Natura Week

Behind the BMI stage, festivalgoers could add their mark to a mural with a little help from Art of Everyone. The organization used an "artist conductor" to verbally guide guests through painting or drawing using a laser pointer. 

Festival activities included a sound healing session, a wellness activity that uses instruments and vibrations to slow down brainwaves. Wellness brand Temple Turmeric hosted the session in a room that featured psychedelic decor. The festival's decor was helmed by event producer and art director Julianne Irene, in collaboration with 30 artists. 

The fourth annual Secret Summer, a farm-to-bar cocktail festival, took place August 12 at the Foundry in Long Island City in New York. Hangar 1 Vodka featured a hanging herb wall, inviting guests to garnish their lavender lemonade cocktails. The festival was produced by Tyler Hollinger of HighLife Productions, Andrew Maturana of hospitality company Rapt NY, and Alison DuVal of the Foundry.

The fifth annual Elements Music and Art Festival, a Burning Man-inspired music and immersive art festival, took place August 11 at the industrial waterfront location Hunts Point in the Bronx. Bassnectar headlined the festival, with a performance that featured a massive laser show from the "Earth" stage. The laser show was created by audiovisual rental company Gateway Productions. Nightlife event production company BangOn produced the festival.

Ahead of the season three premiere of comedy series Insecure, HBO hosted a carnival-inspired music festival July 21 at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles. The event, which was produced by Team Epiphany, featured classic carnival games with cheeky twists, such as "friend zone"-theme cornhole. There was also larger-than-life Connect 4, Pop-A-Shot basketball, and more. 

Stadium vendors offered food and drinks inspired by the show. The different areas had names such as "Tasty-Like," and "Thirsty-Like," as a reference to season three's episode titles. 

For its “Be an Outsider at Work” campaign, L.L. Bean partnered with co-working space Industrious to create pop-up work stations for people to work outside. The pop-up debuted at Madison Square Park in New York this summer. Jack Morton Worldwide designed and produced the activation, which included fabricating the custom workspace pods in its Princeton, New Jersey, facility.

The pop-up featured cycling desks to provide a more active seating option. A variety of seating was meant to encourage different ways of working. 

Bacardi celebrated the first day of summer with its Sound of Rum kick-off event with Major Laser, which celebrated the music of the Caribbean islands and featured rum cocktails and on-theme installations by local artists. The event, which was produced by Mosaic, displayed a fresh fruit stand with Bacardi branding, inspired by Caribbean street markets. The event took place at Hubbard’s Cave in Chicago.

Elderflower liqueur brand St-Germain held its second annual summer soiree July 10 at Little Beach House Malibu. Production designer Marla Weinhoff created 1,000 LED “flowers,” meant to resemble the 1,000 elderflowers used in every bottle of St-Germain. 

Italian aperitif Aperol hosted an event celebrating the first day of summer in June at Bocce restaurant at Union Square Pavilion in New York. Attendees could play bocce ball on an orange court. The event was produced by Swell. 

Audi, the official automotive partner for the Emmys, took over the new Kimpton La Peer Hotel in West Hollywood for a Friday-night event. Celebrity attendees, including Issa Rae and Samira Wiley, were chauffeured to the event in 2018 Audi vehicles, and the new Audi e-tron made its red carpet debut. The evening’s decor was inspired by the new electric car, with futuristic blue lighting and neon touches. Anchor Street Collective handled design and production.

LA Photo Party now offers an immersive, virtual reality-fueled photo booth. Guests capture images of themselves in front of a green screen, then decorate it with digital paints and patterns; customized brand watermarks, overlays, and backgrounds are available. Still photos and behind-the-scenes videos provide a shareable keepsake. 

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum honored the 2018 National Design Award winners with a cocktail reception and award ceremony at the museum’s Arthur Ross Terrace and Garden in New York in October. The decor by David Stark Design & Production was inspired by Cooper Hewitt’s exhibition “Tablescapes: Designs for Dining” and featured gravity-defying light fixtures made from chairs and a red-carpet backdrop of plates.

The raw space was transformed by HL Group’s event team with nods to the classic New York City bodega, including fridge cases that served as product display areas, branded grocery items like water bottles and paper towels, and hot pink milk crates.

Creative agency Donda (which was founded by Kardashian West’s husband, Kanye West) handled the shop’s design, which featured a muted neutral palette that was reflective of the brand’s packaging, as well as oversize versions of the products as wall decor.

The gathering also featured a vintage beauty salon area decorated with antique brushes, hair dryers, and mirrors; an infinity room; and professional portrait photography.

During the sunset party, guests noshed on Cuban fare and craft cocktails, while trying out products from the collection. The event was produced by creative agency HangarFour Creative, which is part of DKC.

In May at a private home in Los Angeles, CoverGirl previewed its fall collection and celebrated its new “I am what I make up” brand campaign. The event featured makeup-centric decor and photo booths, including an Instagram-ready pit filled pillows in the brand’s inclusive foundation shades. A photographer art-directed guests while they were snapped from above with an aerial camera. The event was designed by Nicole Neves of Sequin Productions.

A 10-foot video cube sat in the middle of the space and flashed images from the "Heroes Issue."

Samantha Ronson closed the evening by playing a set from a custom DJ booth trimmed with white LED lights.