Stand lighting in three layers

General, accent, atmosphere

three lighting layers, each on its own circuit

Stand design

1–10 days

build-up time; lighting adjustment is not left to the last day

Stand types

Hall light is never enough

Hall lighting comes from high above, spreads evenly and tends to be cool. Under it timber reads grey, fabric reads flat and metal reads dead. A stand with no lighting of its own sits in shadow, especially once the neighbours have lit theirs.

The general layer lifts the whole stand. The aim is not glare but a difference you can feel between hall and stand. Visitors never read that difference consciously; they simply feel like stepping in.

Colour temperature is settled in this layer and then held across the stand. Where warm and cool sources are mixed, white surfaces look dirty and printed colours drift. The one exception is a deliberately warmer tone over the meeting area, and even that should read as a zone rather than an accident.

The accent layer sells the product

Accent lighting has to be adjustable. Exhibits move on the morning of the show, and the light moves with them. A display built around fixed recessed fittings ends up inside its own shadow within the hour.

The angle decides the shadow. Light straight down flattens an object; light from slightly to the side brings out texture. On glossy products you are looking for an angle that keeps the reflection out of the visitor’s eyes.

The brand wall needs its own accent. If the logo surface is not lit evenly, part of the lettering falls into shadow and the name is only half read. That graphics and light have to be solved together is something we repeat at the design stage on every job.

Power, heat and approval

Lighting takes most of the electrical load. If the power declared to the organiser is too low, half the stand stays dark on opening morning. So the fitting schedule is prepared alongside the technical drawings and the total is written into the power order.

Heat is the second issue. Fittings inside a sealed showcase build up temperature behind the glass, which matters for food, cosmetics and some plastics. Showcase lighting needs a ventilation gap.

Third comes approval. Any lighting gantry hung from the ceiling falls under the venue’s rigging rules; loads, point counts and the fixing method are declared in advance. At some halls rigging is carried out only by the venue’s own crew, whose schedule fills up during show week; the request goes in weeks ahead, not on build-up day.

Should we use coloured light?

In the atmosphere layer, sparingly. Never over the product: under coloured light no product shows its real colour.

Can lighting be hired?

Yes, and abroad it is often the better call. It cuts freight and customs load, but the models and quantities must be fixed in writing before build-up.