5 Odd Display Tricks I Always Use

When I was making Christmas dinner for the first time, I had a lot of questions for my mom.

I asked how much poultry seasoning she puts in the dressing and she said:

“I don’t know…until it smells like dressing”.

It’s an odd way to determine how much seasoning to use, but it works. If the dressing doesn’t smell like dressing, it needs more seasoning.

Some of the best cooking tips I’ve learned don’t come from a cookbook. They’re little tricks experienced cooks have shared with me.

The same is true for many display tricks I use; I didn’t learn them from a textbook.

They come from experience; whether that be mine, an instructor’s, or a mentor’s.

As I’ve been setting up displays to photograph and sharing my tips through articles (like this one and this one) I’ve realized there are unwritten, and maybe a little odd, tricks I use without realizing.

Here are 5 of them:

 

1) Squinting

When you think you’re done setting up your craft show display, stand back several feet, look at your display, and squint.

I don’t know the technical reason this works, but I find it blurs the lines and smaller details so it’s more apparent which parts of the display stand out.

These elements are less apparent when you’re standing right in front of your table, setting up.

When you view your display through an “unfocused lens”, you can make sure your display looks balanced and that eye-catching elements are “sprinkled” around your table or booth.

 

2) Odd numbers

Whether I’m merchandising a table in a retail store, setting up a craft show display, or decorating a space in my home, I try to work with odd numbers of items.

It’s a tip that’s actually in my Visual Merchandising & Design textbook from college: “odd numbers seem to work better than even”.

In a 300+ page textbook, that’s the only mention and explanation of using odd numbers in display. Yet it’s SUCH an important aspect of a visually pleasing display.

I believe an odd number of objects may help a display look a little more natural, less forced, and the asymmetry creates interest.

“Objects” to use odd numbers of may be:

• groupings of products
• props
• signs
• etc

For example, I would create 3 groupings of products on a table (rather than 2 or 4) or use 3 signs in my space.

“Odd numbers” can also be created by combining different objects that have a similar “visual weight”.

Meaning, 2 larger objects can be combined with 3 different larger objects to create an odd-numbered total.

For example, the photo below only has 2 vases of flowers, but they work with the chalkboard signs to create an uneven number of objects.

Although they’re very different objects, the vases stand out due to their size and color, as do the black signs.

There really isn’t an exact science to creating interest with an odd number of objects or elements.

If there’s enough asymmetry in your display, an even number of objects can also work.

It comes down to introducing the “unexpected” into your display.

If things are too repetitive, the shopper will lose interest. Odd numbers can throw off their expectations.

 

3) Overlapping

I think overlapping and staggering objects is a simple way of tying everything together and using line & composition (another important design technique).

When you slightly overlap one object with another, it creates a connection and the eye flows from one object to the next.

In the craft show setup below, notice how the crates, signs, and props just slightly overlap with each other. It creates a natural flow and connection.

You can also avoid overlapping objects when you want to create separation.

For example, the setup below would allow me to display 2 different collections because there is that space between each grouping. However, within each grouping, there is overlap to create connection.

 

4) Intentional height variation

When there are varying heights in a display, it should look intentional.

If two objects are different heights, but only by a small amount, it looks off.

For example, on the left, the top of the bag is a similar height to the top of the crate. To break up those heights, I would add another crate, as shown in the photo on the right.

Below is another example. On the left, the top of the large bag is the same height as the medium bag. And the small bag in front is the same height as the wood riser.

On the right, the bags are arranged in a way so the heights are staggered.

The unwritten rule I use is for one object to hit another object in the middle 1/3rd of it. That’s how the height variation looks intentional.

Again, this is just a rough guideline I follow. The main goal is for the variation in height to be obvious.

As you can see in the photo below, the top of the lowest bag hits the middle 1/3rd of the second bag. And the top of the second bag hits the middle 1/3rd of the third bag.

A display can look impactful when objects are at the same height, but typically for that to work, there should be a space between each object, so it looks like a repeating element, rather than one continuous element. Below is an example of that:

Learn more about using repetition in a craft show display here.

 

5) Relying on photos

I find it easier to spot areas of imbalance or items that look out of place when I’m looking at a photo.

I encourage you to test your display at home before your craft show. Use your dining room table or a countertop.

Get everything in place and then stand back and snap a photo. You may also want to take a photo from different angles.

The camera seems to pick up details the eyes miss.

Study that photo and see if anything stands out to you. You may notice that a product is getting lost in the space, an area is looking cluttered, or a fixture just needs to move a bit to the right.

Make the necessary adjustments and then take another photo. Repeat until you’re happy 🙂

 

Tiny adjustments

Whether I’m rearranging a room in my home or setting up a craft show display, the final result (which might look effortless) is the result of dozens of tiny adjustments.

I’ll swap items in, switch them around, shift objects to the left or right, etc., and spend a lot of time trying to get it just right.

This isn’t necessarily a trick, but rather a reminder to just keep playing with your display until you’re happy with it.

 

Let me know in the comments if you have questions! 🙂

~Erin