Exhibition Stand Brief Template: 12 Sections to Include | Hashtag10

Hashtag10 has received hundreds of stand briefs over the years. Some arrive as a single paragraph and a rough floor plan. Others run to twelve pages of specifications, technical drawings, and brand guidelines. The difference in build quality, cost accuracy, and on-site outcome between those two extremes is significant. A thorough brief does not just help your designer; it protects your budget, your timeline, and your brand at the show.

This guide walks through every section your brief needs to cover, with particular focus on the questions that break international builds when they go unanswered. If you are exhibiting across multiple countries with a single supplier, or commissioning a stand to be fabricated in one country and installed in another, the detail you provide at the briefing stage determines everything that follows.

Stand designers work from what you give them. A vague brief produces a generic design. A detailed brief produces a stand that reflects your brand, fits your space, and works within your logistics constraints.

The brief is also where cost accuracy is established. Every change requested after design sign-off costs time. Changes requested after fabrication begins cost money. Changes requested on-site cost both, and usually involve compromises to the finished product. The brief is your one opportunity to get everything in writing before any of that starts.

For brands exhibiting internationally, the stakes are higher. A stand built in Alexandria for a show in Frankfurt operates under different venue rules, freight deadlines, and material regulations than one built locally. If your builder does not have that information from the start, they are designing to assumptions rather than requirements.

1. Company and Contact Information

This sounds obvious, but briefs frequently arrive without a named project owner, a decision-making contact, and a procurement or finance contact. Your stand builder needs to know who approves designs, who approves costs, and who to call at 11pm the night before a build begins.

Include: company name, brand name (if different), primary project contact, approval contact, phone numbers for all parties, and the name of anyone who will be on-site during installation.

2. Exhibition Details

The specific show, venue, hall, and stand number (once allocated). If the stand number is not yet confirmed, state that clearly and commit to providing it as soon as it is available. Many venue-specific technical requirements depend on stand location: corner positions, hall height restrictions, proximity to loading bays.

Include: show name, dates (including build days and breakdown window), venue name and city, country, hall number, stand number if confirmed, and the name of the official show contractor if different from your builder.

3. Stand Dimensions and Floor Plan

This is where most briefs fail. State the floor dimensions in metres (not square footage alone). Specify whether you have a shell scheme or a raw space allocation. If shell scheme: confirm what is included. Shell schemes at different venues include different things, and assuming your builder knows what GITEX provides versus what Hannover Messe provides is a fast route to a budget problem.

Include: floor dimensions (width x depth in metres), total sqm, shell scheme or raw space, what the shell scheme package includes (walls, carpet, fascia board, power points), any adjacent stands that affect open sides, and the official venue floor plan file if you have it.

4. Maximum Height Regulations

Venue height restrictions vary significantly between shows. ADNEC in Abu Dhabi, the Egypt International Exhibition Center, and Messe Frankfurt each publish different maximum heights, and these can vary by hall. Double-decker stands and tall structures require additional structural certification in most venues. If you want any kind of elevated element, your builder needs to know the venue's maximum before they sketch anything.

Include: maximum stand height as specified in the exhibitor manual, whether double-decker or mezzanine structures are permitted, and whether there are any additional fire or structural certification requirements for elevated builds.

5. Power and Technical Requirements

Power inclusion in shell schemes is not universal. At some shows it is standard; at others it is a paid addition. Your builder cannot design your lighting, AV, or interactive elements until they know what power is available, at what voltage, and with what phase configuration.

Include: power allocation in amps (from the exhibitor manual), whether a separate power order is required, AV requirements (screens, LED walls, audio, presentation equipment), connectivity requirements (Wi-Fi, ethernet), and any interactive or digital elements you plan to include.

6. Brand Guidelines and Visual Identity

Send the full brand guidelines document, not a logo file. Your builder needs to know approved colour codes (Pantone, RAL, and hex), approved typefaces and how they should be used, imagery style and any restrictions on photography, and the tone you want the stand to communicate (premium, approachable, technical, minimal).

Include: full brand guidelines PDF, logo files in vector format, any brand-approved imagery for the stand graphics, and any examples of previous stands or competitor stands you consider relevant (noting specifically what you liked or disliked about each).

7. Objectives and Key Messages

What is this stand meant to achieve? The answer shapes every design decision. A stand designed to generate leads from walk-in visitors looks different from a stand designed for pre-scheduled meetings. A stand at a trade show where your company is launching a new product requires different spatial planning than one where you are reinforcing an established brand presence.

Include: primary objective for exhibiting (leads, brand awareness, product launch, client entertainment), the number and type of visitors you expect (walk-in traffic versus appointment-based), the one or two messages you want every visitor to take away, and any products or services that need dedicated display space.

8. Space and Functional Requirements

This is the brief's most practical section. How many people will be working the stand at peak times? Do you need a private meeting room, an open meeting area, or both? Does your product require demonstration space? Do you need storage for literature, samples, or equipment? Is there a counter or reception point where staff will greet visitors?

Include: number of staff on stand at any one time, meeting and hospitality requirements (seated meetings, standing engagement, bar/catering), product display requirements (dimensions and weight of any products to be shown), storage requirements, reception or counter requirements, and whether there are any accessibility considerations.

9. Material and Sustainability Requirements

Some clients have corporate commitments to sustainable materials or reusable stand components. Some venues have restrictions on certain materials (open flame finishes, for example, are prohibited in many halls). Some stand types require specific structural materials to comply with venue engineering requirements.

If your stand is being fabricated in one country for a show in another, material specifications also affect customs documentation and import compliance. A stand built in Alexandria for a show in Germany may require specific material certification to clear EU import requirements. Your builder needs to know this before fabrication begins.

Include: any corporate sustainability requirements, preferences for reusable versus custom components, any restrictions on materials the venue imposes, and whether imported materials will require certification or documentation.

10. Build and Breakdown Schedule

Every show has a defined build and breakdown window. Missing the build deadline means your stand is not ready when the show opens. Missing the breakdown deadline means penalty charges from the venue. Your builder needs these times before they can plan their installation crew.

Include: build access date and time, show open and close dates and times, breakdown deadline, and the name and contact details of the on-site venue contact for your builder's installation team.

11. Logistics and Freight Details

For international builds, this section is where most delays originate when it is left incomplete. Where is the stand being fabricated? Where does it need to be delivered? Who is managing freight? Are there specific freight forwarders required by the venue? What are the loading bay access arrangements?

For stands fabricated in Alexandria going to European shows, this includes questions about customs brokerage, EU import documentation, and whether the receiving venue allows direct delivery or requires freight to clear a show-appointed logistics partner first.

Include: fabrication location (if specified by you), delivery address and venue loading dock details, freight management responsibility (handled by your builder or a third-party logistics company), any customs or import documentation requirements, and on-site installation point of contact.

12. Budget Parameters

Many clients hesitate to include a budget figure. The reason for including it is straightforward: a designer working without a budget will produce a design that may be unachievable within your actual spend. Sharing a realistic budget does not cap your ambition; it directs design decisions toward what can actually be built.

Include: total budget (design and build, excluding travel and accommodation), whether the budget includes or excludes the show contractor element, and any significant cost constraints that should drive design decisions (for example, a preference for reusable components to reduce spend at future shows).

Brand guidelines tell a designer what they cannot do. A good brief tells them what you actually want the stand to feel like.

The most useful addition to a brief is a small collection of reference images: stands you consider well-designed (not necessarily from your own sector), interiors or environments that have the right mood, and, if relevant, examples of your own past stands with notes on what worked and what did not.

If your brand has a premium positioning, say so plainly and explain what premium means in your context: materials, finish, lighting quality, the level of detail in the joinery. If your brand is technically focused and needs to communicate precision, that affects every design choice from the geometry of the structure to the font size on the graphics.

A single sentence that captures the stand's purpose, your audience, and the feeling you want visitors to leave with is more useful than a paragraph of adjectives. 'Our audience are procurement directors in the oil and gas sector; we want them to feel they are working with a serious, technically credible partner' tells a designer something they can work with.

Even with a thorough brief, most builders will ask follow-up questions. These are the ones that come up most consistently. Having answers ready shortens the approval cycle.

Can the stand be adapted for future shows?

If you exhibit multiple times a year, a reusable modular structure may be more cost-effective than a fully custom build each time. Your builder will want to know whether this stand is a one-off or the first version of a longer-term asset.

Who has final sign-off on designs?

Design approval chains that involve multiple stakeholders slow down the process considerably. Know in advance who needs to approve designs, and whether they can approve remotely or require an in-person review.

Are there regulatory restrictions on the show or sector?

Pharmaceutical companies exhibiting at Arab Health, for example, may have internal legal requirements about how products can be presented. Defence companies at EDEX operate under different rules. Your builder needs to know about any sector-specific compliance requirements before the design is finalised.

What happens to the stand after the show?

Knowing whether the stand is being stored, transported to another show, or disposed of after installation affects how it is built. Stands designed for storage and reuse need different structural decisions than single-use builds.

Is there a preferred installation crew language?

At international shows, the installation crew may be local to the venue country. In Egypt, Arabic is standard; in Germany, German or English. In some venues, your builder's crew may work alongside venue-appointed electricians who only speak the local language. Flagging this in advance allows your builder to plan accordingly.

Hashtag10's account managers and designers have worked from briefs in every format: a napkin sketch, a twelve-page specification, a deck of reference images, or a single paragraph with a floor plan. Whatever you have at this stage is a starting point. The team will identify the gaps, ask the right questions for your specific show and market, and build the brief out with you before design begins.

Book a call with the Hashtag10 team to get started.

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How long before a show should I send my brief?

For a custom-built stand at a major international show, allow a minimum of eight to twelve weeks from brief to installation. Shows with complex logistics, high-volume fabrication periods (ADIPEC season in the GCC, for example), or double-decker structures may require more. The brief should land with your builder before that twelve-week window opens, not at the start of it.

What if I do not know my stand dimensions yet?

Submit what you know and flag what is outstanding. An experienced builder can begin conceptual work with approximate dimensions and refine the design once the allocation is confirmed. What you should not do is delay sending any brief until every detail is confirmed, as this compresses the timeline at the fabrication stage, where time has a direct cost.

Do I need to include a budget figure?

Yes. See Section 12 above. A brief without a budget produces a design that may not be achievable within your actual spend. Your builder will not use the figure to inflate costs; they will use it to direct design decisions toward what can realistically be built well within your parameters.

What is the difference between a shell scheme brief and a raw space brief?

A shell scheme brief covers a stand within a pre-built structure provided by the show organiser, typically including basic walls, carpet, fascia, and a power point. A raw space brief covers an empty floor allocation where everything, including flooring, walls, structure, lighting, and power distribution, is specified and built by your contractor. The two types of brief have different levels of detail because the scope is fundamentally different.

Can the same brief be used across multiple shows?

The core sections (company information, brand guidelines, objectives, functional requirements, budget) stay broadly consistent across shows. The venue-specific sections (dimensions, height restrictions, power specifications, build schedule, logistics) need to be updated for each show separately. Many brands maintain a master brief document and complete a show-specific appendix for each new event.

What happens if my brief changes after design sign-off?

Changes after design sign-off restart elements of the design process. Minor changes to graphics or copy are generally low-cost. Changes to structure, dimensions, or layout after 3D visualisation approval add both time and cost. Changes after fabrication begins are significant. The brief is the mechanism for avoiding this: the more complete it is at the start, the fewer changes arise later.

Does Hashtag10 provide a brief review service?

Yes. If you are new to exhibiting internationally or want to sense-check a brief before sending it, our project team can review your document and flag any gaps before we begin the design process. This is a standard part of our initial client consultation and is included in the project setup, not billed separately.