One Event... Three Designs

From the desk of: Carrie G. Dirats

Event planning is an organic process….and, while we tend to think of it as pretty linear, that isn’t always the case.  Sometimes you start out with one concept in mind and part way through the planning process need to change tracks.  It could be because a c-suite executive decides that they want to move a conference in a different direction from their original plan, or because another organization or family member just threw an off-the-charts celebration with the same theme/design concept and you don’t want your event to directly “compete” with that.  Sometimes it could be for multiple reasons.

Below is a snapshot of an event where we went through three completely different design concept iterations. While changes like that can be time consuming, a bit frustrating, and stressful, we at AE Events look at it as an excuse to stretch those creative muscles. 

To begin with, we had been working with this client for several years and had been wanting to implement a floor plan for them that embraced the stage but wasn’t fully “in the round”.  We had been holding on to this one for them through the COVID pandemic:

Due to a change in venue and some lighting and staging considerations, we had to pull back from that slightly.  This version maintains the original idea, but the seating doesn’t embrace the stage in the same way:

Then, part way through the planning, the team realized that their guest list was going to be much larger than originally anticipated.  So we came up with this version to as a way of figuring out just how many guests we could fit in the space while maintaining the linear look the client was going for:

In the meantime, as a group, we and the client worked through three different design concepts for the event.  Initially, the client had delivered a theme of the four elements (earth, air, fire, and water):

Our clients’ C-suite team then stepped away from that as the overarching theme for the conference.  Their conference design moved in a more modernistic, mono-chrome, and high-tech direction.  So we followed suit for this week closing celebration with a hyper modern stark black and white design:

Eventually, the team realized that we should return to embracing their amazing desert location for their closing celebration.  After all, why move your week-long event from Boston out to an incredible natural environment without making that central to your big final night?

I see myself as more of a “nuts and bolts” kind of gal, rather than a creative one.  My strong suit tends to lie in the area of taking an existing design or piece of art, putting wheels on it, and making it motor on down the highway.  So, as you can imagine, this was a really challenging process for me personally.  Thankfully, the AE team is chock full of amazing creative talents who jumped into this project.  That is definitely one of the best parts of working at (or hiring us as your event planning partner!) AE Events….there isn’t just one or two of us working on an event.  We all put our heads and hearts together to help each other out and to create the best and most unique event for our clients!

Now, which design concept appeals to you the most?  Asking for a friend ;-)