At the Phillips Collection’s annual gala in 2012, the Washington Art Museum chose “Havana Nights” as the theme of its after-party to honor the Havana Arts Biennial. A 1959 Chrysler parked outside the Anderson House as well as palm tree projections set the tone at the entrance. In the back lawn, a cigar roller and salsa and meringue music from the Latin band Sin Miedo continued the theme.
Cuban cigar boxes served as charming containers for flower arrangements at an “Old Havana”-theme welcome party that the New Orleans Saints hosted before Super Bowl XLIV in Miami in 2010. The event took place at the InterContinental Miami Hotel.
The Honest Company and Target hosted an event in celebration of their partnership anniversary in April. Caravents produced and designed the gathering at the Lombardi House in Hollywood, a residential event space where logos dangled gracefully from a large tree.
During a talk by Chris Milk, C.E.O. of virtual reality company Vrse, a Google Cardboard viewer and headphones sat on every chair in the theater. Attendees were invited to download his latest virtual reality film and watch it together as he spoke.
Each year organizers create a variety of lounges where attendees can watch a simulcast of speakers. New this year was a ball pit filled with beanbag chairs and beach balls.
Sponsor Delta Air Lines created an immersive installation to introduce its new collaborative research center dubbed the Hangar. Inside the space, 6,000 LED lights simulated a star-filled sky. Attendees could climb throughout the dream-like environment and then submit innovative ideas for Delta to explore.
TED invites baristas from around the world to set up coffee stations at the conference. In a workshop hosted by the Specialty Coffee Association of America, attendees also learned about “coffee cupping,” the practice of observing the taste and aroma of brewed coffee.
Sponsor Bluescape demonstrated its visual collaborative software by erecting several multi-touch video walls around the conference. On the walls, attendees could read about conference activities and speaker content and bios, watch live streams of presentations, and contribute comments. Attendees could also access Bluescape using a Web browser.
Vancouver architect and past TED speaker Michael Green worked with local design students to create two 16- by 30-foot “warming huts” where attendees could gather outside the convention center. Following the conference, the huts will be permanently installed in one of British Columbia’s outdoor recreation sites so they can be used by climbers, skiers, and outdoor enthusiasts.
Steelcase, a TED partner for more than 20 years, provided a variety of seating options throughout the convention center. The company’s personal cubicles provided a semiprivate area where attendees could watch the simulcast and do work.
To encourage attendees to mingle, organizers provided blankets and picnic baskets filled with food for six and invited them to find others to share it.
Sponsor Target provided illustrators who created unique pieces of art based on guests’ descriptions of their hopes and dreams.
Heart-shaped cookies were an appropriate dessert at a reception for the 21 TED Fellows on Valentine’s Day, the day before the conference opened.
Sponsor Lands’ End created a lounge where attendees could learn about its Sport Collection. The company also provided large totes that served as the conference gift bag.
For electric-utility company ComEd's ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception on February 19 for its Chicago training center, catering firm Entertaining Company put a thematic spin on beverages with pomegranate-flavored "Electric Lemonade." The drinks were served in food-safe, lightbulb-shaped vessels on light-up trays branded with the company's logo.
The Minibar app, which lets party hosts stock up by ordering beer, wine, spirits, mixers, and bar supplies for delivery, concocted some cocktails inspired by this year's Oscar nominees and ceremony host Chris Rock. The "Chris Rocktail" is made by pouring chilled Cristal champagne into a flute and garnishing it with rock candy for a elegant yet fun drink.
Rihanna's debut Fenty Puma runway show for New York Fashion Week took place February 12 at 23 Wall Street. Production company Prodject commandeered around 35,000 square feet of space for a distinctly unique five-day build. The video floor portion of the runway was raised and covered by about 200 pieces of custom mirror. Models first walked on the runway, then around the perimeter of the space on the same level as the first row of seats, which brought the clothing closer to attendees.
Tommy Hilfiger's February 15 New York Fashion Week show at the Park Avenue Armory was produced by KCD and boasted a near-life-size Randall Peacock-designed ship, dubbed the T.H. Atlantic. The ship boasted two main cabins, steam stacks, operational architectural lighting fixtures, branded buoys, piles of antique luggage, and an overall dimension of 130 by 40 feet.
The TED Conference took place February 15 to 19 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Sponsor Delta Air Lines created an immersive installation to introduce its new collaborative research center dubbed the Hangar. Inside the space, 6,000 LED lights simulated a star-filled sky. Attendees could climb throughout the dream-like environment and then submit innovative ideas for Delta to explore.
Vancouver architect and past TED speaker Michael Green worked with local design students to create two 16- by 30-foot "warming huts" where attendees could gather outside the convention center. The huts will permanently be installed in one of British Columbia's outdoor recreation sites for climbers, skiers, and outdoor enthusiasts.
Yards Park in Washington, D.C., hosted the second annual wintertime festival Ice Yards on January 30. Produced by BrandLink Communications, the event featured branded ice sculptures and frozen games, including ice shuffleboard created by Ice Lab.
Beauty and grooming brand Kiehl's hosted a Zoolander 2-theme pop-up in New York's meatpacking district from February 9 to 13, as part of its partnership with the comedy sequel. Kiehl's introduced limited-edition box anti-aging kits at the activation, which featured a decontamination chamber that had male models in hazmat suits stationed behind a protective acrylic wall, reaching through to give guests the choice of anti-aging decontamination: a topical ointment or spray.
Samsung also partnered with the film to debut a modeling-theme experience at the Grove in Los Angeles, which took place February 11 to 15. Each of the event's activations used Samsung technology, including the "Elite Model Lingo" section where guests were taught model talk using a dubbing recorded booth powered by the brand's devices. All guests who completed the interactive courses were deemed "Ridiculously Good Looking" enough to graduate and receive a graduation gift from the Zoolander School of Modeling.
To reach out to the millennial and Gen Z crowds, many event organizers are adding physical representations of emojis into event decor. For Fullscreen's Streamy Awards after-party, which took place in September at the W Hollywood in Los Angeles, Caravents created so-called "emojis in the wild"—accompanied by a well-promoted hashtag of the same phrase—which involved small animal figures placed within the decor throughout the space. The move was meant to encourage guests to share their subtle observations.
