Graphic Design Secrets Every Event Planner Should Know

By: Martha Tate, Digital Design Manager

We’ll just say it—event design is one of the most fun parts of the job! While event designers focus on the overall look and flow of an event, graphic designers bring these concepts to life through visual elements. Here’s how planners can assist designers in creating the most compelling and memorable event collateral for their next event. 

Tools of the Trade

From visually conveying your ideas to sparking inspiration, we’re happy to share the favorite tools in our belts.

Get Pinspired

The G.O.A.T. of graphic design and creativity, we all need a little “pinspiration.” Pinterest is used by planners and graphic designers alike, making finding and sharing ideas easy for everyone! When curating a board, start by pinning everything that tickles your fancy, then go through and identify everything they have in common. This is the perfect way to pinpoint (pun intended) what you’re looking for and give your designer a head start.

Set the Mood in Canva

Most event planners are already Canva converts (we certainly are at 360DG!). When working with a graphic designer, pulling images of your venue, activation mockups, furniture, and theme elements into a mood board helps set the tone and kickstart the design process. It’s especially helpful if you’re working on collateral for a multi-day event with various themes. Powerpoint slides also work in a pinch!

Show and (Not) Tell

Presenting your inspiration visually is especially helpful for designers, as the words used to describe a certain look and feel can differ. Showing instead of telling can bridge the gap between one person’s “modern luxe” and another’s “simplistic boho.”

Why Consistency & Creativity Are Key

Experiences Thrive on Consistency

When it comes to creating an experience, consistency is vital. From invites to take-home goodies, consider your theme your north star. It should guide all of your event’s visual and emotional touchpoints. For example, if your event theme is laid-back and beachy, the collateral should reflect that with muted colors and handwritten scripts. Creating an immersive gathering that your attendees will remember is about paying attention to the details!

Twilight Soiree: For this Bridgerton-themed event hosted by our Strategic Account Management (SAM) team, we incorporated many theme-centric details across the collateral. The event felt lavish before anyone entered the door. From the florals to the custom silhouette logo of 360DG’s host, Travis Pham, this event was fit for a duke!

Creativity Makes for Stand-Out Collateral

Designing corporate event collateral means balancing creativity and professionalism. You’ll often need to find subtle ways to color inside the lines while crafting something unique. Here are some of our go-tos!

A Bit of Wit Goes a Long Way

Who doesn’t like an unexpected chuckle? Adding a little humor to your collateral, like a pun in the headline or a funny nod to the destination, will bring a smile to someone’s face.

Easter Eggs

For those who don’t worship at the altar of Taylor Swift, an “easter egg” is a small hint or call back to something important to the company or event. As the planner, you know your client or company inside and out, so give a “wink” to those in the know.

Embrace Utility

Brochures are a dime a dozen. Instead, consider how to make your collateral useful and fun. Could you create a corporate values word search? Try incorporating a conference who’s who Bingo to help attendees take networking to the max. A wine pairing guide with your food and beverage options list surely won’t go amiss!

Putting Your Brand Center Stage

While creativity and focusing on your event theme are critical, you must honor a company’s branding. Communicate with your designer about what level of brand inclusion is necessary for this particular event. While all events will likely require the company logo to be featured, you may not need to adhere strictly to the brand’s guidelines. Some companies or clients may want the event theme to come first, while others want all creative to reflect their brand guidelines and standards, including fonts, colors, photography, and verbiage. You’ll want to be clear on what is required at the beginning of the project to ensure it doesn’t run into approval pitfalls down the line.

Just Your Type: Typography Tips

Fonts can make or break any design. Two cardinal rules of typography are: less is more (three or fewer fonts per piece), and contrast is crucial (you need to ensure your header fonts stand out and that your body copy is easy to read.) A classic combo is a chunky serif font, like Georgia Bold or Baskerville Bold, for headers and a clean sans serif font, like Arial, Futura, or Gill Sans, for body copy. Again, you’ll want to consider your theme when choosing fonts. Here are some tips to get you started!

• Beachy or Boho – Use a handwritten script font for headlines to help communicate the laid-back, free-spirited nature of your event.
• Rustic, Country, or BBQs – Strike the right note with a slab serif font for your headlines and a condensed sans serif font for your body. This combo pays homage to the famous Nashville-based print house Hatch Show Print, a legend in the country music scene.
• Ultra Modern – For a sleek look that would make MOMA proud, find a thin, sans serif font and use all caps in your headlines. Then, use the same font in sentence case for the body copy.

Forging a Path to Stylish Signage

The name of the signage game is balance. Overall, try to include only what is necessary so the signage can do its job – helping event attendees get where they need to go. 

Readability is Key

For maximum readability and scannability, have as much contrast as possible both in background and font colors and by choosing thick, bold fonts. While thin scripts and pastels are pretty, they aren’t easy to read.

Less is More

You can use a detailed headline font if you are working on a large welcome sign with simple content. But, if you are trying to convey a lot of info, you’ll need to steer towards more simple and easier-to-read fonts. 

Your Theme is Your Friend

We probably sound like a broken record, but always incorporate your overall theme into your signage! If you used a floral background for the invite, you can easily use it in a welcome sign. From fonts to colors to graphical elements, being theme-forward with your signage is a great way to make your entire event feel cohesive.

The Top Trend We’re Tracking

90s babies unite! From fashion to graphic and event design, the 90s are back in a big way. In your collateral, use combinations of formal scripts, condensed serif fonts, neon colors, and handwritten elements to keep things phat and fresh.

2024 IMEX Insider’s Guide: A showcase of 90s maximalism where we got to break all the rules! We went all out with this flat lay to embrace the theme of our IMEX Client Event while offering up information and resources to IMEX attendees in a super fly way.

Are you feeling ready to tackle your next graphic design challenge with ease? We know you are! Even if design isn’t your forte, these tips will help you better collaborate with any designer to create an event that is one of a kind. Need help? Martha is here to slay and is only a message away.