Imagine feeling enveloped in the energy of a brand as you experience a corporate event. Or, entering an enormous exhibit hall where every square foot was transformed with customized trade show displays. Focusing on experiential design and live event production sends attendees on a journey of discovery. Thanks to thoughtful placements, sponsors feel seen.
Event spaces that make attendees marvel involve hours of behind-the-scenes work from a team of environmental design experts. They transform featureless exhibition halls and nondescript venues into wonderlands, using creative lighting, custom builds and advanced technology. Even gorgeous venues like the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) benefit from environmental design. We took over three venues within SFMOMA for an evening event that sent attendees to a new frontier with Western-inspired spaces that included a saloon.
Environmental designers act as both artists and engineers. Planning an event space requires a focus on functional flow while creating an evocative atmosphere. Here’s how they achieve spectacular spaces that support client goals.
Establishing your event design strategy
Environmental designers are often involved in the earliest stages of event planning. During the proposal process, they can develop layouts, illustrations and 3D renderings using software that visualizes concepts.
Client research ensures designs don’t just look cool, but that ideas are aligned with the brand and satisfy specific event criteria. Gathering and organizing information from the creative brief, event producers and decision makers informs the design process. Reviewing the venue and digitizing the space into a virtual model is a starting point.
TIP: Ask yourself these venue questions to understand space requirements.
- What activities need to take place in this space?
- Will there be any flips between functions?
- How many people could fit?
- Will they be seated in rows, at tables, or navigating between booths and activations?
- What other ergonomics need to be considered?
- How will people flow into and out of spaces?
- What are the sight lines to the stage?
- What are the safety requirements?
- How will content be conveyed?
- Is there a live speaker lineup? Videos? Broadcast components?
Related: Learn how creating zones in corporate event design scales down massive spaces to support interactions.
Designing the space with live production layers
Many multi-day conferences and events repurpose space. For instance, the same ballroom where a welcome reception occurred one night may double as a keynote venue the next morning.
To streamline planning, event designers often use technology to visualize how the event set will change throughout the agenda. By creating various layers for each aspect of the layout, they can depict how the same room will be set up for different situations. One layer might show tables and seating with a food and beverage setup, another specific layer for the stage with custom scenic components and another the layout for a closing party. This helps the production team know the staffing and timing needed to flip the room.
TIP: Resist the urge to overstuff a space. When an event environment is trying to do too much, the message gets muddled. Cramped, overcrowded areas overwhelm attendees. Too often, organizations forget to plan for breathing room. This results in last-minute choices to ditch furniture and oversized signage, which wastes money and creates storage challenges.
Return to the business goal to prioritize elements that your audience digests and enjoys.
Marketing pros turn many key messages into succinct billboard statements. Event marketers should take a similar approach and embrace white space, ensuring the essential actions and takeaways remain accessible from anywhere in the room.
Related: See how we make bold statements with technical event production.
Problem-solving for live production
Event designers ensure there’s a cohesive narrative as attendees navigate from one space to the next. AI tools may be utilized to explore various finishes and styles on a 3D model. This approach helps the event team explore visual options for the space. Brand teams confirm plans align to the overall event vision, so on-site production progresses seamlessly.
Agenda changes may require updating the spatial plan. Collaboration between event designers and the rest of the event production teams is critical. Event designers are problem-solvers, clicking the pieces into place like a Rubik's Cube. They take an inspirational vision, consider the structure and rigging needed and make the spatial design cost-effective and functional.
Spark ideas for your next event’s environmental design with our guide to creative event strategy.