It’s officially Pride month, and you know what that means—color, color and more color. Brands and event hosts alike spend every June infusing the colors of the rainbow into their decor, activations and branding, resulting in a fun, festive way to celebrate the LGBTQ community and ring in the summer months. Scroll down for some out-of-the-box ways to incorporate a rainbow theme into your events this month.
In June 2019, H&M took over Brooklyn’s House of Yes for its Pride event, which launched the retail brand’s Stay True Stay You campaign. MKG produced and designed the colorful event, which featured an installation inspired by a New York bodega flower shop, with buckets of flowers in colors of the rainbow.
Photo: Neil Rasmus/BFA.com
Another creative use of florals at Pride 2019 came from The Artists Den, an ongoing TV and music series, which held a WorldPride edition in New York that was headlined by pop artist Charli XCX. The event, which was sponsored by Colgate, featured a “Smile with Pride” step-and-repeat wall with florals and plants painted in red, yellow, green and blue, extending to a grass floor. Artists Den partnered with Cogent to design Colgate’s activations at the event. See more: Pride 2019: 28 Thoughtful and Colorful Ways Brands Supported the L.G.B.T.Q. Community
Photo: Kevin Condon for Artists Den
In 2013, Schwarzkopf hosted a runway show in Los Angeles to demonstrate the year’s hair trends to a crowd of industry execs—and since salon pros aren’t afraid to experiment with color, the function quickly took a rainbow-hued spin. The show had a runway in punchy, tropical hues, while a canopy of colored fringe dangled overhead. Surrounding the floor, ghost chairs had bold renditions of the beauty brand's logo. And in plush lounge areas, centerpieces were—what else?—hat heads wearing flamboyantly colored wigs. See more: Hair Show Gets a Dye Job With Colorful Runway and Canopy
Photo: Brian Leahy Photography
At the Emmy Awards’ Governors Ball in 2014, Sequoia Productions turned to LED lights—and Versa tubes and dynamic lasers—to create a lively “kaleidoscope of color” theme at the event, which hosted more than 3,600 guests following the telecast. Bright throw pillows and tablecloths enlivened lounge areas that dotted the hall, while shadow dancers from the Debbie Allen Dance Academy performed alongside the venue’s perimeter.
Photo: Courtesy of Sequoia Productions
For the Emmys event, organizers continued the theme by creating dining sections dominated by red, orange, yellow, green, blue or purple hues and by using backdrops featuring all of the shades in the bar setups. La Premier added to the color-blocked look with floral arrangements in coordinating colors. See more: Emmy Awards 2014 Spotlight: Inside the Week's Top Events
Photo: Courtesy of Sequoia Productions
To commemorate the 49 victims of 2016's Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, the Orlando Science Center created a community art project called the “Love Bridge” to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the tragedy. Located at the venue’s Sky Bridge, the installation featured the seven colors of the rainbow in rows of four, with each row holding 49 origami hearts to represent the victims of the attack that targeted the LGBT community.
Photo: Courtesy of the Orlando Science Center
In January 2020, New York-based candy artist By Robynblair and neon studio Name Glo launched their artists-in-residence installation at Bergdorf Goodman’s flagship store in New York. For two months, visitors could experience the shoppable installation, which included a rainbow hallway and a retro ‘70s-inspired room.
Photo: Courtesy of Bergdorf Goodman
In early 2019, the third annual Toronto Light Festival featured more than 30 installations from local and international artists. One exhibit, The Phoenix Rainbow, was designed to symbolize love, hope and possibility. The installation was constructed with more than 4,000 pounds of aluminum and steel, and more than 500 feet of RGB LED lighting. It was created by a collective of friends, artists, engineers and programmers based in Victoria, British Columbia, during a theater production of The Wizard of Oz.
Photo: Justine Apple Photography
FWR Rental Haus’s Mission Chairs
At BizBash's own conference in Los Angeles in 2017, furniture rental company FWR Rental Haus showcased its colorful Mission chairs in a clever, rainbow-inspired way. The lightweight chairs come in 18 different colors, including black, blue, bronze, green, gray, orange, pink, white and yellow. See more: 16 Eye-Catching Event Ideas & Products From BizBash Live: Los Angeles
Photo: Haute Photography & Video
Another MKG-designed activation was for vodka brand Absolut, held at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in April 2019. In addition to promoting its sustainability initiatives, the tented space also highlighted the brand's efforts for LGBTQ equality. A series of photo ops were located inside bottle-shaped frames with colorful backdrops.
Photo: Tory Stolper Photography
The Absolut activation also featured rainbow-colored messaging on the dance floor that explained how the brand is taking action to better the planet.
Photo: Courtesy of Absolut
Another Coachella 2019 event came from Instagram, who worked with Manifold to create a colorful desert bash inspired by artist D'ana Nunez of COVL. Manifold built a series of colorful lounge seating areas, including a photo-friendly neon palm garden and rainbow-colored streamers located behind the DJ booth. See more: Coachella 2019: See Inside the Biggest Parties and Brand Activations
Photo: Courtesy of Manifold
Dining by Design’s 10th year of co-location with the Architectural Digest Design Show took place in 2019 at Pier 92 in New York. Shown here, first-time participant INC Architecture & Design’s “Us Is More” dining vignette was a playful kaleidoscope of colorful patches on the walls with a rainbow-bright ceiling installation. See more: 18 Dining and Tabletop Ideas From Diffa's 2019 Dining by Design
Photo: Lisa Vecchione
