By the Exhibition Stall Design editorial team · Updated 1 October 2026 · 9 min read
Short answer
To brief custom exhibition booths accurately, answer thirteen questions on one page — the space, the dates, the goal with a figure attached, the audience, the contents, the must-have zones, the finish level, the brand files, the budget range and the approval chain — and send the identical text to every supplier. That is what makes two quotes comparable; a blank field is a gap the supplier must price, and they will price it safely rather than cheaply.
Key takeaways
- One page is enough. A dozen fields, a budget range and three reference images beat a five-page document with no numbers in it.
- State one primary goal with a number attached. "Build brand awareness" and "book 40 distributor meetings" produce two completely different results at the same cost.
- Write "advise us" rather than deleting a field. A supplier cannot tell a deliberate no from an oversight, and prices the safer reading.
- Attach the exhibitor manual. Its rules on height, rigging and materials decide what can be drawn at all.
- Give product weights and power requirements. Without them plinths and sockets are sized by assumption and rebuilt on site.
- Name the approver and the decision date. The real timeline is usually your sign-off chain, not the workshop.
What a good brief is actually worth
Most exhibitors believe a quote is a statement about a supplier. It is mostly a statement about a brief. Given the dimensions, the dates, the specification and the outcome, any competent supplier arrives at a similar number; given "we need something impressive for the event next month", three will return three unrelated figures, and the gap between them is not skill — it is the different assumptions each one made to fill your gaps.
The practical consequence is a procurement problem. Exhibitors, procurement teams and agencies who need a stall built on time, to drawing, and safely at the venue tend to discover it at the comparison stage, when three figures refuse to line up. For a custom exhibition booths scope the price is driven mainly by stall area in square metres and number of open sides, finish level (laminate, paint, veneer, acrylic, metal) and height, hanging structures and double-decker elements, and every one of those is information that lives with you rather than with the supplier.
The other return is calendar time, and it is larger than people expect. Complete brief: concept and itemised quote in about two days. Incomplete brief: a question, a two-day wait for your reply, another question, and a drawing in the second week — from a lead time that is only 4 weeks at this size. Twenty minutes of writing buys back most of a week.
A quote is mostly a statement about your brief, not about the supplier. Fix the variables and the numbers become comparable.
The fields, their reasons, and worked answers
This table is the template. The left column is what to write; the middle column is the reason a supplier asks, so you can judge for yourself whether an answer is good enough; the right column is a worked answer from a complete brief — diagnostics and medical devices company, selling to hospitals and pathology labs, working with 24 sq.m (6 × 4 m).
The middle column is the part worth arguing with. If you can see which decision a field feeds, you can tell whether your own answer is specific enough to be useful — and a field answered uselessly costs the same round trip as one left blank.
| Field | Why it is asked | Example answer |
|---|---|---|
| Company, brand and what you sell | Decides tone: the same budget produces very different work for a technical audience and a consumer one | Diagnostics and medical devices company, selling to hospitals and pathology labs |
| One primary goal, with a number | Decides the whole approach. The same budget spent on reach and spent on depth produce completely different work | Hold 25 scheduled meetings with lab heads and run the software demo 30 times |
| Products or messages to feature | Decides what occupies the hero position and what has to be built or rigged to serve it | Two bench analysers, 90 kg each, and a touchscreen showing the reporting workflow |
| Brand assets and references | Artwork you own the rights to, at final size — plus three images that replace a page of adjectives | Logo in vector, brand guidelines, product photography; three reference images with a line on each |
| Budget range | Keeps the concept buildable. A range is enough and it is not a negotiating position | ₹4–5 lakh, excluding venue charges and GST |
| Approvers and decision date | Reveals the real timeline, which is usually your approval chain rather than the workshop | Marketing head approves; sign-off within five working days of the concept |
| Stall area in sq.m | It sets the price, the staff count and the build weeks before any design decision is made | 24 sq.m (6 × 4 m) |
| Number of open sides | Changes the cost per square metre more than any design choice, because it changes how many faces have to be finished | Two open sides, corner |
| Height limit and rigging rules | Fixes whether a hanging banner, a brand tower or a second storey is even allowed, and whether the organiser needs structural calculations | 4 m maximum; no rigging from the hall roof permitted |
| Must-have zones | Each zone is subtracted from display area, so listing them is how you find out whether the space works | Two seated demo stations, a private discussion room, reception desk and secure store |
| Reuse intentions | Decides whether to specify a modular frame or a one-off build, which is the largest lever on cost per show | Another show within twelve months; tell us what can come back and what storage costs |
One page, filled in like this, is enough to produce a proposal and an itemised quote without a single clarifying question.
The template itself — copy, fill, send
Paste the block below into an email or a document and fill it in. Keep the headings exactly as they are and send the identical text to every supplier you are approaching, because the moment one of them receives extra detail the comparison is worthless.
Send brand files and references as attachments, with a sentence on each image saying what you liked. "This layout but not this palette" tells a designer more than three paragraphs of description, and it takes ten seconds to write.
- Company / brand, and what you sell:
- Who buys from you, and who you want to reach at this event:
- Event name, city and venue:
- Primary goal, with a number attached:
- Secondary goal, if any:
- What is being shown, demonstrated or revealed:
- Elements you do not want:
- Brand assets attached (logo, guidelines, product photography):
- Reference images attached, with a line on what you liked about each:
- Budget range, and what it excludes:
- Who approves, and by when:
- How many suppliers you are briefing:
- Stall / stand number, as allotted:
- Build-up dates and hours:
- Show dates and opening hours:
- Number of open sides (1 inline, 2 corner, 3 three-side open, 4 island):
- Height limit, and whether rigging from the roof is allowed:
- Must-have zones (demo, meeting, storage, pantry, seating, reception):
- Whether elements need to be reusable at a later show:
A complete brief, in full sentences
Fields in a table can still be answered uselessly. Below is the same brief written as a supplier would want to read it — six short paragraphs, each answering a group of fields with something specific enough to work from.
Almost nothing here is a design instruction, and that is deliberate. Describe the problem precisely and you will get a better answer than you would have specified.
01
Context: the business and the buyer
We sell diagnostics instruments and the reporting software that runs them, to hospital procurement teams, laboratory heads and consulting pathologists. Almost all of our show conversations are pre-scheduled and they are long — twenty minutes or more — so the stall has to support seated, quiet discussion rather than aisle traffic. This is our fourth show and our second custom build.
02
The space
The space is 24 sq.m (6 × 4 m), two open sides, corner, per the allotment paperwork. Height limit 4 m, no roof rigging. Build-up opens two days before doors; the show is three days; the stand has to be cleared the last night. Manual and portal login are ready to hand over.
03
The job the stall has to do
Primary goal: hold 25 scheduled meetings with laboratory heads over the show, and run the software workflow demonstration about 30 times. Secondary: be visible enough that a walk-in consultant can see what we do in three seconds from the aisle. The tension between those two is the design problem — we need a quiet interior and a legible exterior, and we would rather sacrifice open display area than acoustic separation.
04
What has to fit on the stand
What has to fit: two bench analysers, 90 kg each, and a touchscreen showing the reporting workflow, along with literature, coats and bags for 3 staff, and a secure store so cartons never reach the display floor. Two seated demo stations, a private discussion room, reception desk and secure store. Tell us if any of that will not fit in 24 sq.m — we would rather know now than at concept stage.
05
Budget and priorities
Budget: ₹4–5 lakh, covering the stand only — space rent is settled with the organiser and GST is extra. If the figure comes back high we would sooner cut structure than cut lighting. Please also flag what is reusable, since there is another show on the calendar inside twelve months.
06
Who approves, and how fast
Approval runs through our marketing head and then a compliance review, because any clinical claim on the graphics has to be checked. Budget for seven working days of internal sign-off and keep the graphic copy editable until late. We are approaching three suppliers with this brief and will compare on itemised scope, not on the total.
The same brief, costed line by line
With every field answered, the quote is arithmetic rather than conversation. Here is what the brief above produces at 24 sq.m: the structure at the bottom of the published ₹9,000–₹18,000 per sq.m band, then each additional scope on its own line. It comes out inside the ₹4–5 lakh band the brief stated — which is what a budget range is for.
Look at the proportions rather than the figures. The structure is 49% of the total; graphics, lighting, flooring, furniture, transport and crew are the other 51%. A supplier quoting a lump sum can move money between those lines invisibly, which is exactly why the brief asks for itemisation.
| Structure, joinery and platform (24 sq.m at ₹9,000 per sq.m) | ₹2,16,000 |
|---|---|
| Graphics — tensioned fabric brand wall and product panels | ₹62,000 |
| Lighting — track, product spots, backlit logo | ₹34,000 |
| Flooring, carpet and edge cable ducting | ₹28,000 |
| Furniture — counter, meeting seating, lockable store unit | ₹24,000 |
| Freight to the venue and back | ₹36,000 |
| Installation, supervision, show cover and clearance | ₹44,000 |
| Indicative total, before GST | ₹4,44,000 |
Illustrative. The structure sits at the bottom of the published ₹9,000–₹18,000 per sq.m band; space rent and GST are outside the figure entirely. Finish level, city, build-up hours and AV all move it, which is why the brief exists.
Exhibiting soon? Let's build your stall.
What happens to your quote when a field is blank
If you only read one part of this page, read this. Nothing in a quote can be left unpriced, so a blank field forces a decision: guess low and risk the job, or guess high and carry it in the price. Commercially, suppliers guess high. The blank field is therefore not neutral — it is a surcharge you chose without knowing it.
Worse, the assumption is invisible. You will not see "we allowed for the conservative case because you did not say" on the quote; you will just see a number that is higher than a competitor's, and you will conclude the competitor is cheaper when in fact they assumed the opposite.
| Field left blank | What the supplier has to assume | What it does to the quote |
|---|---|---|
| Primary goal | A general-purpose approach | Budget spent on looking impressive rather than on the one thing you came to do |
| Who you want to reach | A broad, mixed audience | A broadcast solution when you needed an intimate one, or the reverse |
| Budget range | Mid-band, or the top of it | A wasted revision round in one direction or the other |
| Brand files | Artwork will be supplied later | The longest-lead item starts last, which is where shows are lost |
| Approvers and decision date | One reviewer, fast turnaround | Revision rounds run out, and the extra ones push production |
| Stall area | Nothing can be assumed | No quote at all, or a rate you cannot compare against a total |
| Height limit and rigging | The conservative limit | You lose the vertical the rules would have permitted |
| Product weights and power | Standard plinths and a domestic socket | A plinth rebuilt in the hall, which is the most expensive place to build anything |
| Finish level | Mid-band laminate | You get a defensible finish rather than the one in your head |
| Reuse intentions | A one-off build | Fixed panels instead of a frame, and no second-show saving |
Every row here is a reasonable response to missing information. That is the point: the cost is not caused by the supplier, and it cannot be negotiated away afterwards.
Suppliers do not punish vague briefs. They price them safely, which amounts to the same thing.
Extra lines to add for custom exhibition booths
Beyond the standard fields, a custom exhibition booths brief benefits from a few specific additions. They get omitted because they read as engineering questions, but every one of them is answerable in a word or a figure, and each moves the price enough to be worth the sentence.
Where you have no view, say "advise us" — a supplier will happily recommend, and will price the recommendation. What they cannot do is price a blank.
- Overall height, and whether anything hangs from the roof or sits on a raised platform
- Whether a second storey or a mezzanine is wanted, which changes the engineering entirely
- Whether elements need to be reusable at your next show, and who stores them in between
- Whether the venue has appointed contractors you are obliged to use for any trade
- How much lockable storage you need, measured in cartons rather than square metres
How briefs go wrong
Long briefs are not better briefs. The ones that work are short, numeric and specific about outcomes; the ones that fail are long, adjectival and specific about appearance. Below are the failures worth avoiding, in rough order of how much time each one costs.
The most common failure is adjectival. "Clean, premium, impactful" sounds like a specification and functions as applause: nobody disagrees and nobody can act. Swap each word for an audience action — stop, watch, sit, sign, film — and the same sentence becomes a usable brief.
The second worst is a different brief to each supplier. It feels efficient to add detail as you learn what to ask. It guarantees that the quotes you receive cannot be compared, and you will end up choosing on the basis of presentation rather than scope.
- No named approver, so revision rounds expand until production is squeezed
- Product weights and power requirements left out, so plinths get rebuilt on site
- Describing a look instead of a job — adjectives in place of audience actions
- A different, improved brief sent to each supplier, destroying comparability
- Dates missing, so the schedule and any rush cost are both unknown
- No area or open sides, which makes the quote arithmetic impossible
- Logos supplied as a low-resolution image lifted from a website
- Asking for a "best price" instead of an itemised quote against a fixed scope
- Not sending the exhibitor manual, which contains the rules the design has to obey
- Three goals of equal weight, which means the result has to compromise all three
Send it, and what comes back
Send the completed brief through our enquiry form or by email, with brand files and annotated references attached. Complete, it returns a proposal and a line-by-line quote in about two days. Incomplete, it returns a list of questions — and that exchange is the delay nobody budgets for.
From ₹10,000 per sq.m for premium custom builds. Design is free with a confirmed fabrication order, production happens in our own workshops, organiser submissions are ours to prepare and file, and one named project manager owns the job from the brief through to clearing the site. Tight dates are better declared than discovered.
- Premium laminates, acrylic and metal finishes
- Unique architectural forms
- Integrated storage and AV
- Backlit brand walls
Frequently asked questions
What should a custom exhibition booths brief include?+
Thirteen fields: company and what you sell, event and venue, build-up and show dates, stall area, number of open sides, height and rigging limits, one primary goal with a number attached, who you want to meet, the products or messages you are featuring, must-have zones, brand assets and references, budget range, and who approves by when.
Should I share my budget with suppliers?+
Yes, as a range. Without it a supplier either designs above your band — which costs you a week and ends in a redesign — or below it, which costs you the show. A range is not a negotiating position; it is the constraint that makes the first concept useful.
How long should the brief be?+
One page. Around twenty lines, most of them one-word or one-number answers, with brand files and three annotated reference images attached separately. Length is not depth — a five-page brief with no dimensions, dates or budget in it is less useful than four lines that have all three.
Should I send the same brief to every supplier?+
Send the identical text, word for word. The moment one supplier has extra detail, the quotes stop being comparable and you are choosing on presentation instead of scope. Add any new detail to all of them at once.
What if I do not know the answer to a field?+
Say so explicitly. "Advise us" is a useful instruction and will get you a recommendation; a missing line gets you an assumption, and assumptions are priced for the worst case. Keep every heading in the document even when the answer is "none".
Why does the number of open sides matter so much?+
Because it changes how much of the stall has to be built, not just how it looks. One open side means one face to finish and a back wall you can hang graphics and storage on; four means four finished faces, four lighting runs, nowhere to hide cartons and more people needed to cover the perimeter.
Do I need to specify finishes and materials in the brief?+
Describe the level, not the product code. "Laminate on the walls, spray finish on the curved element, fabric for the brand wall" is a useful brief; naming a specific laminate is the supplier's job in the finish schedule. Insist on that schedule before approving anything.
Should I write the brief before or after booking the space?+
Write the outcome first, then book, then brief. If the space is already booked — which it usually is — then the brief simply records the area and open sides as fixed constraints. What you should not do is leave them out because they feel like somebody else's decision.
Does this template work for custom exhibition booths as well as for a plain stall?+
Yes — the core fields apply to any scope. For custom exhibition booths add the extra lines on this page, which cover the variables specific to this kind of work: finish level in words — laminate, spray paint, veneer, acrylic, metal — not just "premium", overall height, and whether anything hangs from the roof or sits on a raised platform and whether a second storey or a mezzanine is wanted, which changes the engineering entirely.
Custom Exhibition Booths near you
Our crews deliver custom exhibition booths in every major Indian city.