For the next couple of Marketplace Mondays, I will be focusing on product display. The display of your work can be the difference between excellent and dreadful sales. Planning your display in advance and doing a little research, will go a long way in your success.

To get an idea of what options there are for display, look at other booth displays to see what you like or dislike. You can do this at local craft shows or there are several Flickr groups, Craft Fair Displays and Arts & Crafts Fairs are two examples, where you can find booth and display photos online. When you’re looking at the various displays, think about the following:

• What colors draw you in?
• What makes certain displays stand out?
• Does the signage catch your eye?
• Do you like the arrangement of the booth space?
• How does lighting affect the displays?
• Do you immediately know what product is being sold?
• Does the display complement the product line?

Once you’ve gotten some ideas on what you like and what works well, you need to start considering what you want your booth to look like. Remember that your booth should help to draw people in but shouldn’t overshadow your products. If customers are frequently complementing you on your beautiful displays and booth, you need to rethink your display ideas as the displays are outshining your work.

Consider all of the following when working up your booth design:

• Space – how will the floor plan be laid out?
• Theme – can you use a theme to reinforce your brand?
• Color – what colors will work with the color palette of your products?
• Levels – how can you place your products at various levels to create depth and interest?
• Signage – how much signage do you need and for what purposes?
• Lighting – how can you use lighting to emphasize your products?
• Simplicity – how do you create a display that doesn’t overwhelm your product?

Answer these questions to get started on designing your booth. I’ll discuss these ideas and more in the next article. If you have some great display ideas or photos of your displays, we’d love to hear about them and see how you display your work. Feel free to add your display ideas to our Flickr group photos.