I spent last week in Las Vegas visiting with clients and at the EDPA – The Exhibit Designers and Producers Association.  It was a great meeting on several levels especially the Networking with both my peers and my own company.

I spent last week in Las Vegas visiting with clients and at the EDPA – The Exhibit Designers and Producers Association.  It was a great meeting on several levels especially the Networking with both my peers and my own company.

The education was focused on doing business internationally. This conference draws attendees from all over the world and this year the focus was China.

Being a creative I am always looking for more of the “D” Design! I love to talk about Creativity, Ideas and Innovation – but HEY that is me!

Pink Powered by Moss brought in a stage set which I just loved (if I do say so myself!) It is our not-yet-a-product, The Wave Forms that I just adore!

The most exciting thing that happened is that our CEO Charlie Corsentino was honored with the Hazel Hays award, this is like being inducted into the “Hall of Fame” of the exhibit world.  It is for those individuals that have really changed and effected the exhibition industry!  Congratulations Charlie!

You can click here for some more photos from the conference as well as a complete list of award winners.

Next year will find us in Palm Springs. Join us!  If you are in the Exhibit World you should join EDPA and come to Access to learn, network and have your voice heard.

We just got news that we won IFAI’s (Industrial Fabrics Association International) Outstanding Achievement Award for Interior Display for our Powerstation booth! This booth made it’s first appearance at The Special Event in Phoenix, AZ before being re-branded for the Exhibitor show in Las Vegas, NV. You can read more about the booth in our blog posts from each trade show. We’d also like to congratulate our team for bringing in an Award of Excellence for the 2010 MTV Music Video Awards in the same category!

Below is a copy of the press release from IFAI (Click here to download release as PDF):

Pink Powered by Moss wins IFAI 2011 International Achievement Award

(Roseville, MN – Oct. 26, 2011) Pink Powered by Moss, New York, NY, was recognized with the 2011 International Achievement Award (IAA) for design excellence in specialty fabrics applications. The ceremony took place at the IFAI Expo Americas 2011 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Md. on October 25.

Pink Powered by Moss received an Outstanding Achievement Award for its Powerstation project. The project was recognized in the competition’s Interior Display category.

The annual IFAI Expo Americas is the largest specialty fabrics trade show in the Americas, and for more than six decades, IAA has recognized excellence in design and innovation, highlighting truly spectacular work in the specialty fabrics industry.

Entrants were encouraged to submit projects and compete in 35 categories in this 64^th competition. In all, IFAI received 385 entries from 16 countries. Entries were judged by industry experts, editors, architects, educators and design professionals, who were selected for their knowledge in a particular field of study or product area. Winners were selected based on complexity, design, workmanship, uniqueness and function.

IFAI encourages specialty fabric projects of all sizes and type. The goal of IAA is to promote awareness of the specialty fabrics used in thousands of products and applications. All entries receive prominent recognition at IFAI Expo Americas. Entrants receive additional publicity through coverage in IFAI magazines, as well as press releases distributed to media professionals.

The International Achievement Awards competition is sponsored by IFAI, a not-for-profit trade association whose 2,000 member companies represent the international specialty fabrics marketplace.

Photos and detailed project descriptions of the winners are available at ifaipublications.com/iaa/.

This is a smaller conference (no trade show portion) and this creates a more intimate event which means you really get to meet new professionals and deepen the connections and relationships that you already have.

Our host city, St. Louis was HOT! It was also very humid!  Wow it was quite a summer.  Our host hotel, the Union Station Marriott is a beautiful old train station building.  I have enclosed some photo’s as it is just BEAUTIFUL! I loved the pool! And this hotel hosted us well.

We began with ISES Leadership Training – Many of you know, this year I am the ISES NY Metro Chapter President. So I have learned more about the societies rules and regs.  Actually before I became a board member who knew that we had a gavel and we motion and second the motion in our board meetings!

I especially liked sharing and problem solving with other board members, especially the other presidents and regional VP’s. It is a great way to get ideas and broaden the idea of what ISES is and what we can accomplish in our year.

The International Special Event Society is an association that connects peers, educates, and promotes best practices in the industry. Membership can bring you contacts, for both buyers and sellers, a job perhaps or a job candidate, knowledge and new information, and ISES is a place to make sure our EVENTS industry can be the best that it can be!

That said – One of my favorite parts of the event was The Spirit of Excellence. The award show the hard work and the camaraderie of ISES. ISES NYC is very excited to be awarded the Spirit of Excellence for Special Projects – the Sustainability Forum.  And our chapter member Morgan Steele Connocher was awarded Excellence in Member Recruitment.

The Esprit Awards finished off the 2011 ISES EventWorld with a beautiful room, a slew of wonderful awards and a bunch of partying events professionals.  A little steam was let off and FUN was had by all!

ISES – St Louis – August 2011

OK so – you may not know this, or maybe it is a case of I really don’t know it but to a lot of people in the Events industry I am FAMOUS!

I am regarded as the person responsible for bringing stretch fabric decor into this industry.

Ok I’ll take it!  You know it was a group effort and to that end I am going to post a brief history….but that is later….

Back to the facts.  Many years ago I was indeed an instrumental figure in introducing and sticking with Tension Fabric Structures entering into the event design decor market.

In this space I, with my company Pink Inc. and now more recently with Pink Powered by Moss have continued to innovate great product, for you to use in your events.  We have taken our products and designed stage sets, entry ways, full room decor and fully branded environments.

The class I taught with Sally Webb and Richard Foulkes proved to me that people enjoy hearing about this history and are excited to meet me and the group.

The session was about designing your corporation. Sally spoke from the corporate planning side, Richard from the Event Marketing side of it and I spoke from the artist /entrepreneur,  supplier / partner side.

What I heard from the audience members were things like:

•  We were genuine.   •  You admitted you were an artist and had no apologies about it!  •  They were impressed by an artist making it in industry.  •  They loved seeing my beginnings and where we are now. (many of these folks have followed Pink Inc. and are aware of our contributions to the industry.•  I showed a photo of my daughter and again people loved seeing that I was “real” (my greatest creation!)

The diverse perspectives allowed the information amount to more then each part. Everyone had a great learning experience!

Last week, Event Camp Twin Cities was held at the McNamara Alumni Center at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Event Camp can be described as an innovation lab for meetings and events that we will review in further detail soon, but for now we wanted to show some pictures from the event which we provided much of the decor for. The building itself provided quite the backdrop; designed by Antoine Predock and completed in 2000, with a six-story open space and walls set at all different angles that are intersected by slices of windows casting dynamic shadows below.

Our fabric structures naturally sorted themselves out in the space and defined several different areas. For the registration desk, we used 4 Colonnades to provide a presence. The stage was backed by a 20′ long Circle Surround that the speakers presented above. To the side of the stage, you can find 4 25′ long ribbons, all in different configurations illustrating the different possibilities found within our Ribbonesque line. We also had a cluster of Turning Birds supported on pipe and base providing some extra decor. View some images from Event Camp below and be sure to check back soon for more . . .

We knew we wanted to do something a bit different for our ISES Big Apple Awards event and we knew we could!

From the venue and flow, to food and theater production we created an evening of fun and networking, eating and drinking while highlighting our Hall of Legends honorees, C.O.R.E. awards recipients and the winners of the Big Apple Awards. We also swore in our new ISES Board of Directors 2012.

The Big Apple Awards event, held at The TimesCenter, featured an entry created from Pink Powered by Moss’ Ribbonesque, that guided the guests downstairs. The guests arrived into a lounge area featuring Props for Today,s new beach collection. The Hall soon opened for dinner with passed nibbles and food stations with unusual fare by Scoozie Events. The environment was a friendly casual eclectic look, created with Props, The Spoon Group and Dynamic Drape and Decor which achieved the mixing and mingling for networking and fun that we had wanted to create!

The Award Ceremony was in the theater and we moved the audience through the Ribbonesque that was relocated for wayfinding throughout the evening. The Theater featured a Pink Powered by Moss stage set and Proteus Productions did an amazing job with the show. The lighting looked great on the spandex fabric and the show came off without a hitch. Hot on Broadway did a great set and Tom Shillue was a very funny MC.

Howard Givner, our outgoing president addressed the crowd, and I did as well as the incoming president. My speech addressed Our devices and what this has done to our society – and more so how it makes our live connection with people more important then ever. Bentley Meeker, Jes Gordon and Jeff Kalpak were all inducted into the Hall of Legends. The C.O.R.E. (Celebrating Outstanding Results from Events) recognizes an organization that has effectively utilized special events as a vehicle to achieve its goals. This year’s honorees, are the Macy’s Parade Entertainment Group and The Clinton Global Initiative.

You can read where all The Big Apple Awards went to but of course I have to tell you that we TIED ourselves for Best Rental Product with The JuiceBar Charging Station and the EZ Interactive Wall!

After the Awards – Drinks and Deserts set the tone, as our Ribbonesque was again moved to frame the space. Photos were taken, candids, in front of our step and repeat and 5th Avenue Digital’s Ubooth all looked great.

Shien Lee Creative provided cool creative characters, Danny Bergold’s About Entertainment provided Hot on Broadway and in the end – we had to roll up the carpet to get everyone to head home!

A good time was had by all!

I had the job of designing the event and I worked closely with great people, to make it all happen. I want to especially thank Executive Producer Beth Eisgrau-Heller, Paul Neuman from Neuman’s, Laura Longo from Props for Today, and Mari O’Connor who all helped the vision really become reality.  I also want to thank 5th Avenue Digital for their great photo’s!

And the Winners are:

Best Corporate or Association Event • Barkley Kalpak Associates LG Mobile Worldcup

Best Non Profit Event • Elizabeth Rose Consulting Celebration of Courage

Best Social Event • Eventsful, Inc. Marvel Wonders

Best Graphic Design for Invitation, Signage, and Other Print Collateral • Ceci New York The Knot Industry Gala Best Design Decor (Budget over $50,000) Marc-Antoine, Inc. Chairman’s 2010 Holiday Party

Best Design Decor (Budget under $50,000) Claudia Hanlin’s Wedding Library Tuxedo Park Garden Club

Best Table Top Design • ZAK Events Central Park Zoo Dinner

Best Venue • Renaissance Times Square R Lounge at Two Times Square

Best Creative Support Use of Photo/Video • Proteus Productions, LLC Light the Night Walk Video 2010

Best AV/Lighting • Levy Lighting NYC Celebrations Book Launch

Best Entertainment Production • MME Productions FFL Players Association

Best Catered Event • Neuman’s The World in 2011

Best Planner – Social Private Event • Aventina Events – Celebrate the Miracle: Miracle-on the Hudson

Best Planner Corporate Events • Wizard Studios Star Chefs International Chefs Congress

Best Rental Product • a tie! Pink Powered by Moss Juice Bar Charging Station & Moss EZ Interactive Wall

Thursday June 30^th was the 2011 ISES Big Apple Awards.

I wrote all about The BAA’s in detail but here I wanted to highlight for you Pink Powered by Moss, and my accomplishments:

• I was Installed as the President of ISES NY Metro chapter for the 2011-2012 season.

• I gave a speech about our devices / social media and why we need People and Associations

• I also am the Event Designer on Record for the BAA 2011

Pink Powered by Moss:

• Our Ribbonesque graced the TimesCenter with movable Archways that were used in different configurations to create wayfinding at the event

• The Stage Set was created from several of our tension fabric structures from our rental line.

• Pink Powered by Moss / Moss each took home an award – both in the Best Rental Product:

Pink Powered by Moss: JuiceBar – Charging Station AND  Moss EZ Interactive Wall!

Take a look!

Using Design as a Tool

Posted on January 10, 2011 by EventCampEC

During this session, participants shared their knowledge—as well as the gaps in knowledge—of how design can shape the effectiveness and success of events, especially trade shows. While a couple of participants said design was their forte, others had more limited knowledge.

Debra Roth (@pinkdeb), who led the session, asked that it be run as a dialogue, focusing first on how style affects events, and why first impressions matter. One participant said he was not very creative; he asked how to approach hiring professional designers, and what information they would need from him to build an effective show design.

Another participant added that while it can be easy to look at something and judge it, it can be more challenging to offer more detailed and useful feedback. The participant said she hoped to gain a better knowledge of the issues involved in design decisions.

Packaging all aspects of the event with a coordinated design gives the impression of a cohesive unit. When every aspect of the event looks coordinated, from pre-event mailings to the display on the convention floor, each piece’s design builds upon the last one. By the time a participant walks into the conference, they’re already familiar with the ideas and theme being conveyed.

Participants agreed on the need to achieve this by bringing a designer into the process very early, even during preliminary planning sessions. One participant said it is impossible to learn how to do everything involved with designing an event. So if design is not a company’s in-house specialty, someone must be found who can drive the event’s creative elements.

While most people do not think much about visuals, they are an important component of effectively conveying a message. People “don’t believe it’s going to affect the dollars,” a participant said. But smart use of design can enable a planner to engage people, so that they remember the event, and “look really smart when their nametag matches the poster on the wall.”

A participant offered an analogy: “When you sit down to eat and the plate doesn’t look appetizing, I don’t care how good it tastes, you’re not going to want to take that first bite. People aren’t going to want to listen to the message if it doesn’t look good.”

Another participant, who had more of a design background, expressed the need for dominant, subdominant, and subordinate or tertiary backgrounds. One element must be strong enough to become a focal point: this can be an attention-grabbing photo, outstanding typography, or any design element. However, if all the elements are dominant, the message becomes less effective.

“It’s kind of like Las Vegas, where everything has ‘oomph’ to it,” the participant said. “If you look at Vegas from a distance it all looks the same, and if you put one brick building there, it would probably stand out.”

“Our minds are really full,” another participant said. “Everything wants attention, but few things receive it, so really, less is more.” Different colors stimulate different chemicals in the brain, and can evoke certain feelings. Reading something at eye-level can deliver the message straight to the conscious mind, but messages read below eye-level can have a more “subconscious” effect.

The emotional response to color means that it can be most effective to show clients early drafts of logos or other artwork in black and white. This enables them to make the choice from a business perspective, because the lack of color helps clients narrow down their decisions.

A crowded display is not as effective as a simpler one. In print material, a common mistake is to fail to allow enough of a margin, enough space between letters in a heading, or breathing room around pictures. This idea applies to websites, as well as presentations. If participants can get all of their information from a screen, they have no reason to listen to the speaker, and essentially no reason to show up in the first place.  Planning presentations, then, means knowing the audience. “It’s important to establish in the beginning, ‘This is what we’re trying to communicate,’” one participant said. “Throughout the process, you have to go back and check [that you're focusing on that].” By knowing the audience’s objectives, and how they like their information, presenters can make their material more intuitive, and thus more effective. This means considering why people are attending a conference or event: is it for purely educational purposes, for entertainment, or to make a social connection?

Three-dimensional planning is just as important as 2-D aspects like web and print. For example, seating arrangements can drastically alter an event’s environment. Three-dimensional design is also a significant part of creating an “experiential” event. While events may claim to be experiential, many do not live up to this assertion. Participants discussed how to transcend that; the goal is to have attendees leave the conference thinking, “That was so great, you have to come with me next year.”

Participants discussed the use of lounges, debating whether they help or inhibit conversation. Many said that conversations can become static, and mingling can be inhibited by lounges; however, at the same time, lounges can offer a sense of comfort that can encourage conversation. If a conference does not offer lounges, some participants said they might be more inclined to go somewhere to sit down and network comfortably.

The group discussed how to maximize interaction at tradeshows, noting that free space can be utilized by scattering random seating around booths, which are arranged in a circle. Placing food in the middle of a circle and drawing people there takes much of pressure out of the environment, since people can see everything. This is key for vendors too—if attendees can stand in the middle of the room and see everything, it creates energy.

“What we often do is almost like spokes coming out of a wheel,” she said. “We’ve often scrapped what a traditional trade show looks like completely, but sometimes you have to do that when you’re redesigning.”

Session summaries produced by The Conference Publishers, the world’s leading specialists in capturing and repackaging conference content.

My Prediction list will continue to grow over the Holidays but here is a start!

• The events industry will continue to build as people need people

• Hybrid events will become the norm as technology expands and people adapt

• Event experiences will continue to get more and more dynamic to engage folks out of their homes and off their computers.

And click on these links for my colleague’s predictions for a WONDERFUL NEW YEAR and DECADE!!!

Fabric Architecture trends from Sam Armijos

Meeting Trends Predictions 2011 from Successful Meetings

From Jeff Hurt – 14 Conference and Event Trends for the next Decade!

From Jenise Fryatt – Engage 365 – 3 Social Media / Events trends to watch in 2011

21 Trade Show Predictions by Mike Thimmesch via BizBash Hive

Pantone – Color of the Year 2011! and it is PINK! (Honeysuckle)

5 Tech World Predictions for 2011

Interesting! – 11 Meeting Industry “Things to Look Forward To in 2011” from Greenfield Services

BizBash’s Mashup of 2011 Predictions 100 of em!

BizBash NY is coming up the Wednesday October 27^th and I am involved in lots of different ways.  I hope you will come on down!

I started with the Top 10 items @pinkdeb is doing for #BizBash  but realized it was so many more then 10! So here you go!

First! You must VOTE for me as I am nominated for Event Designer of the Year through The BizBash Readers’ Choice Awards

•  I am speaking on the panel for event design with @markaddison @eventstyle

•  I am in booth 611 talking fabric structures and event design!

• I am a Supporter of Event Camp and contributor to the booth design

• I am designing my first tabletop display!

•  I am on the social media committee as a host during our BizBash Expo Pre-Party

•  Host ISES reception on the #bizbash show floor as #ISES board member

• I set up a tweet-up for after the BizBash Expo Pre-Party

• I am tweeting about 10th anniversary, BizBash Expo

• BizBash Expo offers the ultimate showcase of the freshest ideas.

• I am talking and squawking about BizBash Expo—One Day of Inspiration To Last The Whole Year

•  I am visiting the Social Media Lounge

• I am an Event Designer of the year nominee for the Readers’ Choice Awards

• I am a participant in the Social Media Lounge

•  I will judge the participants on the Event Design Educational tabletops

•  I Host new members in the #ISES @isesnyc booth! JOIN NOW!

•  Check in on the #ISES tabletop DESIGN display! I am!

• Vote for me! In the Readers Choice Awards! BizBash – NY Event Designer of the Year!