Nobody sets out to build a mediocre stand. What usually happens is quieter than that: a decision slips by two weeks, then another, and by the time the design is signed off the only options left are the fast ones. The stand that opens on day one is rarely the stand anyone imagined on day ninety — and the difference is almost always the calendar, not the budget.
Ninety days is the point where a custom stand is still genuinely open — where the layout can still change, where materials are still a choice, and where production is still priced normally rather than as a rush. What follows is how those ninety days actually spend themselves on a Colombian show floor, and where the deadlines hide.
Days 90–75: decide what the stand is for
Every later decision inherits this one. A stand built to hold forty qualified meetings is a different object from a stand built to launch a product to press, which is different again from a stand built to be seen from the far end of the hall. Trying to do all three in eighteen square metres is how stands end up crowded and vague.
This is also when you commit to space: how much, and where. Both are harder to change than people expect — good positions go early, and the size you book quietly sets the ceiling on everything from meeting capacity to storage. Decide the objective first, then let it tell you the square metres, not the other way round.
Days 75–55: the brief, the concept, and one clear approver
A good brief is short and decisive: what the stand is for, who walks past it, which zones are non-negotiable, what the brand assets are, and the budget range. Builders who receive that can design against it. Builders who receive “make it look premium” will design something — just not necessarily yours.
The concept rounds themselves are rarely the bottleneck. Approval is. Two rounds with one named decision-maker takes about three weeks; the same two rounds circulated around a committee can take six, and those three extra weeks come directly out of production. Name the approver before the first concept, not after the second.
Days 55–30: production, and the paperwork nobody plans for
This is where a custom stand is actually made — carpentry, metalwork, finishes, large-format graphics, and the integration of screens and lighting. It is also, reliably, where the administrative deadlines land, and they are easy to miss because they belong to the venue rather than to you or your builder.
Corferias, to take the venue most exhibitors in Bogotá will meet, sets out these obligations in its published participation conditions: renders of the stand are to be submitted for review at least ten days before assembly begins, and if the design exceeds the standard height, separate authorisation must be requested from the assembly management about fifteen days ahead. Credentials for access during assembly and show days are their own form, and exhibitors bringing in goods from abroad have customs paperwork to file with the foreign trade office. Every fair publishes its own exhibitor manual, and that manual — not this article — is the version that governs your show.
One detail deserves emphasis, because it surprises people: Corferias states that it does not review or approve the structural design or construction system of your stand. Submitting a render is not the same as having your engineering signed off. Structural responsibility stays with you and whoever builds for you — which is a strong argument for a builder who works on the floor often enough to know what actually stands up there.
Days 30–7: people, logistics, and demand
The stand is being built; now make sure it opens to something. Staff need to be chosen and briefed rather than simply rostered — who qualifies, who demonstrates, who takes the meeting. Freight, install windows and dismantling need booking. And the calendar that fills the stand on day one is built in these weeks, not on the morning of the show: invitations, meeting links, the organiser’s attendee list, the follow-up template written while everyone is still calm.
- 1Day 90 — objective and spaceOne primary objective in writing, then book square metres and position against it.
- 2Day 75 — brief issued, approver namedZones, brand assets, budget range and constraints, with one person who can say yes.
- 3Day 55 — design signed offTwo concept rounds is normal. Every week past this comes out of production, not out of slack.
- 4Day 45 — production beginsCarpentry, metalwork and finishes start; graphics files go to large format.
- 5Day 30 — venue paperwork filedRenders, height authorisation if needed, credentials, and any customs documentation.
- 6Day 21 — staffing and pre-show outreachRoles assigned and briefed; invitations and meeting links out while diaries are still open.
- 7Day 7 — dry runWalk the layout, rehearse the demo, confirm freight and install times, print nothing new.
None of this requires more budget. It requires the decisions to happen in the order that lets money buy design instead of buying speed. A stand approved at day fifty-five and one approved at day thirty can cost the same and look entirely different — because the second one paid for urgency, and urgency is the least visible thing you can put on a show floor.
Ninety days is not a long time. It is, however, exactly enough — if you spend it in the right order.