Continuing our discussion of event design (and please, make it a discussion by commenting)...
More about our Event Design Series here at Day 1, and where the questions came from
Day 2:
Trends:
What are some new trends in event design and how can
an event planner keep current? What new color combinations are requested
by clients? What are the most popular themes for parties, galas, and
corporate events? What themes are overused?
New Trends (2012-2013): The idea of
un-themes is big. "Unconferences" with informal agenda-setting sessions
and crowdplanning such as WordCamp are influencing the way even
traditional corporate and sales events are being planned. Rapid-fire
presentation events such as
Pecha-Kucha nights,
Ignite,
TED and
TEDx talks; and storytelling events such
The Moth,
Backfence, and
Portland Storytelling Theater have become wildly popular.
 |
| Photo by Kirby Urner via Flickr |
These events' success show that in either a corporate or social setting, attendees want to create
the agenda, tell their own story, or have an upfront, personal connection to others'
stories. I'm seeing this reflected in the continued use of performance
in special events, whether it's having dancers from the bride's culture during a wedding; or
using a speaker with an incredible story to uplift and motivate a
corporate event audience.
 |
| Photo: Craig Strong. |
How can I stay current on trends? I think it's more important for event planners to be creators of new designs, not necessarily followers of trends. At the same time "there is nothing new under the sun" - or is
there? I love pop culture from every corner of the globe, and that
keeps me on my toes. Online resources are always
popping up with something fresh and inspiring all the time. Just a year
ago, nobody was using Pinterest, now it's everywhere. Tumblr seems to be under the radar for mainstream use, but is widely used by
fashion brands and designers. Anyone can easily create a Tumblr blog (a mini-blogging platform) to follow and curate their own favorite content from around the
web in a mini-blog format. I have several Tumblrs and my main one for event and design inspiration is
here. Travel is the best for seeing firsthand what is hot in other places, and then you can bring that back to your home base and reinterpret it.
New color combinations: Fashion and retail are always pushing color in new directions, and of course there are always the color gods at
Pantone. The good old-fashioned color wheel never hurt anyone. Right now I'm really loving multicolored event palettes. Take a look at online storefront
Hello Holiday to see what I mean. Multicolor doesn't have to mean garish or childish. You can have smaller swaths of multicolor paired up with a neutral like grey to keep the look balanced.
Popular and most overused themes? The panel found straight-up "time era" themes to be the most overused. A Fifties sock-hop for example, feels dated right now, not retro in a fun way. But if you want to do an era event, change it up by focusing on something a very narrow topic from that time - maybe one celebrity - and go from there. Call me crazy, but when I think of the 50s I think of Che Guevara. Or Marilyn Monroe. Social events are still using vintage and shabby-chic looks; bold and preppy graphics and stripes are still big.
Hope
you've found "Day 2" of our Event Design Series helpful. For background on
this series, go
here. As always, I appreciate your comments!
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