Design Thinking for a Memorable Online Event
From professional conferences to everyday work meetings to the smallest family celebrations, so much of life has moved online over the past year. If you’ve hosted any kind of online event lately, you’ve likely seen how challenging it can be. Attending everything online means a constant blurring of the boundaries between work, play, and home. Endless distractions compete for your attention, and a calendar full of online events starts to feel like one monotonous meeting after another.
These were the conditions SeaAhead faced as they launched their BlueSwell Incubator program during a pandemic. This first cohort brought together the leaders of six bluetech startups for a 20-week business development program. As the program drew to a close, we worked with SeaAhead to develop BlueSwell Demo Day, an engaging online celebration to mark the end of the cohort.
Helping BlueSwell Demo Day Feel Like a Celebration
It’s all too easy for online events to feel like just another work meeting, so we knew this needed to be fun and personal, starting with our design theme. We looked to the ocean for inspiration, starting with playful illustrations by artist and designer Taylor Axtmann. This whimsical design theme celebrates the beauty of the sea and honors the cohort with thoughtful “easter eggs” inspired by their work. This design was the basis for a special website that tells the cohort’s story and showcases each member’s work and pitch videos.
It wouldn’t be a graduation without gifts, so the designs were also used to create a custom swag box for each of the graduates. These simple gifts were designed to make the day extra special and give the graduates something tangible to remember how far they have come.
Diving in on Demo Day
After over a year of work, school, and socializing from home, a memorable online event needs to be something people want to attend, not just another meeting to play in the background. That’s why this event had a full but fast-paced schedule with plenty of interactive elements. Professional cave diver Jill Heinerth delivered a thrilling keynote after the cohort members’ presentations. Finally, all participants had a chance to freely attend breakout sessions with the cohort members, the SeaAhead founders, program partner New England Aquarium, and the keynote speaker. Best of all, this free event was open to anyone interested in learning more about the future of bluetech. Over 200 participants came to learn and network, all in less than two hours.
Standout online events are challenging, but with strategic planning and creative design, they can be a strong asset to build your brand. Schedule a free consultation to find out how we can help.
