by Pixel Kicks
Uncategorised
12th April, 2024
When it comes to creating an impactful and memorable exhibition stand, lighting plays a vital role. It can transform a dull space into an eye-catching and engaging one, capturing the attention of passers-by and focusing their attention on the most important or profitable parts of your offering.
In this article, we’ll delve into everything you need to know about exhibition stand lighting, starting with why it’s important, then going on to cover the various types of lighting that can be used.
Just like the shape, size and colour of your stand, lighting can bring focus and draw potential customers in. It not only enhances the visual appeal of your stand but also highlights your products, services, branding and messaging. Also, the right lighting can set a mood, create a sense of urgency or excitement, and ultimately guide attendees to desired areas within your stand.
Ideally, lighting should be designed alongside the stand itself, and shouldn’t be treated as an optional extra. For example, it’s possible that a great lighting concept can inspire a certain physical design to make the most of it. However, there are also benefits to having a degree of flexibility, as locations and venues vary in the degree of ambient lighting – bear this in mind if you’re re-using the same stand multiple times.
Now that we understand the significance of exhibition stand lighting, let’s explore some of the popular types commonly used.
Spotlights are versatile and can be adjusted to focus light on specific areas or objects within your stand. They’re ideal for highlighting key products or displays, effectively drawing attention and guiding visitors’ gaze to your desired focal points.
Whether you want to showcase your latest product, a special offer or a brand logo or message, spotlights can be easily positioned to create a visually appealing effect.
LED strips are a popular choice for exhibition stand lighting due to their versatility and energy efficiency. They can be easily installed and provide a subtle yet impactful glow that can be used to highlight specific areas or accentuate features such as shelves, pedestals, tables or hanging signage. LED strips come in various colours, allowing you to match your brand colours or create a specific mood.
This involves placing lights behind translucent panels or graphics to create visually appealing effects. This technique can add depth and dimension to your stand, making your graphics and visuals pop. Backlit graphics are especially effective in capturing attention and creating an immersive experience. Backlighting can be used in combination with other forms of lighting to fill objects or areas with subtle, less shadowy illumination, or to light up dark walls and dividers.
Using coloured lights can greatly enhance the overall ambiance of your stand. By selecting colours that align with your brand identity or the theme of your display, you can create a cohesive and visually striking environment.
Coloured lighting can be achieved through the use of colour gels or LED fixtures with adjustable colour options. Whether you want to evoke a sense of elegance with warm hues or create a vibrant atmosphere with bold colours, coloured lighting can help you achieve your desired effect.
Moving lights or patterns can create a dynamic and captivating display. This type of lighting can be particularly effective in catching the eye and attracting attention from a distance. Whether it’s rotating lights, moving patterns or even a light show synchronised with music, motion lighting adds an element of excitement and dynamism to your stand.
While the previous lighting types focus more on the visual appeal and ambiance, task lighting serves a practical purpose of providing ample light for product demonstrations or interactive displays. It ensures that visitors can clearly see and engage with your products, enhancing their overall experience at your stand. This will typically be an adjustable table lamp or similar design, but well placed spotlights can also act as task lighting.
You can take spotlighting to the max by focusing beams of light to highlight specific objects or areas within your stand. There’s no official point at which a regular spotlight becomes a pin spot, but if you imagine light focusing to a circle in the 5–15 cm range, it would probably fall into this category.
Uplighting involves placing lights at ground level and directing them upwards to illuminate walls, displays, objects or architectural elements from below. This technique adds depth and drama to your stand by creating shadows and highlighting textures. Because illumination gets gradually dimmer the higher it is, it also creates an attractive and calming way to draw attention to the lower areas of the stand.
This refers to projecting customised patterns, designs or logos onto walls, floors, or ceilings by projecting interesting shadows and graded designs. By using specialised lighting fixtures and gobo plates, you can project intricate patterns or brand imagery, instantly grabbing attention and reinforcing your brand identity. It works best on a flat, blank surface, but can be effective projected onto certain textures, 3D objects and print patterns.
Here, adjustable light fixtures are attached to a track system, which is generally a straight rod but can be a curved or angled pole. This allows you to easily position and direct the light to specific areas or products as needed. Track lighting provides flexibility in highlighting different elements of your display at various times, and is adjustable so you can get the lighting just right.
Pendant lighting involves hanging light fixtures from the ceiling or overhead structural elements, often at different heights. This type of lighting adds a touch of elegance and creates a focal point in your exhibition stand. It’s quite a calming, homely design that works well if you’re in the domestic or hospitality sectors.
If you’re looking for a vibrant, retro element to your exhibition stand, neon tubes or flex neon lights can be used to create custom signage, highlight specific areas or add a pop of colour to your display. Neon lights can be genuine or faux, using LEDs.
Interactive lighting involves incorporating sensors and technology into your exhibition stand lighting. This allows visitors to engage with the lighting display through touch, motion or sound. Interactive lighting can create an immersive and interactive experience, leaving a memorable impression on attendees.
Each of the types of lighting above offers its own distinctive effect and can be tailored to suit your specific exhibition stand requirements. By carefully considering the purpose, mood and theme of your display, we can help you choose the most suitable lighting techniques.
There is of course one source of light that might be able to play a part in an exhibition – sunlight.
The drawbacks of natural light are pretty obvious. It is completely out of your control, and its intensity is determined by the weather, the time of day and the month of the year. Also, as the sun moves across the sky, the direction of illumination, shadow, reflections and glare will also change, making it difficult to get optimum illumination for more than a few hours.
If you’re indoors, the amount of natural light your stand gets will be determined by the layout of the hall, where your stand is located and the position and orientation of its windows. But when the weather gods are supporting your cause, it can provide a calming ambience that’s difficult to emulate with artificial sources.
Outdoor exhibitions are pretty common in the holiday, gardening, motoring and construction sectors. Indeed, if you’re doing an outdoor exhibition, natural light will be your default source. Even if it’s in a marquee, you’ll be getting a lot of natural light, albeit filtered and diffused by the fabric. It’s a great leveller, with all the stands experiencing more or less the same lighting intensity, so you’re going to have to make sure you stand out in other ways.
In all cases where natural light is primary, it’s advisable to have artificial lighting too. That can be to supplement the natural light, for example to light up darker areas, or to throw extra illumination on feature points of the exhibition. It’s also a good idea to have a full lighting setup ready to switch on if conditions change for the worst. On an overcast day at 3 p.m. in autumn, it can be pretty gloomy out there.
When you’re augmenting daylight, also note the colour temperature of the artificial light. Daylight has a temperature of 5500–6500 K, while warmer sources (incandescent bulbs and warm LEDs) are in the 1000–4000 K range. Warm lighting in a cool or neutral ambience can bring contrast and draw attention, but it will usually struggle to compete with the glare of the sun and the sky, and can look dirty and half-hearted. In addition, most of us don’t realise just how bright daylight actually is, as our pupils react when we enter and leave buildings. Remember to augment natural daylight with something bright, focused and cool.
By carefully selecting the right lighting types, you can highlight your products, create a welcoming atmosphere and guide visitors’ attention to where you want it. Each type serves a specific purpose in enhancing your exhibition stand’s overall aesthetics and effectiveness.
So, next time you plan your exhibition stand, make sure to give proper thought and consideration to the lighting, as it can truly make a remarkable impact on your audience.
