Women to Watch Wednesday, July 19, 2006 The number of women putting their stamp on the event design industry is growing exponentially. Despite the fact that many creative departments are still male-led, women designers are, independently and collectively, becoming a larger force in the community. In an effort to shine some light on this critical and growing group, our editors this summer selected 23 female designers who represent the impact women are making in the event sector. Some are just starting out, others are veterans. The list features independent proprietors as well as designers who are part of large creative departments and boutique studios. Exhibit creators, event producers, museum and retail extraordinaires, b-to-b and b-to-c—you’ll find them all on this inaugural Women to Watch list. Their titles, backgrounds, and projects may vary, but the common denominators stay the same. All are fans of multidisciplinary experience design, fusing many design principles into one. Each believes in storytelling as the emerging killer app, using all five senses to produce the ultimate engagement. And every single person profiled is passionate about team-based design, using the best of the department to create the best from the department. A single list of 23 Women to Watch certainly can’t capture the total impact women are making in the field of experience design. But it can serve as a sign of the increasing influence and contribution of the legions of creatively gifted and intellectually succinct female designers making a mark in this industry. Introducing our first-ever Women to Watch list, 23 event designers who are making their mark—and helping their clients and companies make theirs. Read on. Ingrid Ballman Title: Principal Company: Design for Spaces Works for: Monarts, exhibit houses, and museums The Skinny: One of Ingrid Ballman’s first jobs in her native France was for a designer and fabricator of trade show exhibits. Struck by the environmental challenges of designing for events and trade shows—both mentally and physically—Ballman saw opportunity. “When you feel something can go much further than what you’ve seen, there is a huge potential for creativity,” she says. On a vacation in 1988 she fell in love with San Francisco and ended up staying and getting a job at Mauk Design. “It was an incredible experience—clients gave us complete trust,” she says. After two years of making contributions to the well-known studio’s portfolio, Ballman launched Design for Spaces. She now works on a combination of exhibits and interiors, both for end-user clients and other design houses. No matter what she’s creating, she takes her ideas through several rounds of revisions to achieve the simplest solution possible. She says, “Many clients ask for ‘something simple,’ but the simplest answers are sometimes the hardest to get to.” Linda Batwin and Robin Silvestri Title: Principals Company: Batwin + Robin Productions Work for: Center for Disease Control, the Smithsonian Institution, Cat in the Hat Ride at Universal Studios The Skinny: After knowing each other for 25 years and being business partners for 15 of ’em, Linda Batwin (above, right) and Robin Silvestri can officially finish each other’s sentences. Together they’re Batwin + Robin, the dynamic duo known for designing media for environmental experiences, museums, and visitor centers across the country. “We’ve done Broadway and scenic work—and we bring that experience to the table,” says Batwin. Batwin + Robin has stayed small—just 12 employees—on purpose. “This way we can work on the projects we want to,” says Silvestri. Unlike many design partnerships, both participate in the design and business aspects of running the company. Both gather information and brainstorm for solutions on every project. Typically, one takes over as the project lead. Exceptions are made for special projects like the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee—which the duo is working on together. Favorite trend of 2006? Both are pleased that media, which “traditionally came into play after spaces were designed,” is now an upfront consideration. Susan Bendily Title: Corporate Design Director Company: Freeman Works for: McDonald’s, SEMICON, Coors Brewing Co. The Skinny: “Keep trying new things,” says Susan Bendily, a firm believer that a heightened sense of creativity occurs when you do something you’ve never done before. Her quest to learn never ends. She’s constantly enrolled in some type of class—not just art, painting, and crafts; she’s studied sewing, metalsmithing, bartending, even real estate. Bendily also applies that “try new things” philosophy to the way she manages her creative team at Freeman as they design exhibits, corporate events, and exhibition floors. She mixes up the team from project to project, trying different combinations of personalities and backgrounds. She often assigns team members to projects in areas outside their specialty—such as assigning an exhibit designer a corporate event. “I want everyone to grow and elevate,” she says. Laughter is another key element in Bendily’s list of mantras. “If we’re laughing, we’re getting along and being creative,” she says. Jill Bertram Title: Marketing Director Company: Innova Marketing Works for: Sargento Foods, Procter & Gamble, Gap The Skinny: Creative under pressure—that’s Jill Bertram. As director of marketing at event agency Innova Marketing, Bertram once stopped her company from passing on an RFP that came in with a three-hour turnaround requirement. She suggested an idea, created a comp, and they won the business. Case closed. Bertram works closely with Innova’s creative team on ideation. She likes to be in the loop—in the bigger sense—communicating with her internal agency counterparts as well as customers. “[This way,] you can make sure all the pieces correlate,” she reasons. As for clients, Bertram loves the ones who allow her team to actually create what they pitch. Too often programs get diluted during the development phase. “It’s exciting when you get to execute the idea you know is the best one,” she says. The key to selling the ideas: get the client to experience another event program. “If they can see what we can do, then the confidence is there.” Mindy Cameron Title: Principal Company: Lehrman Cameron Studio Works for: Pointe de Science Zoo, Canyon de Chelly Visitors Center, Alaska University, Seattle Symphony Soundbridge, Washington Park Arboretum, Salt Lake City Children’s Museum The Skinny: She’s a storyteller, poet, and artist who turns stoic footprints into living, breathing spaces. She’s also a trash-talker—well, allow us to explain: Her first project was a “River of Resources” exhibition about solid waste management for the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority. Since then, about 35 percent of her studio’s interpretive design work has dealt with waste management (99 percent with environmental protection). “Ecology, conservation, and how they align with culture fascinates me,” she says of her portfolio of projects that “sell ideas, not products.” Currently, she and her team of seven are working on designing a visitor’s center and interactive messaging for two waste water treatment facilities. Project we can’t wait to see? The 30-foot-high interactive “beehive” for the Salt Lake City Children’s Museum. Cameron describes the project as “an IKEA ballroom on steroids.” (People become the bees, and balls inside the hive provide the bees’ tasks and activities.) Karen Carney Title: Principal Company: Art of Area Design Works for: Exhibit houses, design studios The Skinny: After 22 years as an exhibit designer, Karen Carney takes what her clients tell her seriously. “Design what you hear, not what you think you hear,” she says. Carney has earned the respect and admiration of clients by building solutions that support an established brand direction. “It’s our job to work with the client’s philosophy, not to redefine it,” she says. One of her mantras: Stress is detrimental to the creative process. To that end, she often refreshes her creative palette by spending time browsing bookstores, finding inspiration in books that are creative, but not related to structural design. “You have to clear the residue from the brain so not everything looks the same,” she says. Before founding Art of Area Design in 2005, she worked at Avalon Exhibits for eight years. As the design director there, she practiced what she still preaches, often sending her team of seven designers on field trips to bookstores. “The partners would ask where they were going and I’d say, ‘Out to do research.’” Tracy Cogswell Title: Senior Graphic Designer Company: Exhibit Works Works for: Mitsubishi, Mazda, Seagate Technology, Connexion by Boeing The Skinny: She is one of this industry’s greatest graphics champions. “The end experience is so much more effective when the messaging is developed concurrently with the structure—rather than treated as an afterthought,” Tracy Cogswell says. She’s more than capable of attacking both 2-D and 3-D projects, thanks to a background that includes working at a small design company in London (and a stint as a Web developer). In her current position, she focuses primarily on environmental messaging for events. She also develops collateral, direct mail, and other two-dimensional communications to support EW’s environments. Cogswell looks forward to the latter, which she says “bring a link between pieces that are often separated.” She is quick to remind that the beginning and end of successful graphic design is in the result. “You are only successful if, when your customer’s customer stands in the space, they get an overwhelming feeling of the brand.” Maria Garcia Crocker Title: Event Design Director Company: Freddie Georges Production Group Works for: BBC America, Oxygen, Women’s Entertainment The Skinny: In Maria Garcia Crocker’s world, the logistical challenges of event marketing are stimulating. If the initial reaction is “this can’t be done,” she makes it her business to make sure that it can. “The most interesting projects are the ones with demanding logistical [requirements],” she says. When American Movie Classics was doing an event with a western theme, it was Crocker who created and navigated a full-size caboose into a ballroom. And when another client was promoting a ski line, Crocker suspended a full-sized helicopter from the ceiling. She even converted a strawberry field in Anaheim, CA, into an event experience boasting a 30-foot screen sending messaging to event guests across the street (the structure had to withstand the Santa Ana winds, the city had to bless the entire event, and both local farm owners and Disney had to sign off.) Through it all, she maintains her composure—and demands the same of her team. “If the team isn’t stressed, then the client won’t be stressed,” she says. “The more poised we are, the better we can assist our customers.” Annette Dalloo Title: Owner Company: Dalloo Design Works for: Exhibit houses and design firms The Skinny: Let’s rewind 10 years, shall we? With a newly earned industrial design degree from the University of Michigan in hand, Annette Dalloo answered a blind employment ad. As luck would have it, there was a designer opening at an exhibit house. She got the job. “I didn’t know what I was getting into,” Dalloo recalls. Fast forward. Following stints at such players as MG Design and Poretta and Orr, she took a chance and started her own studio. Her specialty is retail environments, architectural interiors, and corporate lobbies. Her reputation is one of creativity, intellect, and poise. So far, Dalloo has been thrilled with forging out on her own. She’s subcontracting for a growing number of design studios, and enjoying some nice word-of-mouth buzz. Dalloo loves the new opportunities that being on her own has brought. “I’m doing many types of projects and I like having that diversity to work with,” she says. Janet Danek Title: Principal Company: Janet Danek Design Works for: Cincinnati Union Terminal History Center, First Division Museum, Herbert D. Doan Midland County History Center The Skinny: Janet Danek found her calling during a visit to the British Columbia National Museum. She had visited many museums while growing up in Chicago, but this was different. “It was a complete immersion experience, emotion-driven rather than object-driven,” she recalls. It clicked. That was the moment when she knew she wanted to be a museum designer. As principal of her own firm for eleven years, Danek is constantly looking for new and better approaches that will help her projects lure visitors who have other entertainment options. “The word ‘fun’ has to be worked into any project we do,” she says. This includes interactivity, sensory stimulation, and elements of the unexpected. At the Herbert D. Doan Midland County History Center, for instance, surprises lurk around every corner. These include low-tech interactive experiences where visitors are challenged to answer a question or do something physically. The environment also reacts to its visitors—when someone breaks a light beam, something new appears. Katherine Goldman Title: Vice President and Senior Creative Director Company: Jack Morton Worldwide Works for: CA (dedicated full-time to the account) The Skinny: Katherine Goldman’s work may technically be heavily b-to-b, but she prefers to look at everything as b-to-c. “We are all consumers,” she says. Her attitude shows in the events her team creates for client CA, which include road shows, sales meetings, experiences at trade shows, and the annual CA World users group conference. “We owe it to our b-to-b customers to think about them the way we do for b-to-c—and to make their experiences as cool, interesting, and targeted to the audience,” says Goldman. Goldman’s background includes advertising and writing. She is the author of four books on work/home balance including My Mother Worked and I Turned Out Okay and Working Mothers 101. Her contagious enthusiasm is the result of a varied career that has been extended to encompass experiential marketing only recently. “It’s cool to learn a whole new [discipline] as events become the main [element] in the marketing mix.” Irma Hardjakusumah Title: Design Director Company: Ethos Design Works for: Skyy Vodka, Nine West, MGM, Wal-Mart The Skinny: A devoted student of multidisciplinary design, the always-effervescent Hardjakusumah blends principles into the ultimate problem-solvers. “The more you merge the disciplines, the easier it is to tackle the objective,” she says. As a result, she designs exhibits, events, and environmental spaces that leverage architecture, product, graphics, exhibits, and landscape. When asked to design the Nine West Fashion Show, she passed on typical rows of benches set up around a runway. Instead, the solution was more glamorous—an event environment in which the runway was one of a collection of experiences that together formed a richer, deeper series of moments. Fashioned as a stylish cross between a gallery and a nightclub, visitors experienced glowing bars, lounge seating, a museum-like gallery of shoes and accessories—and yes, dear reader, a catwalk. For Hardjakusumah, the ultimate challenge is in a client asking for a completely different style or approach. “You fall into a rut if your design always follows your aesthetics.” Indeed. Hilary Howes Title: Senior National Design Manager Company: GES Exposition Services Works for: Association of the United States Army, International Reading Association, American Dental Association. The Skinny: Hilary Howes says it’s time to bring more creativity to the way trade show floors are designed. There are alternatives to traditional row-and-aisle layouts—and Howes wants to convince end-user clients and show organizers to try them. The time for change is now, she argues, as exhibitors continue to move trade show spends into corporate events and proprietary live programs. “[Clients aren’t considering] one show or another—it’s go to a trade show or do something else,” she says. At a recent show for the Washington, DC, chapter of the AIA, Howes created a scheme that divided the show floor into 20-by-40 blocks—sort of a mini-cityscape. Each block was divided into four 10-by-20 spaces in such a way that each exhibitor had a corner location. And instead of the traditional (yawn) drape, she divided the exhibits with sheer scrim. Howes also sees potential for the racetrack layout at shopping malls—creating “parks” or elevated areas within the floor to make certain areas special. Soo Kang Title: Designer Company: Exhibitgroup/Giltspur Works for: LG Electronics, Hitachi Medical, Biogen Inc. The Skinny: Soo Kang hits her creative stride in the early evening. When most folks have left for the day, she settles in with a latte, cranks up Mozart, and gets down to business. “That’s when I can focus on what I need to think about,” she says. An advocate of clean design, Kang prefers simple solutions with European flair. She never considered event design as a career path. Just out of ID school, she answered an ad for a design job and went on “a practice interview.” She landed the job and was hooked. Since then she’s helped create new projects, breathe life into client brands, and contribute to the expansion and success of her department. Teamwork is everything, and Kang does what she needs to do to hit it out of the park each time. Her one wish? Less spec. She says that spec design mandates too much time is spent on winning the project rather than developing how the environment will work. “When we don’t have to do spec, we can really focus on what the client needs.” Amen. Nicole Lahr Title: Exhibit Designer Company: Loran Associates Works for: AstraZeneca, Casio, Lego, Crayola The Skinny: Nicole Lahr studied computer animation and graphics, thinking she’d apply her skills to the entertainment industry—either to create movies or games. Now, the gaming sector’s loss is the event industry’s gain. At Loran Associates, Lahr uses her talents to translate other designers’ concepts into 3-D renderings and walkthroughs. Using the videogames she loves as her inspiration, she tries to make her walk-throughs as realistic as possible—selecting angles and adding details that really give clients a sense of being in the space. What really excites her is doing work for companies that have unique brands or products, as it gives her the chance to create entirely new worlds. Case in point: the bamboo, water, and rock elements she rendered into a recent proposal with what she describes as a “Zen” personality. After work, Lahr goes home to her PlayStation to play Splinter Cell or whatever her newest purchase is. The games can provide insights that she can leverage at work. “It sounds funny, but it really is a good learning process.” Game on. Joo Lee Title: Designer Company: Sparks Works for: Broder, Rubber Doll, Factiva, Rave The Skinny: Joo Lee’s approach to design is worldly and sensitive, thanks to her multicultural background. Always a fan of fashion and design, she remembers looking at her father’s copies of Architectural Digest during her childhood in Korea. Her appreciation of design grew during her teen years, when her family moved to London. From there she literally saw the world—traveling across the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the United States. When Lee decided to pursue interior and environmental design, she applied to Pratt Institute and moved to the U.S. She places a high priority on developing her environments around a story—often with results that her co-workers say are highly textural and emotive. “It’s holistic marketing and branding—not just architecture,” she says. Still a fan of fashion, Lee says some of her favorite projects have been retail environments and exhibits for fashion industry clients. “Being a female event designer, it enables me to use my ‘softer side.’” Sally McMorris Title: Associate Creative Director Company: Aspen Marketing Services Works for: AT&T, Motorola The Skinny: For Sally McMorris, it’s all about the story—what it is, how it’s told, how it’s received. Check any of her events and you’ll note the storylines instantly. Example: Her current AT&T Blue Room mobile tour, which translates the telecom’s online offerings into a physical environment boasting an exclusive concert backstage vibe. It’s a branded story that brings product to life amid drama and surprise. She’s known for fixating on the details that come together to make the experience rich for visitors. She says that at a great event, everything works together. “Every little detail, every last inch—down to the signage holders—works together for the greater good.” Ironically, she says the true test of getting all the details right is that the hard work is invisible in the eyes of the visitors. McMorris says her biggest lesson since joining Aspen three years ago was learning to roll with the necessity of late changes to the programs. “After all, the client [always] wants the latest and greatest.” Anne Moore Title: Creative Director Company: Campbell-Ewald Works for: Michelin, University of Michigan, Chevrolet The Skinny: An ad agency creative director that designs events instead of print ads—oh bless her. At work, Anne Moore leads Campbell-Ewald’s event creative team of seven as they push the boundaries of experiential marketing with events like the Olympic Torch Relay and the Times Square New Years Eve Celebration (both for flagship client Chevrolet). On her own time, it’s more of the same as she takes the lead on projects like the creation of the annual Halloween Haunt experience at her daughter’s school. Pushing the boundaries and finding the next new thing is a high priority for Moore. “You’re asking people to give up free time, so you have to make it worth their while,” she says. Her favorite part of the creative process is the beginning, where the possibilities are wide open. “It’s just us and our imaginations and it’s really fun.” And events, she says, show a designer immediate results. “You get to see the audience’s reaction. You just don’t get to do that with an ad.” Kerstin Mulfinger Title: Architect Company: Burkhardt Leitner Works for: ATI, Lear, Sulzer Medica, Capricorn, the U.S. Army The Skinny: Trained as an architect, Kerstin Mulfinger started as an interior designer at a design house in Germany. She eventually ended up designing for upscale systems manufacturer Burkhardt Leitner. In 2003, she was sent to Toronto to help the North American office get started—and she’s never left. As part of Burkhardt Leitner’s corporate team, Mulfinger designs using the company’s well-known components and assists its North American distributors in engineering designs. Her own designs have been used at events all over the world. She is most fulfilled when challenged to create something that has not been done yet—like an unusual curve or strange-shaped structure. She is energized when she collaborates with other designers, often referring to the Burkhardt Leitner system as “Tinker Toys for adults.” “When we work together, everyone has their own ideas and new solutions emerge,” she says. Hilary Read Title: Senior Project Designer-Lifestyle Marketing Company: The George P. Johnson Co. Works for: Motorola, Scion, Toyota The Skinny: “It’s about creating kick-ass ideas and making them happen,” says Hilary Read. ’Nuff said. Now part of GPJ’s Lifestyle Marketing Group, Read spends her time creating new and unexpected ways that brands can touch consumers. She applies her highly diverse background—a degree in environmental design, and stints at an architectural firm, ad agency, and alternative marketing agency—to everything she works on. The benefit, she says, is that the experience enables her to look at projects from a number of different angles. Recently she has applied this to the relaunch of Toyota’s FJ Cruiser: The FJ Trails Team hits a new off-road spot every week, giving families the opportunity to test drive, attend a barbecue, and watch movies—then relive the entire experience several days later via Webisodes. “It’s a low-key ambush that has elements that enhance the plans the families already have.” Patricia Rosi Title: Vice President-Creative Services Company: Pierce Promotions and Event Management Works for: Verizon FiOS, Gillette, Planters The Skinny: “There is no typical day,” says Patricia Rosi of the roles and activities she engages in while directing the creative team at consumer event agency Pierce. Her crew creates the big ideas behind branded moments and entertainment—something they accomplish by staying in the loop of what’s happening from a world cultural standpoint and current trends. Rosi believes in mixing it up—rotating her teams and team members for each project. “It keeps everybody excited and fresh,” she says. Mandate No. 1? The experiences they create must be exciting for visitors. Case in point: The recent Planters 100th Anniversary tour the team created takes visitors down “memory lane” via green screens which put them inside the event. “It’s important that we can say, ‘we would have a blast [attending] this,’” she says. French by birth, Rosi has been at Pierce for seven years. Although she misses Paris, she loves her Portland, ME, zip code. (When the weather is nice, she can be spotted riding her Harley to work.) Lisa Towery Title: Designer Company: Matrex Exhibits Works for: Stryker, Exxon Mobil, Bosch The Skinny: Lisa Towery loves the immediate gratification of working on trade show exhibits—which have a much faster turnaround time than the museum work she did previously. “The speed to it is very enjoyable,” she says. Towery’s favorite projects are larger integrated programs with multiple shows and events. Why? They challenge her to maintain consistency throughout different scenarios. Even better is when the client is passionate about the project. “The more the client values what you are doing, the more fun it is,” she says. She thrives on collaborating with clients—when they get caught-up in the process, start ooh-ing and ah-ing, and help pick out additional design elements and finishes. To stay sharp, she participates in regular sketching classes with the other Matrex designers. It helps keep her from being reliant on the computer to design and communicate. “In a client meeting, there’s no time to wait. You have to be fast... and good,” she says.
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