Shedd Aquarium
How do you get party-goers to interact with the meaning and purpose behind your event in a show-stopping way? That’s the challenge Shedd Aquarium set to us for their annual Out Of The Blu fundraising event. Shedd’s focus for the event was encouraging zero-waste practices, with the goal to create an entirely zero-waste function. We collaborated with their team to create an engagement wall from recycled materials where we posed questions to attendees and illustrated their answers.
“The live notes installation was a beautiful addition to the event, and helped our guests to engage with the event’s theme around sustainability in a meaningful and interactive manner.”
Melissa Sommer, Corporate Partnerships at Shedd Aquarium
The walls we pre-built were actually double-sided. One side was covered in Blu-themed visuals and used as a backdrop for super cool zero-waste fashion models. The other side, where our visual note-takers were illustrating answers to “What’s Your Favorite Memory at Shedd?” and “How Can You Incorporate Zero Waste Practices Into Your Daily Life?” faced the entrance to the event. Complete with LED bubbles and a giant octopus at the top, it was a show-stopping way to showcase Shedd’s event theme.
“The participatory element really stood out to us. We loved to see what moments stood out to our guests and how that connects to our mission.”
Shedd’s team found that guests really liked to come up and interact with the experience during the cocktail hour – it was one of the first things you saw when you entered the Shedd Aquarium. People flocked to it and were introduced to the theme of the event instantly. They were excited to participate in something right off the bat, and answering a question didn’t require a lot of effort from attendees.
After the event, Shedd sent the final visuals in a thank-you email so those who participated could see how it all came together. They also shared it with members of the learning department to help educate team members on zero waste ideas, and it has become a visual source of information in their classrooms.