Best ideas of Past 10 years

The cocktail napkins for the 2002 opening of Prada’s store in SoHo in New York were useful in two ways, with an itinerary and maps showing the locations for the night’s multiple parties.

At the 2008 Robin Hood Foundation gala, XO laptops on each dinner table displayed menus, statistics about the organization’s work, and images of flowers, and then were donated to city schoolchildren after the event.

At the 2004 International Contemporary Furniture Fair, Norwegian architecture firm MMW designed a large tube that connected the Javits Center’s main space with its north pavilion, a stylish way to join two large spaces.

The Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art’s 2009 ArtEdge benefit had a lighthearted feel, with childhood games and activities including a large swing set.

For a private dinner in 2006, JMVisuals created an unexpected overhead lighting trick: rows of frosted votives suspended from the ceiling on square Lucite tiles. 

At a 2006 dinner held by investment bank Rodman & Renshaw, Event Design Inc. made sure all the attendees had a clear view of the evening’s entertainment by creating seven levels of seating with rows of individual lounges on each level.

LDJ Productions and Brenton Catering served champagne cocktails in test tubes at hair-care brand Joico’s chemistry-lab-inspired 30th anniversary party in New York in 2005.

Breaking away from the step-and-repeat to interact with the crowd, actors including Uma Thurman served as waiters at a 2007 Sundance event. They wore T-shirts listing their first jobs on the front and their breakthrough films on the back.

Travel & Leisure used oversize balloons as a cheap and effective way to mark a pathway for its 35th birthday celebration, held in Los Angeles in 2006.

For the 120th anniversaries of Moët & Chandon’s White Star label and the Statue of Liberty, Publicis Events used 3-D projections to create a four-minute light show on the monument in 2006.

Guests helped themselves to water-cooler cocktails at the Museum of Contemporary Art’s 2009 ArtEdge benefit.

At a 2006 Swarovski shoe launch in New York, designer Todd Shearer put shoes on mannequins as well as live models whose sudden movements surprised guests.

At a 2006 roast of Mario Batali benefiting the Food Bank of New York City, Okamoto Studio encased the chef’s trademark orange clogs in giant blocks of ice. 

At the opening party for the Felissimo Design House in New York in 2001, guests never had to wait for a waiter to come by with food. They could pick hors d’oeuvres right from the wall of an installation by French artist Dorothee Selz.

Digital photo booth projections, like this one from Mark van S. at the Whitney Museum of American Art’s 2006 benefit, have become an event staple for mixing interactive entertainment and decor.

To create a modern, all-white look for a 2006 dinner at Manhattan’s Pier 60, Empire Force Events hid the venue’s colorful, patterned carpet with a layer of large, white confetti. 

Waiters didn’t have to remember what they were serving (and guests didn’t have to ask) when now-defunct Match Catering printed T-shirts with food descriptions for a 2004 BizBash event.