Every (ONE) Has a Story

The Challenge

On June 4, 2016 the event producer and their event partners activated the décor and design for Every (ONE) Has a Story, an event for 200 attendees that recognizes employees of a large financial institution.

Our creative direction for this design sought to turn the concept of recognition on its head. Recognizing an individual is not about reading their name aloud, or inviting them to grace a podium for 2 short minutes.

Our client wanted to recognize its employees with an event that broke the mold. Too often these recognition events take the same form and our objective was to use each guest's life experience, inner reflection, and their personal choices to get attendees thinking about themselves and subsequently recognize the client was thinking of them as well.

The client did not want to come across as gratuitous or excessive, so our design concepts needed to be beautiful but not extravagant. This framework allowed us to focus on something as simple as unique table décor to provide each guest a veritable 'event within an event' while sticking to a modest budget. Each table was a piece of the puzzle and like its employees the client’s puzzle pieces were brought together to form a cohesive whole on this occasion.

Our Approach

To truly recognize the clients’ employees we conceived a room that featured twenty unique table designs. Guests were given a card that indicated the concept design and name of each table and were to select a seat for themselves at a table they were drawn to. A table they’d select that was indicative of their personal “story”. The personal choice we had attendees make was not something they expected. We 'broke the mold' by making this event about the individuals and their stories.

Further, our concept encouraged attendees to share their stories once they were seated. Why did they choose this table? What memories does the choice evoke? It was the perfect ice-breaker to get tables of co-workers who may have never spoken before to share their life experiences and dreams with one another.

Design Concepts

Designing for this event followed a staged and cascading philosophy that first saw the concepts fit into three broad stroke categories, which included:

1) thematic approach

2) design & minimalism

3) whimsy

Once the archetypes were established we collectively brainstormed upwards of sixty individual table concepts ranging from international destinations, award-winning cinema, literature, recorded music, and pop culture.

With these ideas now established we began to run each concept through a series of filters, which saw us imagine how colour, scale and texture would present themselves within each design and the décor elements we selected.

This process was a true collaboration and took many weeks and hundreds of hours to arrive at the most stunning look that built upon the fact that Every (ONE) Has a Story.

Height and scale, textures and materials, and bursts of colour and light created an overall impact that definitely made a strong impression. The room was stunning both from 1000 feet and on a micro level, once guests were seated at their selected table, our décor selections for each table exuded both the time we put into the design and the style and over-the-top panache we envisioned from the outset.

Features

Our final table designs included:

Our focus for this event was to recognize individuals based on their “inner chapters” and challenge attendees to choose a table design reflective of their inner being.

The Result

Every (ONE) Has a Story saw attendees select a seat at a uniquely designed, thematic table that best matched their story. Twenty individual table concepts had guests experience the company of other employees they may never have otherwise met, who shared a common thread, their choice of table. Every one had their place based on their story and true to the client’s corporate culture, sharing their story with each other was key.

The best part about this event was how people really connected with one another, and we were overjoyed to facilitate this with design and concepts that encouraged these connections in a unique way.