the floor. Here are a few reasons why you should integrate the floor into your exhibit design process.
1. Eye-catching
Think about it. Your booth sits on a trade show floor, a sea of other exhibit booths, all vying for the attendees' attention. Professional show flooring can be the element that causes an attendee to choose to engage with the people manning your booth.
2. Brand aesthetics
Exhibit booth carpets and flooring can be created to match your corporate brand identity. Logos and corporate colors can be integrated into the flooring design to further define your brand to the attendees.
Galerie Gmurzynska's booth extended the avante-garde feel of their Zurich gallery which showcases modern and contemporary art.
3. High-quality experience
Flooring can be an expensive investment, but consider the impression it will make with the attendees. Since every touchpoint of your booth adds to the overall story of the space, flooring can help immerse your visitors further into your brand's world — it's also the finishing touch that completes your story.
4. Foot relief
Consider adding a little extra padding to the flooring. This extra layer of padding between your feet and the concrete show floor will make it easier on your legs and feet when you are standing for hours at a time. The added bonus will be the sigh of relief you'll hear from the visitors who walk into your booth. They won't want to leave!
5. Plenty of options
There are a lot of different flooring options out there, so don't be afraid to think outside of the carpet roll. You can find rollable vinyl flooring, raised flooring, printed flooring, custom carpets, green flooring options from vendors in this space.
Customized exhibit booth flooring is often an afterthought and not always considered as part of the exhibit design process. However, it is exciting to see more and more companies integrated custom flooring into their overall booth design.
Flooring is an important component in a designers toolbox and can really enhance both the exhibit environment and brand experience.
The Cooper Institute customized a football-themed carpet to showcase FitnessGram (the official assessment of the Presidential Youth Fitness Program) and the NFL's Play 60 initiative.
