Donovan WaterWorks Trade Show Booth

The design of a branded system of flyers, stickers, banners, brochures, and a table cover to be displayed at events such as home shows, garden shows, and festivals.

When Donovan WaterWorks had been in operation for a couple of years, they approached me with their desire to have a booth at Baltimore County's 2022 Home Show. As new business owners, they had no experience with booth design, so I was once again given full creative control. I completed this project while working remotely, as I was living in Germany at the time.

I began the project by creating a mockup of the available booth space, communicating with Donovan WaterWorks about factors such as table size and booth height until I was satisfied that the basic dimensions were accurate. Next, I researched common banner sizes and chose appropriate dimensions for these elements. I now had an MVP (minimum viable product) for this project: primary banner, flag banner, and tablecloth.

The biggest challenge of the three basic elements was the tablecloth. I found little to no guidance when pursuing my usual research routes, so I decided the best way to proceed was to create my own template, which I developed using the dimensions of an average folding table.

Since there was no way to guarantee that Donovan WaterWorks had a folding table matching exact specifications, or that they would use the same folding table every time, I created a design with quite a bit of "wiggle room." That is, this design should look good draped across rectangular tables of varying dimensions, as long as they have a roughly similar aspect ratio.

Flatlay designs for the primary banner, flag banner, and tablecloth

Donovan WaterWorks was thrilled with the first three designs, and requested that I design two brochures that could be handed out at trade shows: A water treatment trifold and a fiberglass water heater bifold.

Once these were complete, I was given creative license to design a series of "swag" items that could be handed out to trade show visitors. I began with the following four sticker designs. The first is a simple stylized version of the Donovan WaterWorks logomark, but the other three draw heavily on the values of the Donovan WaterWorks brand.

The next swag item was a Home Maintenance Checklist that home owners could use to keep track of their preventative home maintenance and ensure their home was properly cared for year-round. We also added spots for the home owner to write the name and contact information of their usual plumber, handyman, electrician, and a few others. Donovan WaterWorks' information is pre-filled under "Plumber."

I greatly enjoyed creating this tote bag design. As a tote bag enthusiast myself, I was able to imagine the kind of tote bag that I might like to carry around.

All of the previous designs were displayed and used at the Baltimore Home Show in 2022. Later that year, Donovan WaterWorks requested some custom stickers exclusive to the Baltimore Garden Show.

Most of these designs are still in use today, as Donovan WaterWorks participates in yearly trade shows and sponsors local events in the Baltimore area. Furthermore, this trade show booth kit of parts is still expanding as Baltimore's first and only woman-owned and -operated plumbing company continues to grow while being a force for good in their community.