Meetings

How to navigate creative obstacles in event design

The meeting industry has been reborn post-pandemic, with companies once again placing a high value on gatherings that bring employees and stakeholders together in-person. With a strong desire to break from a business-as-usual-mindset, companies are not only reevaluating the cost and efficiency of their meetings, they’re also demanding more bespoke, holistic experiences that will supercharge their workforce in order to drive innovation at every level.

This is both a tall order and a big opportunity for meeting planners, who are no doubt keen to bring their most creative ideas to life. However, this increasing pressure comes on top of the multiple hats planners already wear, as they turn on a dime to act as business strategists, travel agents, tour guides, facilitators, tech support, and more.

Now more than ever, it’s essential that meeting planners tap into the kind of big picture, creative thinking that will set their meetings apart as memorable, out-of-the-box experiences that generate the real results their clients are seeking.

28 Feb 2024 3 min to read

Here are 5 ways meeting planners can navigate and overcome creative roadblocks when conceptualizing their next event:

Draw inspiration from outside your industry

Encourage lateral thinking and allow your mind to wander by becoming curious about the latest innovations in art, design, technology, or whatever other industries might interest you. Minimize distractions by putting down your phone and setting a goal to explore these subjects in the most direct way possible. If you can, take the “analog” route: watch a film in an actual theatre, attend a lecture, stroll through a gallery, or thumb through recent issues of architecture, design, and tech magazines. Bring mindfulness to the experience by resting your attention on what’s right in front of you, without pressure to instantly come up with your next big idea. You’ll be giving your mind the opportunity to rest while also feeding it some much needed creative fuel. Then, journal, sketch, have a conversation where you explain the finer points of whatever experience you’ve engaged in, or simply sleep on it. Allow time for new sources of inspiration to mingle in your subconscious. You never know when your next breakthrough will appear. If you can, make this a habit.

Commune with nature

Studies have shown that spending just a short amount of time in nature does wonders for stress, mental clarity, and creativity. Whether it’s a walk in a city park, a dip in a local lake, or a weekend of camping, communing with the natural world is especially helpful for the incubation-style thinking that leads to creative breakthroughs.

Visualize themes and concepts

To help refine a client’s vision for their next event, use online tools such as mood boards and word clouds to highlight recurring thematic elements that emerge from your discussions — from look and feel to KPIs. Then, implement one of the emergent themes in order to impose a constraint that can direct the flow of your creative thinking. Imposing a thematic constraint will lead to innovative and unique solutions and the visuals you’ve created will serve as a reference point for everyone involved. Finally, don’t be afraid to push boundaries when fresh ideas spring forth based on the information you’ve gathered. As Matisse famously said, “creativity takes courage.” You never know what you might come up with when you let fear take a back seat.

Seek client feedback and remix past successes

Discussing ideas and roadblocks with clients can open up new avenues for creative thinking as they might offer suggestions or preferences that you hadn't considered. Look at past events for elements that were particularly successful or engaging. Consider how these can be adapted or repurposed for your current project. This approach can save time and resources while still delivering a fresh experience.

Be an attendee

Participate in another event. Jot down what you love, what could be improved, and then apply these insights to your own meetings.

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