The rise of the virtual event shows no signs of slowing down. The concept is here to stay, engrained in our new flexible working culture & passion to limit travel, reducing carbon emissions (we love this!). Virtual events allow you to reach and interact with vast audiences worldwide at a fraction of the cost, but we also understand that we humans need professional in-person contact. It’s all about balance.
Compelling creative design is essential, regardless of event format, albeit much harder to achieve online. To design an inviting & memorable virtual event is a challenging prospect, but that doesn’t need to be the case.
The Duuzra design team have put together some top tips that focus on the key elements you should consider in-order to make a lasting impression and a visually stunning experience.
Create a unique event brand
The event branding should reflect your core brand values but, to make your event stand out, you may want to consider a unique event brand that is targeted to your audience.
You can construct your brand by defining its elements, such as an event logo, tagline, colours, fonts and graphics. Once these elements have been established it’s important to keep them consistent across all components of your event, from event registration to transition slides and live panels.
Working with Duuzra, its quick and easy to create these elements, offering full customisation that allows white label branding. With our full-service solution, you also have access to what we call the ‘worlds-best’ event designers to make designing your next event a doddle. If you need some inspiration, have a look at some of our design examples here.
Top tips to remember:
- Your event brand should reflect your core brand values
- Define your brand elements and keep them consistent
- Look for inspiration and utilise the resources available
Pixel perfect imagery
The imagery you choose must reflect your event’s brand identity and can be a powerful tool that strengthens the content within your virtual event. It’s always best to start with large, high-resolution images but remember that, for web, you will need to create an optimal sized file to strike the perfect balance between size and quality.
Considerations should also be taken when choosing an image format. We use either JPEG, PNG or MP4. For general photographs, JPEGs work really-well as they hold the quality when compressed. We use PNG’s for images that display less colour data, display copy or when you need a transparent background. If you wanted to add a little animation to your event, MP4s are perfect for this, just take into consideration the file size.
Lastly, and a common issue we come across when being supplied imagery, is how your image is displayed across different screen sizes. Our designs are tailored to be fully responsive, meaning your audience can access it on a variety of screen sizes or devices and the image quality is not impacted. This is something to consider when choosing your event image. For example, if the main focus of your image is at the edge, the focal point could cut off with certain screen sizes. This can cause issues when using people photography or if you have any important information like additional logos at the edge of your design.
Finding the right image can really transform your event, so take your time when selecting imagery. There’s plenty of stock photography sites to help and, at Duuzra, the design team are always on hand to offer advice and help you get the most out of your event imagery.
Top tips to remember:
- Imagery should reflect your events brand identity
- Images should be an optimal file size balanced between size and quality
- Consider file format and how your image works across different screen sizes
Understanding accessibility
You may have created a stand-out, unique event brand but it’s important to use the elements in the correct way to ensure your event is still accessible to your audience.
Selecting the correct font and size is essential for making your event more accessible, we recommend using as few fonts as possible to minimise confusion for your attendees. The body copy font should have simple and clear character shapes, low contrast stroke lines and a selection of basic styles and weights. Headers, that are larger in size, can be less restrictive and we recommend fonts that have character and are more stylistic to give your event a stronger identity.
You will also need to provide sufficient contrast between foreground text and background colours including text on images, gradients, buttons and other elements. For homepages and content hubs your interactive content such as links and buttons should all be easily identifiable. Additionally, you will need to consider clear space to make your content more apparent and to reduce clutter.
Top tips to remember:
- Do not use too many fonts and consider font size throughout
- Provide sufficient contrast between background and foreground text
- All links should be easily identifiable
Combat screen fatigue
A major goal for any virtual event should be to limit screen fatigue and increase virtual engagement. Creating a vibrant event brand that has taken into consideration web accessibility is a great way to reduce this but, in the fight against screen fatigue, you may require other solutions.
Luckily at Duuzra, our software has been developed with this issue in mind, and we provide a host of interactive features like Polling, Surveys and Wordclouds to maximise engagement, reduce screen fatigue and also provide valuable data. All you need to do is choose which features to include and add your brand colours to the styling and you’re ready to go!
Top tips to remember:
- Combating screen fatigue should be a key consideration
- Create unique designs and make content web accessible
- Introduce interactive features to engage your audience
Homescreen, transition slides and attention to the details
When logging into your event, the first screen your audience will see is what we call a homescreen. This acts as a central hub for all your content and gives you the freedom to be really creative with your designs and branding. As a larger space, you have greater design freedom and this can be used to draw attention to certain types of content or additional information – just make sure that all clickable content is easily identifiable.
Another great way to showcase your event branding is through the use of transition slides. These can be used to introduce speakers, inform your audience of a breaks or breakout sessions or simply to say thank you and ask for feedback.
Like every design task, attention to detail is always key, you can design a stunning virtual event but if you’ve spelt the CEO’s name wrong you can guarantee what your audience will remember. At Duuzra, the design team and production managers work in tandem to make sure everything is present and correct, ahead of going live.
Top tips to remember:
- Your central hub should be impactful and show your brand at its best
- Get your branding across via transition slides
- Proof-read your content, attention to detail is key!
Preparing your speakers
Lastly, and another common issue, is failing to prepare the event speakers. All event speakers should consider the environment they’re presenting from, such as lighting, and background noise. Speakers should dress appropriately and speak clearly with eye contact. If speakers fail to prepare, the overall quality of your event can be impacted. If you would like more advice on how to prepare your speakers, please click here.
Top tips to remember:
- Prepare all speakers before your event
- Consider lighting, sound quality and appearance of your speakers
Creating a visually stunning event doesn’t have to be complex. If you prepare well, and your event is easy to navigate, avoids clutter and utilises a striking hero image, you can create a great looking virtual experience that audiences will remember. You can consider taking a design risk too, but generally keeping it simple & dynamic is a great place to start when designing a virtual event.
Our expert design team are always on hand to help. Email for advice or just to say hi: design@duuzra.