Visual Aids Help

“I’m a visual person . . . I need to see what you’re describing.” ~ Countless clients and planners, upon hearing the décor options for an upcoming event.

In order for an event to really be successful, it has to fulfill a vision, or a combination of visions that originate from the organizer or organizers. It can be difficult to transfer that vision from the creator to those responsible for making it come to life. Language can be a blunt tool when trying to describe how you visualize something in your mind’s eye. That is why it is extremely helpful to have a visual aid, because while pictures may be worth a thousand words, objects in real life are worth at least twice that.

I realized this again last week, when some potential clients came to visit our warehouse and showroom to see some of the elements that I had described in a proposal. The pictures I had included in the proposal were helpful, to be sure, but the clients needed to see the elements to really understand their effect and size. In one particular case, I had included an oversize table with an Astroturf top, custom-painted to look like a football field. “Oversize” doesn’t really describe the size of this table. Even giving its dimensions, 18’ x 5’ doesn’t fully explain how much room it will take up within the ballroom. Seeing the small picture in the proposal, even with 16 dinner plates on it, was also not enough to really convey the size of the immense table. It wasn’t until the clients saw the actual table, large enough to cover two pool tables, end-to-end, set up on two of our work tables in our warehouse, that they realized that this piece could act as an anchor piece of décor for one entire side of the ballroom. Upon seeing it, they were convinced it was something that would enhance their event and they had to have it.

Of course, I was fortunate that we had the table already built to show them. This kind of visualization is also aided by our graphics department, when we are selling a concept that is not yet built. With the help of cutting-edge software, we are able to design and “photograph” individual elements or entire room layouts in three-dimensional space. This really helps with explaining the full effect of a décor treatment.

So, if you are a visual person or need help understanding just what the décor or other treatment will look like, please just ask us to show you.