From Benjamin Moore’s “Cinnamon Slate” to Pantone’s “Mocha Mousse” to BEHR’s “Rumors,” picks for 2025 color of the year are a range of moody-meets-earthy tones that may inform event design and décor decisions in the year ahead. With Q1 rapidly chugging along, we rounded up a few more experience design ideas worth adding to your vision boards in 2025, from main-stage environments to floral installations to a French Ball-themed consumer experience.
BUBBLES AND ORBS
Iridescent orbs have been penetrating experience design schemes of late, adding texture and a touch of glam to event environments, and often, a hint of whimsy, too. Whether replicating soap bubbles or serving as art installations, spheric designs are having a moment:
At the 2024 US Open, Procter & Gamble-owned Downy activated a “Rinse It Out” pop-up featuring a mini tennis court with shimmering faux soap bubbles hanging overhead.
When Top Golf turned a product launch into a “night club,” it recruited brand partners for the event. Among them was DRIPS by Pepsi, which took over the venue’s outdoor lawn with an installation of colorful, metallic bubbles, all linked together, making for a wow-worthy entrance moment.
Along its four-city Drama Free Cleansing Tour, CeraVe went all in on a bubble theme that mapped back to its skincare products. Touchpoints included a “Soap POPera” game where attendees “popped” bubbles to win prizes. Testing their reaction times, players had a minute to hit as many bubble buttons as possible as they lit up on one of the trailer’s walls. Plus, photo ops were in the mix, such as a couch in front of a bubble wall built for dramatic posing. And outside, a giant CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser bottle dispensed real bubbles.
Method Products’ activation space at Coachella was bubbly from the get-go. The exterior of the footprint featured a large, prismatic installation of bubbles leading to the entrance. Once inside, the motif persisted, with even larger versions of the orbs adorning the brand’s “shower portal.”
MINI SPACES
Photo: Kelsey Rose
When Nespresso transformed an elevator at New York’s One World Trade Center into the stylish, two-person Vertuo Pop Café, the footprint may have been small, but the feat was not. Such is often the case when event marketers have tiny footprints to work with but big messages to deliver. But as Nespresso proved, a small footprint executed properly may actually be the reason people are interested in your event or experience. A few examples:
Peacock brought a taste of ancient Rome to San Diego Comic-Con with an elaborate activation that teased “Those About To Die,” a show about the sport of chariot-racing at Circus Maximus, the ancient Roman chariot-racing stadium. Without space or budget for a Coliseum-sized activation, the network created a mini Circus Maximus where fans could participate in a “chariot race” of their own by literally taking the reins of a team of horses (mini mechanical ones) in a simulation of the racing portrayed in the show.
Some brands are creating smaller mobile tour footprints, too. Ahead of back-to-school season, Shipt deployed its Snack Squad tour in four cities, drawing families in with its mini Airstream trailer that showcased grocery options available for same-day delivery via the delivery service.
At Cannes Lions, Cloud-based software company Braze activated a mini cabana experience designed to prove that good things can come in small packages. The colorful space included a welcome desk, two private meeting rooms, a mirror photo moment and a wall where festivalgoers could pick out items for their own Cannes survival kit, like sunscreen and cooling mist sprays.
Table for one? The Personal Pan Pizza has been a Pizza Hut staple for decades, but for National Pizza Month, the brand added new toppings to its offerings, then personified its menu at the pop-up Personal Pan Pizza Hut in New York City. Fans who booked a 15-minute slot online could check out the one-person dining hut and create their own personalized mini pizza. The micro-activation served as the “first and smallest reservation-only, dine-in, personalized restaurant experience” Pizza Hut has produced.
At Florida’s Surf Expo, a watersports, beach and resort lifestyle trade show, several exhibitors displayed their wares via mini, in-booth fashion runways and live models. For example, in a co-branded space, Body Glove, Skye and Eldon took turns sending models down two raised, wooden surface runways that faced each other and had clothing racks underneath. Private changing areas behind very tall walls covered in photos of models at the beach were positioned at the back of the runways. –J.C.A.
MOOD LIGHTING
Photo: Courtesy of Disney+
Lighting can often make or break an event atmosphere, particularly when it comes to experiential strategies that require a little drama. And that’s where mood lighting comes in handy. The most effective brands not only incorporate lighting effects that set the scene, but also ensure that the environment is photo-friendly enough for attendees to capture content.
At Comic-Con Africa, Disney+ brought “Agatha All Along” to life by recreating the show’s ominous trail, the “Witches Road.” During the multisensory journey, attendees rang a bell to signal their entry into Agatha’s world. Once inside, they traveled through a dark, enchanted forest with moody purple lighting guiding the way. Speaking of a/v, the experience culminated in a 360-degree VR projection dome. (Agency: Chilliengine)
When Citi resurrected its Sound Vault concert platform, the brand crafted an intimate, upscale evening for cardmembers before headliner Jack Harlow took the stage. Among touchpoints, fans could partake in photo moments, like a “Turn Up Your Night” vignette featuring dark, moody lighting and illuminated, “floating” clouds that offered just enough light for solid photo ops.
Hilton wanted consumers to envelop themselves in the Land of Oz ahead of the debut of “Wicked,” so it designed a movie-themed suite that was split in half—one side for Glinda, one for Elphaba. Elphaba’s side took cues from the enchanted forest at Shiz University from the film, with green, moody lighting that contrasted Glinda’s bubble gum-pink theme.
FLORALS AND FOLIAGE
Whether a corporate trade show or consumer pop-up, greenery and florals are staple of experience design, and they’re not going away any time soon. Across archways, installations, exhibit spaces and beyond, here’s a peek at some recent showstoppers:
Media brand Hello Sunshine’s second annual Shine Away event offered eye candy from top to bottom, but the floral installations and foliage peppered throughout the space may have taken the cake. From a series of arches adorned with bouquets on the exterior of the venue, to the vast array of blooms on archways, mirrors, bars, tabletops and the main stage inside, the event evoked a sophisticated garden vibe. (Agency: Mirrored Media)
With an “On the Grow” event theme, it’s no wonder that Bugaboo went hard on a floral motif at its pop-up launch event for the new Kangaroo stroller. In addition to a hero entry moment featuring the product wrapped in colorful blooms, attendees flocked to a photo op featuring long cords of hanging florals and greenery. There was also a chance to get a professional photo in front of a floral backdrop.
Don Julio has a penchant for sharing Mexican culture with the world, so during Día de los Muertos, the brand installed traditionally decorated ofrendas (altars), and accompanying experiences, in eight cities around the world. To visually bring the ofrendas to life, Don Julio partnered with Mexican visual artist Betsabeé Romero and Mexican floral designer Juan Rentería to collaborate on the creative concept.
As a sponsor of NYLON House at Coachella, Kate Spade created a technicolor infinity room designed to evoke a spring setting. Within the mirrored space, festivalgoers participated in a “perception-altering” experience, stepping inside a floral installation set against a spring landscape, which prompted ample selfies. We like the juxtaposition of fresh florals and neon LEDs.
Photo: Kit Karzen for NYLON House
STAGE ENVIRONMENTS
From the a/v to the camera angles, stage environments, and the strategies behind them, come in all shapes and sizes. The settings that have been catching our eye recently are those that lean into unconventional presentation styles and juxtaposing décor elements:
The League of Legends Worlds 2024 opening ceremony went down as one of the most-watched esports tournament ceremonies in history, with Riot Games earning the attention of 14,500 in-person fans and millions more watching from home. The production featured a leveled-up stage design where live entertainment (think: Linkin Park, Ashnikko, Tiffany Aris) and gaming culture collided with the help of pyrotechnics, projection mapping, dynamic lighting effects and other a/v magic tricks.
Caterpillar’s exhibit at MINExpo INTERNATIONAL invited attendees to the mine site of the future. The main stage highlighted stories of collaboration with the brand’s customers under a tagline: “Together, We’re Mining Better.” The Optimization Theater, architecturally resembling the actual mine office at Tinaja, featured invitation-only sessions.
Amway’s annual Founders Council event got a shake up last year when the brand decided to implement non-traditional stages and “watch-and-listen” content. In fact, one of the general session spaces was hosted in The Dolder Grand’s ballroom, a circular venue without any screens, that was heavy, instead, on dynamic lighting and sound effects so that attendees could focus solely on the voiced message. –R.B.
Subaru is renowned for its striking, park-themed trade show exhibits and at the New York International Auto Show, that theme carried right onto the stage. Each day, the brand hosted reveals of the 2025 Forester, which included a dynamic nature-inspired multimedia presentation with flashing lights, music, twinkling firefly effects, and then a portion of the screen peeled back to unveil a huge sequoia tree structure with a large crevice that the Forester drove through before parking on a turntable. –R.B.
The International Tennis Hall of Fame offered a multifaceted experience during its 2024 Legends Ball presented by BNP Paribas and NetJets. As far staging, there were multiple video screens placed strategically around the room to ensure a positive attendee experience while keeping a clear shot of the stage and talent for p.r. purposes, and also ensuring sponsorship signage was visible. And thanks to a slick backdrop, the staging essentially became part of the décor. (Agency: Beyond Merritt Design)
Photo: Courtesy of International Tennis Hall of Fame
LUXURY ELEMENTS
Not every company has the budget to create French Ball-themed experiences, but there are some steal-worthy design cues worth exploring from upscale brand activations. Take Dior, which replicated the opulence of France’s storied Château de Versailles with its Dior Ball of Dreams experience hosted at Miami’s Aventura Mall. Twinkling lights and a lavish gold color scheme were among highlights. A few more instances:
Bear with us here, but luxury is luxury, even when it’s a restroom. Yep, Goodwipes and its luxury toilet trailer parked at health and wellness event Runningman, then made its way to select NCAA Football tailgates with a branded “porta-palace.” Each stall was sparkling clean, fully stocked with Goodwipes, adorned in gold inside and out, and brimming with playful messaging.
It’s not often that one sees the words “donut” and “fine dining” in the same sentence, but such was the case at the luxe Amex Gold Café experience, “where every hour is golden hour.” The pop-up presented by the American Express Gold Card included a Dunkin’-inspired tasting menu, and a series of curated customer dinners featuring tuxedo-clad servers. Cardmembers could indulge in elevated dishes like Poutine-style Hash Browns, Scotch Egg and Crème Anglaise Donuts. And that golden timepiece installation planted on-site? Oh-so lavish.
Featured photo: Courtesy of Disney+
