AUSTIN—South by Southwest is brimming with events and activations, all looking for ways to stand out with eye-catching design. This year, neon was everywhere, from Netflix’s discrete signage to CNN’s funky marquee. Then there were plenty of plants and flowers, like Amazon Prime’s lush gardenscape and Twitter’s delicate hanging floral arrangements.
Here’s a selection of event design ideas, from the funky and bohemian to the romantic and retro.
SXSW Opening Night Party
For the film opening party of the festival, High Beam Events flooded the ceiling with giant balloons, some with the evening’s messaging on diversity and inclusivity.
Photo: Courtesy of High Beam Events
Twitter’s #TwitterHouse
Produced with N/A Collective, Twitter embraced a bright southwestern vibe for its #TwitterHouse space with bright patterns, cow print stools, and potted cacti.
Photo: Courtesy of Twitter
Twitter’s #TwitterHouse
For its female-centered Women’s Day Brunch, the #TwitterHouse space featured Mason jar arrangements from Austin florist Stems Floral Design.
Nadia Chaudhury for BizBash
Harvest HQ
Plant food company Miracle-Gro incorporated plentiful greenery and soil into its SXSW house, working with IRL Productions. The space was surrounded by a custom trellis, there were wheelbarrows stuffed with plants and watering cans, there was a custom-tiered crate display of the brand’s new indoor growing system, and a photo backdrop with blooms and gardening tools popping out.
Photo: Michael O'Donnell/Shiny Red Photo
Snapchat’s Snap House
Messaging app Snapchat's iconic ghost figured predominately throughout its first SXSW activation, from a front yard swing fashioned in its shape to simple neon ghosts behind the bar.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury for BizBash
Australia House
Australia House, presented by G’Day USA to promote tourism and culture, displayed the day’s events through a living green wall with six integrated digital screens. The activation was produced by High Beam Events.
Photo: Courtesy of High Beam Events
Ipsy's Destination: Ipsy
The subscription beauty service created a photo opp with a white Jeep Wrangler covered with colorful flowers.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury for BizBash
Bumble Hive SXSW
Social and dating app Bumble converted Jo’s Coffee into its own space, from the motivational mural on the back wall to plastering the exterior in its signature yellow color, with welcoming plants and outdoor seating. Pen & Prue Productions produced the event.
Photo: Laura Delacruz
CNN Clubhouse
The theme for this year’s CNN Clubhouse, produced by the network news channel, Giant Noise, and High Beam Events, was 1980, which meant a retro look throughout the space. There was funky neon signage with varying fonts at the front of the building, shaped neon lamps, spinning light-up fans, and giant Rubiks Cubes.
Photo: John Nowak/CNN
Uber Eats House
In the middle of Uber Eats House’s indoor space was a multi-fronted overhead marquee sign announcing the evening's events. The bottom of the sign displayed Uber Eats in green and white neon.
Rennie Solis
Vox Media
At Vox Media’s SXSW house, a collaboration between The Verge and Aloft Hotels featured colorful poppy murals from Austin artist Will Bryant. (Disclosure: this reporter also works for Vox Media.)
Photo: Ryan Muir
Amazon Prime’s 'Good Omens' Garden of Earthly Delights
In keeping with the streaming service’s new television show, the Good Omens SXSW space was full of greenery, from plant-covered walls that displayed the show's name to a sprawling tree that doubled as a bar to clusters of plants in eclectic containers.
Photo: Courtesy of Amazon Prime Video
Netflix's 'The Highwaymen'
The signage for Netflix's Highwaymen speakeasy, produced by Collide, was simple: just the outline of a rabbit and the name of the film as a hashtag. The same rabbit outline appeared throughout the city without any context.
Photo: Courtesy of Netflix
Bud Light Dive Bar Sessions
For its outdoor performances, Bud Light recreated a dive bar with the help of production and design company Engine Shop. The stage, located in an open shipping container, featured a brick wall covered with vintage Bud Light posters, neon signage, wooden floors, and a rug. Elsewhere there were worn four-person blue tables and a non-working cigarette vending machine.
Photo: Rick Kern/Getty Images for Bud Light
