We've all been there...presented with a project in which we just can't seem to find the motivation to develop or design. We all deal with this set back differently, but for us, we look for forms of inspiration of all sorts. The more we find exposure to things that inspire us, the easier it becomes for ideas to begin flowing. Inspiration can be found many places but there are some that we visit more often as they seem to spark creative ideas efficiently.
Most likely our favorite place to pull inspiration from. There is so much amazing content on Pinterest and it is also extremely aesthetically pleasing. If you are someone who benefits from visualizing your event, this platform should be your go to as it consists of photos, at face value. We say "at face value" because most of the photos direct clickers to posts (like blogs) that go into greater detail on the image title topic. Users can get pretty specific on here as well, as one can choose from subcategories suggested once a subject is searched.
Social Media
These destinations for event inspiration should come at no surprise. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube and even LinkedIn are great places to look in order to start developing concepts. It is fair to say that pretty much everyone reading this blog post has one or more of these social media platforms, meaning there are many thoughts and ideas displayed everyday.
Google Trends
Consistent use of this platform is essential to keep up with event trends. Google is one of the top used search engines across the globe. We like to think of it as a (semi) all-knowing oracle. Ask it your questions and you'll likely get pretty detailed responses to glance through and take in information from. Google Trends is one of the worlds largest real time databases. It is useful in deriving key words, hashtags, etc. from compiled population searches. This provides a unique perspective on what people are currently interested in and curious about.
Blogs
Did a google search for event inspiration lead you to our blog? Well, then you can see just how useful they are for coming up with event ideas. And even if you did not stumble upon this blog through this method, we still suggest checking out popular event industry blogs to get yourself inspired.
Atmosphere
Let the space tell you what it wants - and get inspired by the place the venue. If possible, we would put emphasis on carrying out a site visit prior to beginning concept development. Typically though, stepping into a space and envisioning how the event will go might help with sparking design ideas as well as decor and furniture situations. For example, if your event is a promotional dinner party in a historically victorian family home, maybe derive inspiration from the era in which the home was built.
Audience
Let the audience tell you what they want - and get inspired by your event demographic. As event organizers, we often focus on the quantity of attendees and/or exhibitors when quality is equally important. We want to draw the proper crowd through engaging activations and researched content. Most planners already have a plethora of information about their attendees, and if this is you, use it! For example, if you are planning a tech event, you want to make sure you have ample interactive opportunities derived from modern technology to keep attendees Interested and engaged.
Virtual Networking Events
While we would suggest to just go out and get to know other event professionals to gather inspiration from, we still can not do this, even entering the year 2021. So, looking for virtual networking events to participate in is a great alternative. These events are extremely important during this pandemic because they give professionals the opportunity to connect with friends, peers and clients in order to build serious business connections, safely.