Hey artists, here's a quick n dirty thread about how to lay out your table at conventions. I used to be in charge of floor planning and merchandising when I worked in retail and it's all based on the same idea - guiding the customer's eye. (originally posted this thread on Twitter in 2019!) 🧵 1/11 - ThreadSky

evegwood.com • 69 days ago

Hey artists, here's a quick n dirty thread about how to lay out your table at conventions. I used to be in charge of floor planning and merchandising when I worked in retail and it's all based on the same idea - guiding the customer's eye. (originally posted this thread on Twitter in 2019!) 🧵 1/11

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mysticalhorrorart.bsky.social•68 days ago

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this all out, this is super helpful! I hope to have a merch table someday and I will definitely refer back to this when I do! 💙💜💙

concklincomics.bsky.social•69 days ago

Beautifully explained — thank you so much!

I’ve been doing this for years, but setting up a booth is such a mix of science, art, and ✨vibes✨ that there’s always more to learn! 💪🧠

evegwood.com•69 days ago

In general your table will have Small Items (like stickers, £1/2 zines), Medium Items (single issue comics, bigger zines, prints), and your One Big Item (the main thing you're wanting to sell, usually a book if you have one). You want your customer to look at ALL of it!

evegwood.com•69 days ago

Make your table interesting (and take longer) to look at by varying the heights of your merchandise:
1. flat on the table/stacked in piles
2. propped up on a book stand
3. raised up on top of a shelf/box/stack of books
4. pinned to grids/boards

evegwood.com•69 days ago

You want your customer to go on a ~*~*~jOuRnEy~*~*~ across your table - see how setting up your table like this would guide the eye towards the next item?

evegwood.com•69 days ago

Use this to your advantage and set up your merchandise so that everything points to your One Big Item. Here's a real world example of my tablemate and I back in 2019. We even made use of the space between our Big Items so the eye would travel from one person's Big Item to the other's!

evegwood.com•69 days ago

(see how I still do this today when spotlighting specific items?)

evegwood.com•69 days ago

It's important to react to your NEIGHBOUR'S table as well. If you want to try to minimise the dreaded Skimming Glance™, arrange your table so that as a customer looking at your neighbour's table is guided without a break onto your merch. Don't break the ~*~*~jOuRnEy~*~*~

sweetamydesigns.bsky.social•69 days ago

this is so interesting!!! i sell mostly plushies and have been meaning to switch up my convention table setup. this is great info!

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