The quality of the exhibition stand you receive is directly proportional to the quality of the brief you provide. Vague briefs produce vague designs, change orders mid-fabrication and stands that don’t quite match what you had in mind. A thorough brief produces accurate quotes, faster design iterations and a finished product that performs.
What to Include in Your Exhibition Stand Brief
Start with the basics: the event name, venue, event dates, your stand number and your allocated floor space dimensions. If you have a space-only allocation versus a shell scheme, specify that clearly. If there are restrictions on the space (no building above a certain height, no hanging elements, neighbours on specified sides) include those too.
Your Commercial Objectives for the Event
The most overlooked section of most exhibition briefs is the commercial objective. Your stand builder needs to know why you’re at this event: are you launching a new product, meeting existing clients, generating qualified leads, or building brand awareness in a new market? The answer affects layout, which dictates whether the stand is open and high-traffic or structured for longer private conversations.
If lead generation is the primary objective, the brief should specify: how many leads per day is a good result? What does a qualified lead look like? Are you capturing contact details digitally or via business card? Is there a product demo that drives the lead capture process? These answers shape stand layout fundamentally.
Brand and Visual Direction
Provide your complete brand guidelines including primary and secondary colour palette (with hex or Pantone codes), font names, logo files in vector format, and any photographic or illustrative assets you want incorporated into the stand design. If you have a brand style that you love on another stand or a competitor’s stand that you want to differentiate from, include those references.
Specify what you want to avoid: design directions, materials or approaches that you’ve seen and dislike. This negative brief is often as useful as the positive one.
Budget Guidance
Provide a budget range in your brief. Stand builders who don’t know your budget will either quote at a generic middle market level that doesn’t match your expectations, or they’ll spend significant design time on a concept you can’t afford. A realistic budget range focuses the design process on what’s achievable and prevents disappointment.
If you don’t know what a budget should be, ask the builder to quote for two or three options at different investment levels so you can compare value at each tier. This is a common and legitimate request.
Logistics and Practical Requirements
Include any practical requirements that affect the stand design: storage requirements within the footprint, whether the stand needs to travel to multiple events, whether you need a meeting area, the number of staff who will be on the stand at peak times, and any electrical requirements (screen, monitor, product lighting).
If the stand needs to be assembled and dismantled by event staff without tools, that’s a critical design constraint. If it needs to pack into a certain-size transit case for air freight, that’s another. These details affect fabrication method, material choices and cost.
Timeline Requirements
State your event date clearly and work backward with your builder to establish the timeline. Design approval, fabrication start, freight dispatch and bump-in are the four key milestones. If you have flexibility, mention it. If there are hard constraints (the event organiser requires stand design submission 6 weeks before the event, for example), specify those.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I don’t include a budget in my brief?
Without budget guidance, builders quote at a generic level that may not match your expectations. You’ll likely receive either an over-specified quote that’s too expensive or an under-specified quote that doesn’t do justice to your brand. Even a rough range gives the designer essential context.
How long should an exhibition stand brief be?
One to two pages covering the essentials is sufficient for most projects. For complex builds with specific technical requirements, three to four pages is appropriate. Attach supporting documents (brand guidelines, floor plan, reference images) separately rather than embedding them in the brief text.
Should I request multiple quotes from different builders?
Two to three quotes is a reasonable comparison for a project of significant value. Requesting ten quotes is excessive and rarely produces better outcomes. A focused comparison of two or three credible builders with in-house fabrication and relevant experience is more valuable than a broad tender process.
Can I brief a builder verbally rather than in writing?
A verbal brief should always be followed by a written confirmation of what was discussed. Without a written record, misunderstandings about dimensions, materials and commercial objectives are common and expensive to resolve.
Brij & Co responds to all written briefs within 48 hours with a 3D design concept and itemised quote. Contact us to start your next project.
