I just returned from The Special Event 2019 in San Diego, which is the premiere annual conference for event professionals. It always serves as a huge inspiration for the year ahead. I walked away from TSE inspired, engaged and ready to take many of the ideas I experienced and transform them into big concepts for our client events.
One of the best and biggest takeaways from the event was that with our nationwide connections, we can bring the next trend, concept and design ideas to any client program or event. Some of the specific entertainment and design trends I think we’ll begin to see more of this year include:
· Earth Harps :The harp expands across the room and can act as entertainment for an event.
· Continuing to mix patterns and textures within programs and designs. We can’t be afraid to match something up and see how it would play together.
· Neon is coming back--if you have an event that incorporates neon, a unique entertainment idea would be booking Extreme Beam, which is a laser light performance.
· Continuing to use digital wallpaper but taking the experience to a new level once the guests have been in the space for some time. You can add a unique twist on the digital wallpaper and have it become exciting moving graphics within the space which evokes a new energy with the design element.
· Another design trend I heard in many education sessions was the “comeback” for wallpaper at events. Watch out and see how this one will come back to life!
My favorite keynote speaker was Michael Cerbelli’s The Hot List. This was the 18th year of The Hot List, and Michael and his team researches for months all the new entertainment, design ideas and vendors/products available to the events industry. A few that really stood out to me were:
The knowledge and education you walk away with from a conference like this is powerful; it opens your eyes to new ways to create unforgettable experiences. When you’re challenged as a professional, you can up your game and help others around you grow as well.
I was also reminded how important it is to continue to be aware of your surroundings because you never know where you will discover your next idea. I’m already looking forward to TSE 2020 in Las Vegas!
David Everett is event designer and sales manager with Minneapolis-based metroConnections.
