Event design is about more than just nice graphics and cute photo opps; It is about speaking to your brand’s messaging in an interactive and visual way. Great corporate event design ideas should always nod to your brand first and serve a function at the event. I’ve compiled eight of my top event design ideas to help bring your brand to life at your next corporate event or brand activation. When thoughtful event design is paired with seamless event planning, it is a match made in heaven!
Create immersive spaces
If you don’t have a huge budget to transform a venue from top to bottom, pinpoint one area of the event and create something magical there. At this Ontario Tourism Summit’s Opening Night Reception, we created an immersive space in the main seating area, covered in white cloud clusters. Guests felt like they were dining on cloud nine all night.
Corporate event design ideas: Create unique photo opportunities
Photo booths are practically staples at events now. However how you do photo booths can still be unique and interactive. They don’t have to be boring! At Rupi Kaur’s 30th birthday party, we created a large balloon spill that led into a ball pit of emerald and white balls. It served as the photo booth for guests that night. Guests jumped in and threw the balls around, for a fun and lively photo. It was so much more fun than using props on a stick for a stagnant photo.
Be creative in your signage
Signage does not have to be boring. Incorporate your theme and event colours into custom made signs for your next event. They are an inexpensive way to add a personalized touch to your next corporate event. At the Tourism Mississauga corporate event, we incorporated their new motto “a cultural canvas” into the food signs with a nod to a globe and travelling.
Corporate event design ideas: Don’t forget the floor
If you have a blank space with solid coloured floors, give the room some added visual interest with a floor design and vinyl treatment that speaks to your brand. It is often an untapped area to add an element of your brand to an event or activation. At the Olay Super Serum media event, we created a fun vinyl runner leading up to a photo area with the phrases “On your marks, get set, glow!” to reinforce the brand’s playful and glow-focused messaging. The stairs leading up to the next room that featured Olay’s history were vinyled with the phrase “This way to Olay’s history of superiority”. In this way, the floor was used as an extra way-finding tool that nodded to the brand’s messaging.
Create interactive areas
The best marketing activations have an interactive component to them. Invite guests to interact with your brand or event in a unique way. At this Anti-Bullying activation, we invited guests to take an affirmation from our large and expansive envelope wall. Inside the envelopes were affirmations that reinforced the anti-bullying campaign mesage.
Corporate event design ideas: Don’t be afraid to use colour
Colour is a powerful tool. It can convey energy (red), promote relaxing (light blue) and feel modern (black and white). When designing your next corporate event or brand activation, don’t be afraid to use colour. Beyond brand colours, you can think of colour as a tool to evoke a certain emotion you want your guests to feel. At the Fords Gin trade show booth, we used colour on colour in their backdrop and bar vinyl wrap to convey the brand’s quirky and energetic feel. The colour blocking was also quite eye-catching, drawing guests into the booth.
Utilize the ceiling
At Tourism Calgary’s trade show booth, we hung white, blue and silver balloons from the ceiling next to their logo to match their winter themed booth. The vibrant balloons attracted attention from across the trade show; Anyone looking for Tourism Calgary (or even people who weren’t looking!) could find their booth from a distance. It acted as both decor and way-finding.
Corporate event design ideas: Use lighting to set the mood
Lighting is not always given the attention it deserves. Lighting can turn a drab space into an exciting atmosphere. It will set the mood for your event. We used uplighting to immerse an otherwise all-white venue into a fun party at the Olay Super Serum media launch party.
Event design is about transforming a space or event into something extraordinary, with personalized and customized details. It is infusing flavour and personality into both small and large details. I hope you’ve enjoyed some of our top corporate event design ideas and will be able to implement them into your next event or brand activation!