The ceiling: a sometimes forgotten canvas that, when left blank during events, can be a missed opportunity to immerse guests further into the experience. However, it's not just about catching guests’ eyes and snapping a photo. The idea of looking up actually has a positive impact on the human psyche, notes Grant Dudson, experiential creative director and head artist at event design firm Studio Grant Harvey.
“Like most people, I've always witnessed a palpable change in awareness when I look up,” Dudson said, noting that continuing an event’s design both outward and upward “helps us visibly engulf the entirety of the space around us.” The concept was coined by positive psychology coach Paul Conway as “skychology.”
At its most basic definition, skychology is “the study of the relationship between looking at the sky and well-being,” according to Conway’s website. So, “the notion of looking up in a space at something visually beguiling and wonderful can offer a similar psychological response,” Dudson said. “There's a reason vast ceilings have been punctuated with opulent chandeliers for as long as we know.”
However eye-catching a chandelier still is to many guests, as skychology pushes its way into the event profs dictionary, innovative event professionals have already begun expanding on the concept.
Take it from these 15 examples of ceiling event decor that have made guests look up…
The Kentucky Derby’s Trifecta Gala
On May 3, annual Kentucky Derby fundraiser the Trifecta Gala made its return on the eve of the 150th iteration of the horse race following a four-year hiatus. Mirrored Media marked the event by erecting a more than 40,000-square-foot tent with 60-foot-high ceilings decked out in chandeliers made of roses. The hanging installations featured upward of 100,000 fresh roses, which complemented the evening’s theme: “A Night of the Roses: A Kentucky Derby Evening.”
Photo: Courtesy of Mirrored Media
A custom-lit “The Trifecta” sign served as the event space’s centerpiece in a nod to the company that hosts the event, which is headed by retired NBA guard Ulysses Lee “Junior” Bridgeman and his family, including his three children. The sign’s neon lighting was reflected onto the tent’s ceiling for an added, awe-inspiring lighting effect.
Photo: Courtesy of Mirrored Media
Tudor Watch’s Launch Event
London-based Studio Grant worked with creative agency Chorus for an elegant installation above a recent Tudor launch event. The white draping served as a stylish nod to the luxury watchmaker’s home in the Swiss Alps. “Looking up takes effort, and so we're naturally prompted to be more receptive to what we see as our physical movement toward looking up is intentional,” Dudson told BizBash.
Photo: Courtesy of Studio Grant
Robin Hood’s Benefit Gala
Robin Hood’s annual benefit gala is always an ode to New York City, where it fights poverty every day. For its 2023 edition, it did so with a whimsical showcase of larger-than-life inflatables and neon-colored murals dangling from the Javits Center’s roughly 33-foot-high ceilings. There was a branded, oversize blimp boasting Robin Hood’s logo. Elsewhere above the 30,000-square-foot event space, 3,000 guests gawked at a blown-up basketball that floated above a half-size basketball court in Robin Hood’s team color (green). It served as a nod to NYC’s iconic sports venue Madison Square Garden.
Photo: Courtesy of Robin Hood
In a unique bid to get its guests—and the rest of New York City—to look up, Robin Hood had the top of the Empire State Building shining in green on the night of its 2023 gala last May.
Photo: Courtesy of Robin Hood
California Science Center’s Discovery Ball
California Science Center’s annual Discovery Ball in 2023 celebrated Guatemalan and Mayan culture with an “Under the Mayan Sky” theme. The 600-guest event drew from the center’s then-new exhibit on the topic, which the evening portrayed in custom gobos projected on the ceiling. The lights showed the zodiac animals that ancient Mayans used while creating the first Mayan calendar—and surrounded a model of NASA’s Endeavour space shuttle that hung from above.
Photo: Nadine Froger Photography
Walt Disney Company’s Post-Emmys Celebration
Walt Disney Company swapped animation and childlike lure for an upscale Emmys party that leaned into the winter season with an “Après Fête” theme, held at Otium in Downtown Los Angeles. Designers and producers from Sterling Engagements drew inspiration from the chic ambiance of an East Coast boutique hotel mingled with a West Coast wine country aesthetic, using a palette of rich leathers, woods, layered textiles, and darker metals accented with neutral florals and greens. The spotlight was the ceiling installation, where poly chiffon draping in neutral, monochromatic tones created a decorative display.
Photo: Maya Myers Photography
Dr. Martens’ ‘Made Strong’ Pop-Up
Guests who walked through Los Angeles’ The Grove in October 2023 might've stumbled across Dr. Martens’ hard-to-miss “Made Strong” pop-up space to celebrate its campaign of the same name. Among the most notable design elements: The vibrant space featured 14,000 shoelaces hanging from the ceiling. “The Dr. Marten shoelace is an iconic part of the brand's history," said Charlotte Pavlik, vice president of sales and marketing at Gladiator Productions, the event firm behind the pop-up. "We wanted to develop a unique way to display them and lean into the heritage of the brand—and what better blank canvas than the ceiling!"
Photo: Courtesy of Gladiator Productions
Mastercard’s ‘Secret Garden’ at Grammy House
The Recording Academy’s Grammy House returned for its second consecutive year this past February. Presented by Mastercard, the credit card company outfitted its corner of the expansive activation in the “Secret Garden,” which invited guests to stroll through a lush green setting full of real living plants, trees, and ivy to relax and network in. Naturally, the tree at the center of it all spread its leaves across the ceiling—meant to draw attention to Mastercard's Priceless Planet Coalition, which aims to preserve the environment through the restoration of 100 million trees in five years. Mastercard worked with marketing partner R&CPMK and fabrication partner Unboxed Group on the space.
Photo: Caitlyn Ridenour
Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s Ode to the Chicago Skyline
Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s 2023 gala celebrated its home city of Chicago at every touchpoint—from the actual venue at the Windy City’s Old Post Office to its guest list of civic and corporate leaders. However, the centerpiece of the entire evening was a hanging installation depicting an upside-down skyline with mini replicas of Chicago’s iconic buildings, including the Hancock Tower. Steppenwolf’s donor engagement director, Courtney Anderson, told BizBash at the time that the evening’s decor “took inspiration from our venue and also the idea that Steppenwolf takes what theater is and flips it. This reflection came from ensemble member and artistic director Audrey Francis and became the upside-down skyline featured above the stage.”
Photo: Kyle Flubacker
STEEZY’s Coachella Shoe Box Activation
Coachella is the land of tastemakers and trend-setters, so no wonder a case study in skychology was found at a collaborative activation by Nike and STEEZY, an online platform for dance enthusiasts. To celebrate STEEZY’s 10-year anniversary and the launch of the Air Max Dn, Nike's latest innovation in footwear, the company built a massive shoe box dubbed the “House of Reflections” at Coachella last month. Inside the box, the immersive experience—inspired by STEEZY's decadelong commitment to dance—provided performers and dancers with an infinity room setting for self-expression and content creation, where a colorful design was carried through from floor to ceiling.
Photo: Courtesy of STEEZY
NYLON House at Coachella
NYLON House at Coachella 2024 was presented by Smirnoff ICE, which hosted an on-site chalet that was iced out—literally—from top to bottom. The wintry theme was ever-present on the ceiling, where glittering disco balls hung alongside icicle-like streamers.
Photo: Line 8 Photography
Engage!18's Great White North Gala
Luxury wedding business summit Engage! traveled to Alberta, Canada—the Fairmont Banff Springs to be exact—to celebrate its official 10-year anniversary. Held in June 2018, the three-day conference concluded with the Great White North Gala, where a metallic winter wonderland theme was conceptualized by creating an impressive art installation that hung above the dance floor. Created by TPD Design House, the work included 15,000 laser-cut paper fir leaves.
Photo: Genevieve de Manio
The Recording Academy’s Grammy Celebration
The Recording Academy’s official after-party took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center immediately following the award ceremony this past February. The event's 5,000 guests were treated to an eclectic, music festival-themed celebration that had guests looking up at an acrobatic performance. Aerialists dangled from the ceiling and executed impressive moves. The showcase had guests congregating to watch despite the evening’s expansive footprint—which included a square footage of more than five football fields placed side by side, a staggering 550 lighting fixtures, and 100% LED lighting.
Photo: Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Netflix Emmys Celebration
Following the 2022 Emmys ceremony, Netflix celebrated its top TV talent at Milk Studios with a stylish soiree produced by Best Events. The event transformed the raw space into a posh tone-on-tone affair layered with shades of cream, champagne, and gold. Inside, hanging above the dance floor, was debatably the most photographed decor element of the evening: a stunning lighting installation made of softly lit rattan pendants layered with floral clouds made of orchids, pampas grass, and dripping Amaranthus designed by Floral Crush Studio.
Photo: Tiffany Rose
A '90s-Themed Corporate Affair
In August 2023, Glow Events designed a ‘90s-themed corporate event for a San Francisco tech company that featured—you guessed it—a hanging installation on the ceiling. In a playful nod to the kid in all 350 businesspeople in attendance, the California-based events firm had multicolored Slinkys draped across the ceiling.
Photo: Meg Sexton
WME’s Oscars Party
Endeavor-owned talent agency WME kicked off Oscars weekend earlier this year at the Hearst Estate in Beverly Hills. Guests would never know that the evening actually took place in a tent thanks to the arched windows and, of course, the ceiling, which featured dark green drapery that drew on the lush green landscaping that made up the evening’s decor. Intricate chandeliers also hung throughout, drawing inspiration from the Hearst Estate’s own design.
Photo: Line 8 Photography
