Stand-out event design for a new kind of small business festival

Photos by Stef Hanson Productions, but also some by me (you will be able to tell). 

For it’s first year, Ripple Festival wanted a standout event design to continue it’s mission to create a new kind of small business festival. They combined killer biz content alongside music and comedy, food and drinks, and a party! And they invited me on board to set the scene with my bold use of colour, and out of the box approach to event and interior design and styling. 

Grazeland Melbourne is as unique as Ripple Festival; there’s simply nowhere else like it in Melbourne. And why not turn a modern day outdoor fancy food court into a festival? With sweeping view of the Yarra River and West Gate Bridge, and endless food and drink options, it’s a pretty cool offering. The challenge was how to turn a large capacity space (3000 pax) that’s usually used by hundreds of small groups at once, into a space fit for a group of 300, for a two day festival.

It’s also basically an outdoor venue, even though it is mostly covered, which throws in challenges like weather – particularly wind coming in off the river. Anything created needed to be so sturdy it could withstand high winds. Yay! NOT!! Always quite a hard set of circs to deal with, but hey, that’s why you call in experts (us!).

This brief was pretty loose because I’ve worked with Fiona (one of the co-founders of Ripple) several times before (including styling her 40th birthday party), so she was like, “what do you reckon we should do?”.

Given it was a new festival in it’s first year, the main brief was to keep it low cost, fun and interesting. And of course, not at all snoozey like the usual business conferences. And of course, we needed everything we designed and installed to be very windproof. 

Here’s the mood board and concept I created for it. Ripples, so many ripples, brought to life! 

Adding decor that rippled in the ever-present wind was the start of the magic for Ripple Festival. It created a sense of movement and interest. Lots and lots of colour softened the space too, and brought Ripple’s brand identity to life.

We created ripples using Bangin Hangins’ streamers, loads of grassey plants, and cascades of rocks. And of course, we created large scale versions of the Ripple logo to stick in various places.

While creating a stand-out stage design, I made sure not to obscure the West Gate Bridge which is framed by the stage. You can even see the city in the background of some of the photos. Like I said, iconic. 

Now, onto that wind-proof signage! I was pretty chuffed with this design; definitely interesting and colourful and damn sturdy. It lasted three days in the end. Thank you to the inventor of the Besser Block.  

Event design should never be too serious. So why not surround an oversized disco ball with red velvet ropes? 

Sustainabilty

Ripple Festival put an ethical framework in place early on and we are always on the “let’s use less and throw away little” bandwagon. So, all the furniture was either already at the venue, hired or purchased second hand for further use (you’ll be seeing the blue ripple-y couch at the next Ripple Festival).

All the Bangin Hangin’s dangly streamers are zero-waste as they are used over and over, and the blocks, rocks and plants that made up the stage design and signage have all been rehomed. My neighbour is using the blocks to build a new garden bed, and the plants have been planted in mine and Fiona’s gardens so they can live on. The only thing that went in the bin was the vinyl ripple stickers. 

Want help with your event?

If any of this floats your boat and you want a stand out, unique, cool fun event design, then I’m your lady…. and you are my um client!? Take a look at our events page to see what might be the package for you.