Before you think about stand design, you have to make one decision on the exhibitor booking form: shell scheme or space only. It is the first fork in the road for every exhibitor, it changes what you are responsible for, and it shapes what your stand can look like. Here is what each option actually means, and how to decide.
What is a shell scheme stand?
A shell scheme is a pre-built stand package provided through the show organiser. You get a ready-made structure, typically white or grey system walls, a fascia board with your company name, and depending on the package, carpet, lighting and a power socket. Every shell scheme booth in the row is structurally identical: your neighbours have exactly the same shell.
The appeal is simplicity. The structure is up before you arrive, there is no build to organise, and the compliance paperwork for the structure itself is the organiser's problem, not yours. The limitation is the same thing: you are branding the inside of a standard box, usually with printed graphic panels, and you cannot change its shape, height or footprint.
What is a space only stand?
Space only means the organiser sells you floor space and nothing else. There is no structure, no walls, no name board, just a marked-out rectangle of exhibition hall. Everything that stands on it is designed, built, transported, installed and dismantled by you, which in practice means by the exhibition stand builder you appoint.
That freedom is the point. A space only plot is where bespoke stands live: double-height branding, meeting rooms, hospitality areas, demonstration zones, storage, rigged lighting, whatever your objectives and the venue's rules allow. It also means the responsibility moves to your side of the table. Structural drawings, risk assessments and method statements (RAMS), and CDM compliance all need to be handled, which is why space only exhibitors appoint their stand builder early.
The key differences at a glance
- Structure: shell scheme comes pre-built and standardised; space only is a blank floor for a custom build.
- Branding: shell scheme limits you to graphic panels inside the shell; space only allows full structural branding, height and open sides.
- Responsibility: the organiser owns the shell scheme structure and its compliance; on space only, your stand builder handles design approval, RAMS and CDM paperwork.
- Lead time: a shell scheme can be dressed relatively late; a space only build needs design approval and manufacture time, so the builder should be appointed around two months before the show.
- Reusability: shell scheme graphics are specific to that shell's dimensions; a hybrid modular stand built for space only can be reconfigured for the next show.
Which should you choose?
Honest answer: it depends on your objectives, not on which is 'better'. Shell scheme suits a first show, a small budget, or a presence-only objective where being in the room matters more than standing out in it. Space only earns its keep when the show is a significant part of your marketing year: when you need meeting space, product demonstrations, hospitality, or simply to look unmistakably like yourselves rather than like the booth next door.
Size matters too. Many organisers only offer smaller plots as shell scheme, and larger plots as space only, so the decision is sometimes made for you by the floor plan.
Can you make a shell scheme look good?
Yes, within its limits. Full-height printed graphic panels that treat the three walls as one canvas, disciplined lighting, and restrained furniture go a long way, and they cost far less than a structural build. But if you find yourself trying to make a shell scheme do a space only job, meeting areas, big product displays, queues of visitors, that is usually the signal to price a space only stand properly before ruling it out.
Moving from shell scheme to space only
Most exhibitors make this jump once a show has proven itself. If that is where you are, two of our other guides will help: how to write an exhibition stand brief covers what your designer needs to know, and our bespoke exhibition stands page shows how a custom design process works, from 3D visuals and detailed drawings through to an in-house build, installation and dismantle.
T2 Display has designed and built space only stands since 2001, entirely in-house, from our workshop near the NEC Birmingham. If you are weighing the two options for a specific show, get in touch and we will tell you honestly which one fits your brief and budget.
