An inspiration board is a collage of images, words and objects that together drive a concept or a theme. It is a collection of visual references that are the starting point for elements that will eventually show up in the designed product. They are often used in fashion, art, interior design, architecture, wedding planning and other creative industries.  As opposed to a digital board, a poster board can also include textures, fabric swatches, and shapes.

This week I was inspired by the 83rd Annual Academy Awards and the 2011 Oscar Ball. According to a recent article in Special Events Magazine, this year’s event will feature a theme revolving around Latin nightclubs, the music of the 1940s and 1950s, and a color palette including amber, turquoise, red and purple. The food, supplied by Wolfgang Puck, will include mini Kobe cheeseburgers, smoked salmon on Oscar-shaped flatbread, and dishes themed to Oscar best picture nominees.

I decided to run with the concept of combining a Latin nightclub and the music of the 1940s and 1950s, but there are a few big changes I would make to the color palette, food, and additional entertainment. Check out the inspiration board for an Oscar-themed event below.

First, the room decor. I would choose gold, orange, red, and a deep purple for the color palette. Invitations and menus should feature gold lettering against white on black and red backgrounds. Red table linens, with orange napkins, gold chargers and gold cutlery, highlight orange orchids and centerpieces with purple peonies and tea light candles. Lighting features all of the colors in the palette on both the floor and the ceiling.

Second, the food. What bothered me about Wolfgang Puck’s menu was that although it was themed around the Oscar nominees, there was no reflection on the theme of the overall event – a Latin nightclub. Instead, think upscale Latin food, like shrimp ceviche, banana chips, salmon with a tropical fruit mole, mahi mahi with a habañero chile sauce, achiote-marinated and slow-cooked pork, stuffed poblano peppers, fried plantains, cherimoya ice cream, Mexican flan, and an ancho chile chocolate torte.

And last, drink and entertainment. A sensational cocktail menu is a must at an event like this – and I can’t imagine any other liquor choice to feature than tequila. Picture a bar area with gold, bronze and amber tiles, glittering lights and amber bar stools. If you have a limited budget, a salsa-inspired DJ will do. However, if you have some room to spare, a Bossa Nova band, bass guitar, and some João Gilberto/Latin jazz flavor will make your function. With this style event, I would love to see some interesting touches like a professional cigar roller and a tequila expert such as the Fairmont Scottsdale’s Tequila Goddess, introduced this month in the HotelChatter blog. Let the cigar roller charge guests and raffle off a spicy Latin meal by your catering company to add fundraising components to your ticket sales.

What would you add? How do the Oscars inspire you to personalize an event?

For those of you excited to create your own, it just got easier. The Style Me Pretty website recently introduced an incredible tool: an Inspiration Board Builder. Check it out and let your creative juices flow!

Image credits (clockwise from middle left): Oscar Statuette from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Purple Flowers and Candles from Jessica’s Country Flowers, Orange Cigar Box from My Bellissima, Tequila Service Tray from Our Labor of Love Studio, Gala Decor from Australia Week’s G’Day USA via BizBash Magazine, Orange Orchid from My Bellissima, Red & Black Invitation from Viva Bella Events, Grilled Shrimp Skewers from Gia Canali Photography, Gold-Tiled Bar Space and Lighting from Tico via BizBash Magazine, Banana Chips from Gia Canali Photography, and Latin Band with Bass from KT Merry Photography.

Interested in this concept and want to try it for your own event? Contact me here. This concept was created all rights reserved by Events For Good.

There are a few things you can usually count on at this kind of event, but there is one that I especially look forward to: sweet noodle kugel. Kugel is a Jewish side dish, described most easily as a “noodle pudding.” It can be sweet or savory, but in this case, is made of layered egg noodles, cream or cottage cheese, apples, cinnamon, and raisins. Pictured below, it is as amazing as it looks. It may be my favorite Jewish recipe.

Image by Simmer Till Done

However, a small change in the funeral ritual (flowers thrown instead of dirt) and my mother’s reaction got me thinking about tradition. Although this relatively small item seems insignificant in the planning of such an event, how would it have affected me if the kugel was no where to be found? I take comfort in the fact that I can always count on its presence and the little light it provides for me at an event with so much sadness. And its exemption would have weighed heavily on my thoughts and mood for the rest of the day – something I may not have realized until its impact had already been made.

We often feel ill at ease when our most reliable traditions or rituals are excised. For example, it would be quite apparent if the seventh inning stretch was passed over at a baseball game. Would you carry on the tradition of singing Harry Caray’s favorite, “Take Me Out To The Ballgame,” without a leader? And what if there was no kiss at a wedding ceremony? Would that unnerving experience linger with you through the reception? I also felt this way when I found the recent Golden Globes were missing the usual “In Memoriam” segment. What is happening in our society when such an important symbol of remembrance is removed to make room for more commercials and quick shots of celebrities? It didn’t hit me hard, but I definitely felt its absence.

Are we too quick to revamp our events without taking our attendees’ wants and needs into consideration? Reflect on how these most important people would feel when you contemplate replacing a tradition with something new. If in 25 years of your conference it had always had a closing reception, might your participants feel cheated without it? Would they leave feeling disheartened and less connected to the organization and the community?

In our haste to keep up with new technology and the changing face of events in an internet-based world, we are overlooking what keeps our guests coming back year after year. Finding the traditions that set your event apart, that make your attendees feel like a community, may be the key to its success.

What event traditions do you feel most connected to? Have you felt the loss of a tradition that has made an impression on your experience?

(image by andyp uk via Flickr Creative Commons License)

Welcome to the place for content and observations at Events For Good – our blog, called IMPACT. We aim to offer creative content, perceptive commentary, and a unique slant on the events and nonprofit industries. We have several goals for our first year of blogging, and as with any other business activity, we will be evaluating our productivity and satisfaction as the year goes on. We are going to concentrate on seven different categories for articles, listed below, focusing on those that separate us from the rest of what you will already be reading in the blogosphere.

We also hope to build an atmosphere that creates interaction. Not only do we want your feedback, we need it to sustain our business and community.

• Personal Experiences: As we travel to manage events across the country, these opportunities color the steps we take as we move toward the future. By sharing these observations with you, we hope to move the whole industry forward.
• Expert Guest Blogs: With such amazing industry professionals as friends, colleagues, and partners, we hope to rope in at least a few of them to provide great insights to our readers.
• Event Reports: There are many conferences, meetings, and events in the nonprofit, association, and events industries held to educate professionals. Based on the ones we have the opportunity to attend, we will report our conclusions. We will also evaluate fundraising and nonprofit events and showcase the best of the best.
• Inspiration Boards: Have you ever noticed that very few event blogs use inspiration boards? It is quite a common practice among wedding and design blogs, and we truly value the creativity that can sprout from this type of post. We hope to illustrate design concepts that are trending and that we are currently using at our events.
• Industry Innovations: If you’re anything like us, sometimes you feel lost in the whirlwind of new technology. We are going to try to navigate all the permutations in the field for you – and help you to understand which you should be incorporating into your own organization.
• Announcements: When we have news, you’ll hear about it here first! Keep up with announcements of new ventures (and keeping up with those that have already been launched), partnerships, projects, and clients in this space.
• Spotlights: Highlights on the best products, people and services for you; from those cutting-edge trends in the events industry to the faces and organizations breaking new ground in social good. You’ll know it when you see it. And we won’t be promoting any products or services we won’t stand behind 100%.

We are very excited for the blog launch! If you have suggestions or believe there is a specific subject not included in these categories, please do leave a comment on this post. We would love to hear from you!