I want to make sure my program's spaces are safe for attendees and staffers. What tips do you have for furnishing COVID-conscious exhibits?

Even as COVID wanes, visitor and staff safety at trade shows remains a top priority for many companies. The pandemic has forced exhibit managers to rethink their booth designs and has led to simple yet creative solutions that promote safety without giving up functionality, comfort, or aesthetics. Here are a few tips to get you started.

Clear Dividers
Transparent dividers can easily be added between meeting spaces, lounges, and product displays without affecting sightlines or making your booth feel smaller. To soften their appearance, add messaging with adhesive decals. Taking personalized decals a step further, consider using the dividers' surface as an added branding opportunity for sponsors.

Accent Tables
You still want visitors to feel welcome in your space, so don't eliminate all your furniture. Instead, place accent tables between your soft seating to quietly promote physical distancing without sacrificing comfort or design. Providing dedicated surface areas next to club chairs creates comfortable workspaces and elegant yet airy seating arrangements.

Charging Furniture
There's an array of beautiful furniture with spaced-out, built-in chargers that can amplify the look of your booth while eliminating the need for attendees to huddle together. Think soft seating, communal tables, stand-alone hubs, and table surfaces. Creatively incorporating powered furnishings in your design will alleviate the clunky look and feel of tabletop charging hubs.

Greenery
Adding plants and living walls has long been a tactic that creates a warm and welcoming environment. However, they can also be strategically deployed to fill in spaces between seats along the exhibit's perimeter to facilitate clear entry and exit points and create one-way traffic. Greenery also provides a sense of freshness that balances out the harshness of fluorescent lighting and closed-off spaces.

Conference Tables
While social-distancing guidelines have changed, the concept of maintaining a six-foot distance still holds true for the more health conscious. To ensure your exhibit accommodates all attendees, we recommend designing for such distance in private meeting rooms. Utilizing a six-foot communal table with one seat on each end is the easiest method for facilitating distancing. Keep additional seats tucked away, though easily accessible, for those who are comfortable grouping closer together.