trade show booth lighting.

The amount of light is set by area, not by feel. The trade measures lighting in lumens per square metre, and for a trade show booth one simple rule applies: the stand should be clearly brighter than the hall, usually a few times above its level, so that it stands out from its surroundings and catches the eye from the aisle.

Exhibition halls are lit sparingly and evenly, so a booth with only the general hall light disappears among its neighbours. The goal is a difference: when your space is noticeably brighter than the aisle, the eye slides onto it by itself. The point is therefore not to light everything equally hard, but to create contrast between the booth and its surroundings.

The power you need depends on the size of the surface and the height you light from. The tall walls and ceilings of large islands are covered by powerful floodlights such as the ERON Pro 100W and 200W, which throw plenty of luminous flux per square metre from a greater distance. A smaller in-line stand needs fewer fixtures, but the same logic holds: more surface and a greater mounting height mean more lumens required.

Light is measured not by the number of fixtures but by how evenly it covers the surfaces that matter. The exhibits, the back wall with its graphics and the counter must be clearly lit, while transit areas may stay darker; that very difference guides the eye. Because every Octanorm fixture is part of one line, you add them gradually until the surfaces that sell are bright enough, with no improvising with lights from another set.

The colour of the light is set by the colour temperature in kelvin: lower is warmer, higher is cooler. As an industry guideline, warm white at around 2700 to 3000 K is pleasant and inviting, while neutral white at around 4000 K is clean and technical. The choice depends on what you exhibit and what feeling you want to create.

Warm light creates a homely, welcoming impression and suits products where warmth matters: furniture, food and drink, hospitality, textiles and natural materials. A lit counter such as the OL-C500 reads as inviting under warm light and draws the visitor into conversation. Too much warmth, though, can make white and cool products look yellowed.

Neutral white light is clean and precise and suits technology, medical and industrial equipment and anything meant to read as exact and high-performance. It gives the impression of daylight, so colours look balanced, with no warm or cool cast. Many a booth combines the two: neutral white for general lighting and exhibits, warm for the counter and a quieter corner for conversation.

What matters is that the colour temperature suits the brand and the product, not that it is the brightest at any cost. Consider what feeling the booth should evoke and tune the light to it; because Octanorm fixtures come in different versions, you choose the combination according to what you present. ERON Pro fixtures in the tri-color version let you select the shade, so the colour of the light matches the purpose of the booth.

Lit graphics catch the eye before the visitor even reads the brand name. You can light a wall with graphics from the outside with a wall washer, or make the graphic glow on its own: octalumina light walls are fabric LED frames in which the lettering reads like a screen rather than a printed poster and is visible from the far side of the hall.

Lighting graphics from the outside is the simplest route. Aim the Wallwasher M or track lights at the back wall so the printed image is lit evenly, edge to edge, with no bright patch in the middle or dark corners. Evenness is the key: unevenly lit graphics look cheaper than well-printed ones.

Glowing graphics go a step further. The octalumina 40, 80 and 120 light walls are fabric LED frames with silicone-edge graphics, where the number gives the profile depth: the slimmer 40 for lettering and smaller surfaces, 80 and 120 for large, free-standing or double-sided light walls. Instead of lighting the graphic from outside, the surface itself glows, so the image stands out even in a bright hall.

For accents and upright elements there are octalumina kubus, a light tower for the centre of the space, and octatowers, an upright totem for an entrance or sign. Octalux 40 and 80 with a coloured COB LED strip add edges and lines in any shade. All the graphics carriers are part of one line, so you combine them on the same booth and refresh the image when the offering changes, without touching the structure.

Lighting is planned from the floor plan, not on site. First identify the surfaces that sell: the exhibits, the back wall with its graphics and the counter. Give them the most light and leave transit areas darker. Only then do you choose the fixture types and arrange them so that base light, accents and lit graphics complement one another.

Start with the base. Decide how many floodlights you need for the whole booth to be clearly brighter than the hall, and spread them evenly above the space. This is the level on which everything else works; if it is too low, even the finest accents do not help, because they are lost in the general dimness.

Then add accents and graphics. Aim the LUNA 30 and YARA 28 track lights above the key exhibits to create focal points, and the Wallwasher M at the back wall with graphics so the image is lit evenly. A lit counter or an octalumina light wall creates a point the visitor approaches on their own.

Finally, sort out the power. Every fixture needs the right voltage in the right place, so at the planning stage decide how many separate lighting branches you feed and how powerful a supply you need. The simplest way is to send the floor plan: from it we read the surface, the height and the layout and propose fixtures and power that match each other and your budget.