Plan your booth around more than the backdrop.

Choose the job your booth needs to do

A booth that serves products across a counter needs a different arrangement from one where visitors step inside to browse. Before choosing furniture, write down the main activity: selling from a table, displaying a collection, demonstrating a product or taking photographs.

Then trace one visitor’s journey. Where do they stop, what can they see, and where does a conversation or purchase happen? Give staff a way to reach products and packing supplies without repeatedly moving the display. A layout can fit on paper and still interrupt the work it needs to support.

This guide is a planning worksheet for indoor pop-ups. For the choice between 2m, 3m and 4m display widths, use our backdrop size guide. Here, the focus is arranging everything around the display.

Get the actual space and furniture details

Ask your organiser for the usable booth dimensions, open sides, permitted display height, supplied furniture and any positions that must remain clear. Mark pillars, partitions and power points if they affect your allocated space. A general hall plan is useful context, but it does not establish your individual booth’s usable area.

Confirm whether tables, chairs and shelves are supplied, rented separately or brought by you. For example, Suntec Singapore’s furniture guidance says furniture for exhibitions and sales/roadshows is available at an additional charge, and exhibitor rental requests must be consolidated by the organiser. Your event package may have its own inclusions; check it before buying or hiring duplicates.

Measure the furniture you will actually use, including table depth, shelf height, doors or drawers when open, and storage containers. Do not substitute a product photograph for dimensions. Ask the organiser to confirm required clearances and access arrangements rather than borrowing numbers from another event.

Draw a top view and a front view

The top view answers “Can we work in this space?” Draw the booth boundary to one consistent scale. Add the complete floor footprint of each item, including the backdrop’s supporting feet. Mark staff positions, the route into the booth and where someone will stand while browsing or being served.

The front view answers “What will visitors see?” Sketch the furniture height against the backdrop, then add products and signage. Check the brand name and main message from the aisle and from an angle. Shelves that look low in a floor plan can hide a large part of the printed design.

Our Nail Deck project photographs show a branded backdrop behind shelving and an activity table. They illustrate why furniture and artwork should be planned together. Nail Deck is within our founder’s personal and business network; the photos are not a scaled layout or evidence of a particular sales result.

Compare two arrangements before committing

These are layout options, not universal prescriptions. Choose the arrangement that works within your organiser’s rules and your actual furniture dimensions.

Make a simple layout worksheet

Put these answers on one page before confirming the design. Share the same version with whoever prepares the artwork and whoever sets up the booth.

• Space: usable width and depth, permitted height, open sides and any fixed obstructions.
• Furniture: width, depth and height of every table, shelf and chair, plus doors or drawers in use.
• Display: backdrop width and height, confirmed supporting-foot footprint and proposed position.
• Working area: staff entry, stock access, packing space and where customers will be served.
• Visibility: the part of the artwork covered by furniture, products or people.
• Open questions: organiser approvals, power arrangements, transport and any measurement still awaiting confirmation.

For a layout with separate zones arranged from back to front, add the depths shown in your drawing: the backdrop footprint, working space and furniture depth. If that sum exceeds the usable booth depth, the arrangement cannot fit as drawn. If it is smaller, you still need to check access and the event’s clearance requirements; spare centimetres alone do not establish a suitable layout.

Rehearse with the furniture and a tape outline

Before the event, mark the usable booth boundary on a suitable floor with removable tape, where permitted. Place the actual furniture inside it. If the backdrop is not yet available, mark its confirmed footprint and use the front-view drawing to check the planned artwork position.

Walk through a normal sequence: enter the booth, reach a product, demonstrate it, retrieve replacement stock and pack an order. Include the chairs and containers you intend to bring. Have another person approach as a visitor and point out what they can read from the front and sides.

Revise the layout before approving the artwork. If the display feels crowded, removing an item may help more than choosing a wider backdrop. Keep temporary cables, stock and bags out of the routes you have planned, and resolve venue-specific questions with the organiser.

Confirm the backdrop after the layout works

CGB’s standard indoor tension fabric backdrops come in 2m, 3m and 4m widths, all 2m tall. The displayed width and height are not the complete floor footprint. Ask us to confirm the supporting-foot space for your chosen size before relying on a tight layout. Tables, shelves, lighting and stock are separate from our backdrop package.

Send your plan, furniture positions, intended backdrop size and required handover date with your order request, or email Kai. Include the organiser’s requirements and setup date if they affect the display. We confirm the details before payment.

Allow 5 weeks from receipt of full payment and approved artwork to delivery/collection. Layout planning, file preparation and mockup revisions happen before that period starts. Once the layout is settled, follow the artwork preparation guide and check the complete-set pricing guide.