Finding the Perfect Theme for Your Next Event

You’ve decided to organize an event and now you need a good theme to attract guests and make it a memorable day. From office parties to fundraising galas and birthday bashes, incorporating a theme helps inform your decisions on location, date, design, and activities.

 

Find Your Objective

What are you aiming to accomplish with your event? That might seem like a strange question to ask, but every event has an objective. If you are planning a birthday party, then your objective might be to celebrate the birthday boy and ensure guests have a fun time. However, if you’re hosting a corporate event then perhaps your objective is to introduce a new product or facilitate camaraderie among colleagues. Once you have your objective, your brainstorming and planning sessions will have a direction.

What Are Your Restrictions?

Before you get any further, decide now if there is anything else that limits the scope of your planning. For instance, if you are limited to a certain location, then your venue will inform the theme of your party. If you have to plan on a specific day or at a specific time, then those details will factor into your theme as well. An event in the middle of the day will likely have a different design than one that begins after dark.

Define Your Audience

Who will be attending this event and what expectations will they have for it? Catering to your demographic is important to ensure that your guests enjoy themselves.

 

Choose a Tagline

Now that you’ve defined your objective and audience, it’s time to brainstorm! Aim to form a tagline for your event that reinforces the objective. This can be a useful creativity tool for deciding on design details later like decor, lighting, and music. A tagline is especially important if your event is philanthropic in nature, such as a fundraising gala. A good tagline can reinforce your organization’s message to your guests.

 

Adopt a Lighting and Color Scheme

The visual aspects of your event will set the mood for your guests. Pick something that will invoke the kinds of feelings you aim to inspire. For example, if your event is an evening of celebration, pick bright lights and uplifting colours.

 

Create Branding Material

Now that you have defined your theme, you are ready to put it into action by creating branding material. Create a logo for your event so that it is easy to advertise and share on social media. Are there any special activities or performances during the event that are tied to the theme? If so, make sure to include them in flyers and posters.