Behind the Design: Attendee gift bags for TEDxUbud

Our attendee gift bags are one of our favorite things to put together for our guests. When we start the process of thinking about what we want to give our attendees we want to make it as practical, beautiful and durable as possible. The last thing we want is for the attendee to get home after the event and throw everything into the trash.  

Starting with the bag itself, we ensure it's something people will want to use again and again. Some of our 'frequent flyer' attendees still use all their editions on a weekly basis. This year we created a backpack style, perfect for both men and women and for people on motorbikes every day. We also design the bag itself to have minimal branding; no one wants to be a walking billboard. 

Then we turn our attention to curating the contents of the bag. Everything is chosen to be useful at the event itself or to be something the attendees can use at home to remember the day by. We are very lucky to be in Bali- home to some of the world's most talented artisans and creators. 

This year we had a mixed nut and dried fruit snack by Bali Buda, a health food institution in Bali; Utama Spice's all natural and highly effective bug spray for dusk; Krakakoa's amazing Indonesian sustainably grown and fair trade chocolate; a beautiful bangle by Aum Rudraksha; a traditional Indonesian ikat sachet of cloves and screen printed bookmark with a prayer of creation by Threads of Life; and a set of wooden reusable cutlery to use at the event and then during ongoing travels. 

We chose to create a set of cutlery because while we could buy bamboo disposable cutlery for the event, we thought it would be a good way to also remind attendees of their impact on the environment and the role 'single use' anything plays in that. 

Behind the Design: The TEDxUbud Badges

Badges hold a special place in the design heart of our Co-founder and Creative Director, Daniela Burr. She says it's a perfect way of making an attendee feel special from the moment they step in through the door. This year the search for the perfect TEDxUbud badge began with the idea of laser-cut. 

In a nod to traditional Balinese shadow puppets and our venue, The House of Masks and Puppets, we created a badge that attendees could play with using a light source and project their names onto other surfaces once night fell. 

Designing for laser-cutting (handled by the wonderful team at 9Box) brought its own set of challenges. The only font suitable was a stencil font. We settled on Rufina. Rufina was created from dark-text on light-background combinations, making it sharper and arguably better for quick viewing in such a dark environment. Most of its letter strokes are separated on the hairline, which allows the same kind of “invisible” readability, and is sort of a pattern among well-designed stencils.

The lanyards were gorgeous strips of handmade batik silk using leftover fabric from the masterminds behind Quarzia. We threaded the silk through two holes for added stability and to stop the badges from flipping over. 

The big and very visible name badges are an important part of any TEDx event—they help people to get to know fellow attendees and build a sense of community. 

Behind the Design: Branding of TEDxUbud 2017

This year we really wanted to design the event materials with bright colors for TEDxUbud. Focusing on the event theme of 'Make the light' and exploring the play of light as night falls, we created these three color gradients for the TEDxUbud 2017 branding. Blue for the last light before night falls, purples for sunset and dusk, and green for the elusive aurora lights. 

The experience banners were printed to hang from trees throughout the event venue—to help attendees navigate the area and let them know about all the cool things that were happening off the stage. 

With our speaker flyers we wanted to include white space to give the layout balance and chance for the eye to rest. We wanted the attention to be on the speakers themselves—the 'spotlight' of the design. The inclusion of a subtle unique constellation was a nod to the event being held under the open sky at night. Many of the traditional TEDx design elements were incorporated, including use of Helvetica and the red/black/white colors for the logo. 

Finally, our quote postcards. A fun way to surprise attendees—we leave them hidden around the venue on the day for attendees to find and take home. 

Behind the Design: TEDxUbud Gift Bags

Coming up with a new way to surprise attendees is one of the biggest challenges each year. In the past we've done an 'offering box' of gifts, experimented with typography, and had the program on the bag itself- all in the name of creating whole new and fresh experiences for the return TEDxUbud attendees. 

This year we wanted to use some bright colors and have a bigger bag; we were excited to work once again with Hatiku Indonesia to create something beautiful in canvas with leather accents. 

This year's program was created in homage to the venue, The House of Masks and Puppets. They doubled as a hand-fan for anyone feeling the heat and we tied them to the bags. 

Of course, once you have a bag you need amazing things to put in it! We always curate the gifts in line with the needs of attendees during the day- the last thing we want to do is provide an item destined for the bin once people get home.

This year we had the amazing good fortune to work with the team at Quarzia, an amazing artisanal company creating modern batik textiles, to create a silk sleeping mask for each attendee. 

We also had a drink bottle supplied by our presenting sponsor Zurich Indonesia to help reduce waste caused by plastic water bottles at events, organic Indonesia cacao nibs by Big Tree Farms to satisfy any cravings, and the all-natural bug spray by Utama Spice to keep the mosquitos at bay in our outdoor venue. 

Behind the Design: The TEDxUbud Stage

One of the most exciting aspects of working with the stage at Setia Darma House of Masks and Puppets was the sheer size of the wooden outdoor space. 

Working with an open air stage gave us incredible opportunities to combine high tech and nature to create an amazing design for TEDxUbud. The theme of the event was ‘Make the Light’ and the design rooted itself firmly in playing with light and dark, as the event was held over 7 hours, from late afternoon into the night. We worked with Hatiku Indonesia and Antida Music to bring our vision to life. 

Within an increasingly urbanized Indonesian society that doesn’t spend that much time outdoors, we felt it was important to reconnect the audience with the natural landscape—to enjoy the play of natural light and wildlife flying overhead. We also wanted to connect the content of the TEDxUbud talks with environmental elements such as starscapes and nocturnal animals in the line with speaker subject matters.

We deliberately did not create a backdrop as the ‘backstage’ area opened directly onto a beautiful ricefield and a wall of coconut palms. We chose to light the palm trees in order to create a ‘living backdrop’. Designed to work with the setting sun and a range of decreasing light, the technology, including the 6mx4m LED screen, and lighting was carefully utilized to ensure the entire amphitheater could be part of the experience.

The use of projection mapping on to stage elements and shadow theatre when it became full dark was also a key element of the design. Iconic TEDx elements were also incorporated, including a 5-meter long hand-welded aluminum TEDxUbud logo made in Java and shipped to Bali by boat, and the 4-meter diameter ‘red dot’ carpet.

More 'behind the scenes' design stage details: 

The very first sketch

3 TED Talks About Becoming a Better Speaker

When we are starting the coaching process for TEDxUbud, we always ask our speakers to watch all or some of these videos to get a feel for what makes a good talk. 
 

1. Chris Anderson

The one and only Head of TED, Chris Anderson, and his tips for giving a TED talk:

2. Nancy Duarte

The Queen of great presentations, Nancy Duarte, on the perfect talk structure:

3. Melissa Marshall

Lots of our speakers are experts in their fields, but they often have a really hard time breaking their ideas down into something everyone can understand. Melissa Marshall has some tips for making the complicated simple.