Using the Elements of Art to Create Balanced Show Displays

In art, there are basic elements to every work and the way that these elements are used can have great impact on the visual appeal of the piece. As follows, I will discuss the elements and their application to a craft show (or store) display. As always, some rules are made to be broken and these are no exception. If you feel your product or display would benefit from going outside the lines, by all means do so. The best way to find your ideal display is to experiment and find out what works and feels right for you!

(the elements of art can be found here on Wikipedia if you'd like to learn more about them)



Texture - The best way to use and highlight texture is to include a few different types to break it up. Typical craft show displays do so by their nature, as the tablecloth, display fixtures, and items often have different textures.

To bring out the texture of the items you're displaying, place them against contrasting textures. Some examples include fabric items against either a smooth surface or a fabric with a heavier texture, smooth & sleek jewelry against a richer textured surface, highly textured jewelry against a fine, smooth surface.

To reduce busy-ness, select a limited number of different textures, say 3 or 4, and use them consistently throughout your display. If your display already feels very smooth and lacking in texture, adding some in can add more depth and even encourage people to reach out and feel both the display and the items for sale.

Space - There are two kinds of space: positive and negative. Positive space in a display would be the items displayed as well as tags, signs, containers and fixtures. Negative space is the area between items on display, areas where the tablecloth or background is visible, and space between the position of containers and fixtures on the table surface or wall.

The ratio of positive to negative space can be a personal preference, for a display that has an overall feeling of fullness without busy-ness, I personally prefer a ratio of between 50:50 and 70:30 (positive:negative). This means that only half to two-thirds of the visual space is filled with content. This will allow visitors to your booth an area for their eyes to rest in between the lovely items displayed.

Shape - In a display, shape factors in on the overall theme of the space. Displays can have very broad, flat shape to thin & wiry shape, or round & dimensional to flat. But, to keep a display coherent and cut down on visual clutter, the shapes of the displays should relate to each other. Two wire displays look more consistent than a wire display with a pegboard display. Shallow round glass bowls mixed with tall metal buckets will add visual clutter.

Color - The number one place that visual clutter comes from (other than too many objects) is too many colors. Pick a palette of 2-3 colors that suits your work and your overall brand image, and stick with it. A great scheme is to use neutral colors as a basis that are very complimentary to one another, and then have one or two bold colors as accents. Accent colors are best used in small bursts, but make sure the color occurs often enough throughout the display that it doesn't look out of place.

In my own displays, I utilize black, white and grey as the basis of my display, then I accent it with a bright teal. This scheme matches my business cards and logos, and colorful jewelry pops when it is against clean, neutral colors.

A blind spot that can occur with color is the open areas of your display. If at all possible, design your booth to have a backdrop, be against a wall, or use displays that are not see-through. This way the table, people or scenery behind you will not interact with your display by adding colors that distract.

Tone/Value - This refers to the difference between areas that are light and areas that are dark, and how great the difference between them is. You can utilize the difference in value to highlight your products and make them visually jump off the displays. Placing dark or brightly colored items against a light or pale color, or placing light or metallic items against a darker color will help them to stand out.

You will also want to pay attention to value when it comes to each component of your display. The tablecloth, containers and fixtures should have a very consistent value so that they blend well together and to not try to pop against each other, drawing visual attention away from the items you are displaying.

Line - The lines that you create within your display by placement can lead your customer's eye on a journey. By using regular height of displays, or a deliberately uneven height, you can control the flow.

A great example of this is having your taller displays even across the top or tallest in the middle, and lower displays lowest in the center rising as they approach either edge of the space. This creates a visual "loop", where the eye will typically fall somewhere in the middle and then follow the line around and be drawn into the upper and lower parts of the display.

If there is too much of a gap in the height of display items, it can feel unnatural or even draw your customer's eye over to the display next to you. Having items elevated with height on one side and not on the other can make your display a roller-coaster for the eye, so that it slides downward, out of your booth and into the next. By creating symmetry or a loop, you get the eye to naturally flow back into the space from the edges, which can help to draw people in.



Using these concepts together to bring consistency and movement to your display can help encourage people to spend more time and really explore what you have to offer.

Once you have brought together an idea for a display that is consistent, minimal and cohesive, try adding in some variety in color or shape. For example, if you have display pieces which are all the same size, shape, color and texture, it could feel very zen, or you may find it boring. Try mixing up one of the characteristics, so that they are the same in three elements but different in one. You could try all glass bowls that are white and have different shapes, or fabric bins that are each a different color but all the same size & shape, color coordinated to the items that are in them.

If you like this post, let me know! I may do more in the future, applying the elements of art to photography, jewelry design, etc!

Amber