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

The Websites, People and Products We Can't Live Without

These are some of the platforms/apps/people that help us create great events—from planning, to producing, to communicating, and more. Our toolbox of goodies you might say... We update it regularly.
 

Digital

Dropbox
The easiest way to organize any team and its communication assets. The apps for mobile and computer are so good. Selective sync is an option you have to master to give your computer a break. 

Wunderlist
The best ‘to do list’ out there. With deadline and task-assigning options as well as file attaching. Mobile and web versions work super well. 

WhatsApp
Don't think we could live without this messaging app... the web version is also amazing. File sharing, updating, coordinating during events, reaching people who hate and won't use email, the voice recording- we could go on and on.  

Typeform
Pretty AND functional? Yes, please! We use Typeform to create surveys, sign up sheets and more. Just so good and a pleasure to use. 

Squarespace
If you need a website that looks incredible, is easy to use and behaves beautifully, use Squarespace. We recommend it to everyone we work with. 

Small Victories
So simple but effective. Take any Dropbox folder and turn it into a website hosted from Dropbox. Genius. 

Bitly
The most amazing URL shortener and analysis tool out there. The best way to see who is clicking on which link and from where. 

WhatFont
A cool extension for Chrome to help identify fonts being used on any website. 

Skillshare
If you need to learn how to do anything – and yes, we mean ANYTHING – head over to here. Tutorials for every aspect of life. 

Adobe Color
Create color schemes with the color wheel, browse thousands of color combinations, or upload an image to get a stunning color palette.

GO-JEK
For any Indonesia-based company, GO-JEK is a total lifesaver. Documents that need to be sent, printed orders that need to be picked up, stranded volunteers, snacks and food that need to be bought- all of this can be done through this magic app.

Shorthand
A paid platform to create beautiful stories using a beautifully simple story editor.

Rev
Ever looking for a service that will transcribe a conversation you recorded? Rev is a good, fast, and affordable resource.

Landbot
Add a conversation to your website. Landbot basically transforms websites into conversational experiences. 

Really Good Emails
This 3,300+ handpicked collection is powered by community submissions and these guys' obsessive drive to find the best email examples out there.
 

Offline

Coffee makes our world go 'round:
Expat Roasters, Seniman Coffee

Cool places in Bali:
Rumah Sanur, Bambu Indah

Super talented makers of Bali:
Gaya Ceramic, Quarzia Batik, Hatiku Indonesia, IBUKU, Threads of Life, and the list keeps growing.
 

For Fun

Want to improve your quality of life in 5 seconds?

1. Go to System Preferences
2. Keyboard
3. App Shortcuts
4. All Applications –> add “Paste and Match Style” ⌘V

Done.
Via the wonderful Swissmiss
 

If you'd like to be featured here, email us: hello@elami.co

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. 

Event: Slow Food Bali x Threads of Life x Javara

What: Colors of Life: Exploring Indonesia's Natural Dyes

Where: Umajati Retreat

Client: Slow Food Bali, Threads of Life

Press: Color Me Natural (Bali Advertiser)

Slow Food Bali — with Javara and Threads of Life held an event to highlight the world of natural and plant dyes in Indonesia, ending with a wonderful meal designed around naturally dyed heritage foods of the archipelago. 

A half-day journey through Indonesia's indigenous knowledge of the natural world led by two incredible organizations working to preserve this knowledge across the archipelago.

Threads of Life has documented over 300 dye plant species across the country and has created a dye garden within Umajati Retreat itself. Threads of life works with over 1,000 weavers and natural dyers across 11 islands in Indonesia. 

Javara produces artisanal food products by respecting the food identity, highlighting their place of origin, unique characteristics & their producers. Their products represent Indonesia's food biodiversity, indigenous wisdom and rich culinary traditions.

“Natural food dyes aren’t used industrially because they’re usually not stable with exposure to light, heat or acids,” Heli told a rapt audience in the Bebali Foundation’s natural dye studio near Ubud. “The colours are more subtle than chemical dyes. Colours are derived from the roots, bark, fruit, flowers, stems and leaves of ordinary garden plants. Most have no taste but a few, like the pandan leaf, lend a delicate flavor to the food. The technique of infusing rice with plant dyes has been used for generations.” 

—Greenspeak by Ibu Kat

Event: Threads of Life x Biku

What: Tea and Textile Tales

Where: Biku

Client: Threads of Life

Press: Ubud Now and Then

A perfect collaboration between famous Seminyak institution and tea house, and an Ubud establishment. The event included a one day pop-up exhibition & store and afternoon lecture on Indonesian textiles accompanied by an incredible high tea.

Once the high tea had been delivered (the menu included salak poached in cinnamon and star anise, Vietnamese spring rolls, curried egg sandwiches, Middle Eastern orange cake, pineapple and mint agar-agar and more, all on tiered silver trays), William embarked on his talk. Draping various textiles along his rather substantial wingspan, he took us on a journey that spanned 2000 years of textile production. He explained key cultural and social influences on the motifs and uses of the textiles along the way, displaying wares from Toraja, Timor, Central Flores, East Java, Jogjakarta, Sumba, and Bali. - Catriona Mitchell, Ubud Now and Then

A pop-up store event combined with a afternoon teatime lecture on textiles in Indonesia presented by Threads of Life. 

Designing a Soundtrack for Events

We were commissioned to design a fundraising event—part of a collaboration between a wildlife conservation organization and one of their main private sector partners. Held in an all-bamboo structure, we knew we had to find a sound that would work with the space and keep people engaged without taking over the whole event. We also wanted people to end up dancing by the end of the night. Mission accomplished!

krishna and friends bringing their reggae/folk music to the audience

Music has always been a huge part of any event we are part of designing and we love to work with young, local musicians. Krisna and Friends played two amazing sets of their reggae and folk inspired music; their mix of covers and original songs really kept the audience's attention. Attendees ended up listening to an impromptu jam session from musicians in the audience and finally dancing until well past the time they were supposed to go home.