Designing events with depth and purpose

We believe the magic lies in meticulous planning and a heartfelt commitment to every detail, from the very first spark of an idea to the last delegate heading home. Our Studio Manager, Cheryl Draper, explores how a thoughtful approach to branding, sustainability, comfort, and venue smarts can elevate your events from simply present to genuinely profound.

It's important to dig deep into a client's brand for every touchpoint of a brand experience. Understanding their core values and unique propositions help us to plug into their wider business, not just getting guidance on their corporate colours. By analysing their past successes, we can build on their strengths, ensuring our event designs are authentic extensions of their identity. We want to help our clients truly make their mark on attendees.

Crucially, we must also get a nuanced understanding of the event's target audience. Who are we engaging, and what do they need? This insight should underpin every event decision, from visuals to content. Our goal is to create events that not only look brilliant but genuinely connect with audiences, delivering a memorable and impactful experience. We always aim high with our creative visions, then manage budgets with our dedicated in-house teams without compromising the end goal.

At Audience, we embed sustainability into every project. The events industry needs to acknowledge and educate brands on the significant material consumption in large-scale productions and actively commit to dramatically minimising our environmental footprint. Does the room really need carpeting? Should the wayfinding be on a board, or could we digitise it? These kinds of questions have become second nature, a non-negotiable core value we champion at Audience.

We also love to deliberately highlight the natural appeal of sustainable materials, making their eco-friendly composition a visible part of the design. For instance, imagine a re-board sign proudly declaring, "I used to be a stack of shoeboxes!" as text within the design, and leaving the edges raw to showcase the internal core paper-based structure. This encourages attendees to rethink the ways they can reuse materials, whilst championing your brand as sustainable leaders.

We must recognise the paramount importance of addressing diverse educational and accessibility needs throughout spatial design. This means crafting designated quiet zones that are defined by calming colour palettes, natural materials, and strategic sound dampening, offering a visual and auditory retreat.

Conversely, dynamic interactive areas can be designed with bright, inspiring visuals, adaptable modular furniture, and clear sightlines that invite hands-on engagement. Our collective aim is to craft event spaces that are not only visually stimulating and aesthetically cohesive but also foster well-being through their very structure, allowing every attendee to comfortably engage and get the most from their experience.

As an events agency, our philosophy regarding venues unequivocally revolves around flexibility and adaptability. The first crucial step is to always visit sites in person. This hands-on approach allows us to grasp a venue's potential and its limitations. Our ultimate goal should be to achieve perfect synchronicity, where the event feels tailor-made for the building itself, not trying to shoehorn something in. Our tip is to get the designers involved. There's only so much information that can be gathered from photos or videos. We need to feel the space and visualise the work within the venue to get the most out of the brief.

During these essential visits, we actively scout for existing venue elements that can be cleverly leveraged and integrated into the event design. This not only saves resources but also enhances the overall aesthetic. We must make it a point to ask insightful questions, probing into what has worked brilliantly at past events there, and what challenges they've encountered. This collaborative approach with venue teams, combined with our understanding of the spaces, enables us to design event solutions that are not only innovative but also seamlessly integrate with the venue's characteristics.