For the Toronto launch party for Cadillac's 2014 ELC electric car, guests could sip a futuristic drink: a cocktail with the car's logo stenciled atop in silver edible dust.
"My team at V Squared Labs and I are always pushing the envelope with existing technology to generate new forms of experiential visual art. The Volcano is our next experimental design integrating lighting, reflection mapping, and sculptural form," says Vello Virkhaus, founder of the Los Angeles-based visual arts studio. The impressive “Volcano” sculpture, which was designed for electronic music dance group Krewella’s current tour, consists of crystal-like structures made out of one- and two-way mirrored acrylic plastic with reflective backing that creates a mapping effect. Each crystal is also equipped with LED elements, resulting in the illusion that the structure is morphing from within.
The Makr Shakr is a bartender, social sharing system, and alcohol consumption monitor in one robotic design. Designed by the M.I.T. Senseable City Lab in collaboration with the Coca-Cola Company and Bacardi Rums and produced by Italian firm Carlo Ratti Associati, the robot debuted at the Google I/O conference in May. Guests transmit their cocktail orders via the Makr Shakr app, then watch as three large, orange robotic arms mix up the prescribed combination of liquor, syrups, fruit mixers, and ice. The movements are precise enough to muddle a mojito and thinly slice a lemon. A large screen behind the bar displays a variety of stats, such as number of drinks in the queue, approximate wait time, drinks ready for pickup, and most popular spirits by gender. The app also allows users to see what type of drinks others are ordering, rate the drinks, and share photos on social networks. It also aims to promote responsible consumption by monitoring what a person orders and how often. The developers say for now Makr Shakr is a prototype, intended to be a “social experiment that looks at how people might embrace the new possibilities offered by digital manufacturing.”
Rustic accents and greenery punctuated Fox's party space in the old Robinson's-May area. Greenery spilled from chandeliers and Edison-style bulbs hung from overhead beams.
Jeffry Roick of McNabb Roick Events in Toronto recommended this rental: “The Conveyer Belt by Signature Rentals is our personal favorite rental because it is a unique alternative to welcome cocktail, desserts, and food stations.” The Conveyer Belt, $1,500, is available in Canada from Signature Event Rental Shoppe.
Pallet chairs from Dublin company This Is What We Do were one of the seating options in the Media Village at Web Summit in November 2014.
At IMG’s inaugural Taste of Toronto festival in July, attendees used R.F.I.D.-enabled cards to purchase food and beverages from vendors at the event. The cards were provided by IntelliPay, a division of Intellitix. Guests could go online before the event to load money onto the card, and they could also add funds at stations throughout the festival. At the end of the festival, balances remaining on cards were donated to Second Harvest Food Rescue. Each individual’s online account also provided a history of all food and beverage items purchased.
The Chicago museum hosted an event to celebrate the opening of its David Bowie exhibition in September. At the after-party, a slew of hanging disco balls added a Studio 54-style vibe to a pop-up concert venue that offered a performance from Bryan Ferry. Kim Merlin, Event Creative, and Partytime Productions all worked on the lavish event.
M.A.C. Cosmetics studded a branding event in Toronto in 2008 with golden mirror balls, bare-skinned servers with gold-colored trays and cocktails, and a slew of go-go dancers.
At the Tate Americas Foundation's Artists Dinner in 2013, designer David Stark filled the raw event space Skylight at Moynihan Station with industrial elements. The cocktail area included giant metallic tubes decorated with florescent lights that changed colors.
For the 2010 MOCA gala in Los Angeles, the museum commissioned artist Doug Aitken to transform the benefit into an experiential work of art. The event took place inside of a tent topped by a dramatic installation in the ceiling: a sculpture made from 2,400 feet of running white PVC pipe interspersed with 191 pieces of VersaTube.
Xico Artspace, a working art studio and gallery, opened in central Phoenix in October. As a nonprofit community arts facility, the organization works to promote indigenous culture and heritage. The nontraditional space offers a unique and memorable venue for private events. It measures 3,200 square feet and seats as many as 70 guests or holds 200 for receptions. Audiovisual capabilities include a flat-screen TV, a wireless sound system, and handheld microphones. Planners can also take advantage of private outdoor space, flexible layouts, inspirational views, and plenty of parking.
Evening Entertainment Group opened Livewire, a live performance and concert venue, in Old Town Scottsdale's entertainment district in December. The two-story, 14,000-square-foot space holds as many as 1,160 guests for receptions. Planners can reconfigure the space to fit the style and needs of each particular event. The swanky venue offers cutting-edge technology such as a video wall, chandelier lighting, more than 20 HD TVs, state-of-the-art audiovisual capabilities, and an expandable built-in stage.
When Blasted Barley opened in November, it became the first locally owned microbrewery on Tempe's Mill Avenue. The menu offers twists on traditional bar food, as well as 32 beers on tap. The microbrewery also released its first in-house brew, dubbed Orange Bomb. The 3,500-square-foot space functions as a restaurant by day and a live-music venue by night and holds 300 for receptions. A DJ booth, 25 HD TVs, and a patio are also available for use during events.
At Thinkery's Imaginarium gala, held in Austin in September, staff wore necklaces with Scrabble pieces that spelled out their names. These were used in lieu of traditional name tags.
At Stella McCartney's store opening at St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort in South Florida, Scrabble sets served as name plates. The event took place in 2012.
A modified Twister board replaced the game's classic colored circles with Havaianas flip-flops at a promotion for the brand at Miami's Shore Club in 2009.
At a soup and sandwich bar from Heirloom L.A. catering, color-blocked paper wrapped sandwiches on the buffet.
The trend of chinoiserie is resurfacing, and Weiss accented an area of the party space with upturned parasols to offer an alternative take on the concept.
Complementing the hues of blue in the chinoiserie area of the party space were cocktails offered in varying shapes and sizes of feminine glassware.
Guests could also create personalized holiday canvas prints at the festive event.
At the 2014 event in Toronto, guests were invited to participate in a doughnut-decorating challenge that let them customize their own treats with toppings such as chocolate and sprinkles.
The department store featured a Twitter mirror in the artist area at its Make Some Noise house. Users were able to take photos of themselves, add additional content like text and drawings, and then tweet out the image through the brand’s Twitter account.
Mophie helped rescue attendees with dying phone batteries by sending out St. Bernards with a Mophie power reserve unit within a barrel attached to the dog’s collar. Those seeking help had to take a screenshot of their dying battery screen as well as their location, and tweet at the brand. The St. Bernards were housed at the MophieRescue Lodge, where the products were showcased. The organization also worked with the St. Bernard Rescue Foundation to raise awareness of adoptable St. Bernards across the country.
Extending its Made by You initiative, Converse photographed professional portaits of attendees’ sneakers in the style of the ad campaign. The images were then displayed on screens in the space. For those who weren’t wearing the brand, lucky guests were given free shoes at random.
Fader Fort hosted local Austin artists to create unique custom designs for guests wearing Converse shows during the music portion of the festival. The Fort also handed out 100 pairs of sneakers to random attendees.
BuzzFeed's BFF Cluhouse featured an emoji fortune-teller for the day. By looking at guests’ most recently-used emoji on their smartphones, the fortune-teller picked the person’s fortune, including an emoticon to use more.
As part of Dr. Martens’s Stand for Something campaign during SXSW music, the shoe brand let attendees complete the phrase “I Stand For” on free T-shirts.
Animal Planet’s Next Cat Star Party featured hanging balls of yarn and giant cut-out cat cardboard figures for decor and photo booth props. The network also passed out promotional cat ear headbands to guests.
Steph Sciré and Isaac Ferry were behind the takeover of the Sparrows Lodge in Palm Springs for the low-key and wellness-minded Retreat. Jeff Consoletti of JJ-LA produced, along with tour and event producer Tanya Slater. Taylor & Taylor managed the production design for the event, which included a silk patchwork canopy for laid-back seating on the hotel's grounds. The look also included Persian rugs, Native American artifacts, succulents, kilim pillows, and leather details.
In Dolce Vita's area, a colorful floral wall bore a subtle representation of the brand's name. It also encouraged social media sharing for guests, who were rewarded for their posts with a free pair of sandals.
Small rugs and clusters of pillows in mixed patterns and coordinating colors allowed for poolside seating, as well as subtle decor, at the H&M cocktail party. Logo beach balls also floated in the pool, a popular branding approach during the weekend's pool parties.
In another activity area, guests painted cookies with watercolor paints. Cookies came from Joanie and Leigh's Cakes.
A life-size Hulk character made of Legos caused an attendee traffic jam at the exhibit for Lego Marvel Avengers as passersby stopped to grab snaps.
Underscoring the farm theme, the booth also featured a costumed cow, which waved at attendees and posed for photos.
The T-shirts all said "Speak the Truth," and guests could customize the statements that were printed below. One guest elected to have printed: "I still have stuffed animals," while another chose, "I am in the fast lane following my dreams."
Dark Horse Wine also had a prize wheel at its tent in the V.I.P. area. Guests could win prizes including an entire case of wine.
On the festival's main grounds, the wine brand also had a tent where guests could apply silvery, temporary tattoos featuring Dark Horse's logo.
Local beer company Goose Island made custom periscopes, set back from the main stages, that let guests peer at the festival crowds near the stages.
Whole Foods' photo op let guests pose in bright frames that appeared to grow out of a garden box.
Outside at a mini market, guests could design their own parasols to take along to the festival on the hot, sunny day.
