You're tasked with planning an event. How do you ensure your creative ideas align with the client's needs?

I agree and feel it’s best to incorporate their style and their vision into every event. I’m just there to come up with clever design ideas to bring it to life.

Initiate a deep-dive conversation to uncover their objectives, desired impact, and specific preferences. This dialogue should go beyond surface-level details, exploring the underlying goals and emotional tone they aim to achieve. Such insights not only inform your approach but also align your creative strategies with the client’s expectations, leading to a more personalized and impactful event.

In my experience, the first step is to absorb the client’s vision through detailed meetings and questionnaires, developing a well-crafted briefing. This involves understanding their expectations, objectives, and the available budget.

Our job as planners and designers is to listen to our client's vision and bring that to life. Our job is to guide them (and sometimes nudge) their vision in a way that will produce the best outcome. If I know an idea will not logistically work, or if another design plan might lead to a better result, I can teach, show, and lay that out in a way that they can visually see it. My goal is to work with clients that want to work with me for my skills and capabilities. We mutually have respect and trust for one another.

A discovery meeting where the client articulates, goals, objectives, timing, key stakeholder demands, budget, "wish list", and the "must haves" has been successful throughout my career. I take those learnings and create a Framework Document that articulates the client's vision and seamlessly incorporates all of the following: 1. Positioning 2. Theme and messaging 3. Unique/custom creative ideas 4. Social Media campaigns 5. Social Media live event engagement ideas 6. Brand ambassador/influencer activations 7. Thought leadership storytelling The final portion of the framework document communicates how the creative ideas and event activations deliver on brand strategy, on both event and organization goals, and how success will be measured.

The budget for an event can often be a sensitive issue, as we may not always have the necessary resources to meet the client's desires. That's why I always prepare two or three options that can still create a positive impact or effect on the event. I make sure to clearly communicate to the client that we need to be aligned on the available resources to ensure we meet their expectations effectively.

Absolutely agreed. Keeping our clients within budget is always our goal, but we usually ask if there is any wiggle room or a hard stop at a certain number. It’s best that the client is transparent with us from the beginning so that we can design and procure the best vendors for their event.

The best approach is to research trends, current events in the market, and their impact on participants. Understanding what works and what doesn’t, as well as exploring innovations that can add value, is crucial. I typically create all the designs, including 3D layouts of the venue with the event setup, and provide detailed schedules and checklists to give clients a comprehensive view of the process. Additionally, I present a detailed budget spreadsheet along with options for attractions and giveaways to ensure all aspects of the event are well-planned and transparent.

I find it valuable to make myself available for changes, suggestions, or any clarifications after presenting the proposal. This openness ensures that we address any concerns and fine-tune the plan to better meet the client’s needs and expectations.

When a client contracts me to create their theme, I make sure it is carried through every aspect of the event. This starts with messaging and creative on all communications, both internally and externally. I articulate the vision to all (board members, staff, vendors, and volunteers). I work with a graphic designer to create a lead look that gets translated across all areas of the event. Working from a framework document, that provides the creative roadmap to everyone involved, ensures that a cohesive aesthetic happens. Final touches inside the venue carry the look, theme, and delivers an elevated experience that was communicated on invites, emails, and social media.

Lighting IS one of the MOST important parts of the design aesthetic. We triple check everything, nothing goes unnoticed and we are there to make sure that all vendors execute their portion of the event. Everything comes together meticulously. It’s orchestrating and designing an event space and throwing a BIG party, all at once.