Conferences

Relate is a new conference series from software company Zendesk that is focused on exploring relationships and customer service. To tie to that theme, organizers offered a thank-you note station at the May event in San Francisco. The company’s in-house creative team designed witty cards and invited attendees to personalize them with a hand-written note expressing their appreciation to their colleagues. More than 300 cards were stamped and then mailed by Zendesk staff, and attendees took home an additional 1,000 cards and envelopes.

At C2 Montréal in May, attendees stepped inside the “Channel” experience, where they could grab one of the phone receivers and have a conversation with another guest in the room. Organizers say the activity was intended to explore what it takes “to truly hear and be heard in our modern, hyper-connected world.” After the conversation, participants moved into a debriefing space to discuss the connection between the experience and their work.

At Zendesk’s Relate conference, which took place in Sydney in July, the company created coloring books as a playful look at the complex relationships businesses and customers experience. Each illustration depicted two opposite forces—such as sun and moon, sea and space, etc.—along with a poem or joke that further explored those relationships. Attendees could color the books using colored pencils provided on tables around the event, and they also received a coloring book to take home in the conference gift bag.

A picnic combines an alternative to traditional meal service with a networking activity. And when held indoors, a picnic can take place year-round. Organizers of the TED Conference, which was held in Vancouver in February, provided blankets and baskets filled with food for six people and invited attendees to find others to share it inside the Vancouver Convention Centre.

With hundreds, or even thousands, of people in attendance at most conferences, it becomes an ideal opportunity to attempt to set a Guinness World Record title. The attempt creates buzz even if it fails. At the National Federation of the Blind’s 2015 conference in Orlando, 2,480 attendees participated in a successful Guinness World Record title attempt for the largest umbrella mosaic. The open umbrellas created the image of the organization’s logo and tagline, “Live the life you want.” The stunt was part of the association’s 75th anniversary celebration.

Badge decorating is an activity that allows attendees to show their individuality and creativity—and creates an easy topic of conversation among strangers. At the 2015 Summer Brand Camp Conference in Dallas, organizers invited guests to decorate their badges with colored beads, in a nod to the event’s children’s-camp vibe.

Guests reclined on large pillow chairs from Yogibo at TEDxSomerville, held at the Brooklyn Boulders indoor rock climbing facility in the Boston suburb in March 2014.

The second Girlboss Rally business conference was held in New York in November, bringing together more than 600 attendees and 30 speakers to discuss the meaning of success. The event featured a feminine, cheery color palette of pinks, reds, oranges, and whites. The stage design by the Gathery offered a simple—yet stylish—backdrop of curved shapes that picked up the same colors and styles as the rest of the conference.

For a kickoff event for New York Comic Con in October, Clickspring Design transformed a nightclub into a futuristic world featuring a “cyberpunk, neon-noir” look meant to evoke Blade Runner 2049, one of the movies being promoted at the convention. Designers used reflective finishes, LED video displays, glowing neon, and materials such as corrugated polycarbonate to create an eye-catching stage design. The event was produced by CAA and ReedPop.

At the ASU GSV Summit, held in Salt Lake City in May, the main stage had an interesting three-dimensional design. Pieces of vinyl-wrapped foam hung from the ceiling and were mounted to the flat vinyl backdrop to give it the effect. AgencyEA designed and produced the event.

Tribute Portfolio’s “Add Your Own Color” featured a life-size coloring book, inspired by the brand’s colorful aesthetic. The content of the coloring book design offered illustrations and names of Tribute destinations.