Conferences that Work

DECEMBER 10, 2018

A “creative” event design is one with a novel venue and/or decor and lighting and/or food and beverage. Consequently, planners restrict the entire focus of creative event design to novel visual and sensory elements. Truly creative event design We are biased against truly creative event design.

Event Design 238

Event Design Food and Beverage 2011 2012 238

Conferences that Work

JUNE 12, 2017

Clients invariably ask me to help design their meeting after they’ve chosen a venue! Read the full article at Conferences That Work. Related posts: Help Wanted—Venues for my participation techniques workshops! Face The Fear—Then Change Your Conference Design! Please help me (and hopefully yourself)!

Venues 210

Venues 2010 Meetings Conference Design 210

Conferences that Work

SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

3—Overlooking the space needs of unconferences Novices who try to hold unconferences invariably underestimate venue space needs. Venue room capacity charts don’t include these designs. The result is that novice-organized unconferences rarely have the venue space they need to work well.

Conference 266

Conference Venues 2023 Consulting 266

Conferences that Work

NOVEMBER 20, 2023

I’m indebted to Martin Sirk for sharing remarkable information about an 1828 conference designed by the German geographer, naturalist, and explorer Alexander von Humboldt. Read what follows to discover that Humboldt was also a meeting designer way ahead of his time! Martin Sirk Modern meeting design! Impressive!

Meeting Design 208

Meeting Design Meetings Conference Conference Design 208

Smart Meetings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

Or instead of the typical mid-morning and afternoon food and beverage stations, work with the local hotel or venue to offer unique, fun snacks—like a “donut wall,” a soda mixologist, or other cuisine trends to get people talking, laughing, and connecting.

Food and Beverage 98

Food and Beverage Sustainability Entertainment Hotels 98

Conferences that Work

JULY 2, 2018

The needs assessment trap Conference design clients who “know what they want” have already decided on their “ why? I understand their perspective, because I also feel the temptation to pin down specifics — number of participants, duration, venue, budget, etc. ” and “ who? ” stage.

Meeting Design 192

Meeting Design 2012 2014 Meetings 192

PCMA Convene

JANUARY 31, 2017

Over three days, Airbnb Open distinguished itself as a truly one-of-a-kind event, borrowing some lessons from traditional conference design while breaking with many others. Some of those neighborhood venues were integrated into the fabric of the program. A NEW SENSE OF BELONGING.

Travel 40

Travel Education Conference Hospitality 40