Daniel has designed many events working in theatre, dance, opera, and corporate events. His designs have gained him numerous awards and accolades. Daniel is the Resident Lighting Designer at The Phoenix Theatre Company in Arizona and has designed around the country working in New York, California, Las Vegas, New Mexico & even across the pond in England.
Daniel is the President + CEO of Davisson Entertainment, a local event planning and production company, and he also serves as the Producing Artistic Director & President for BLK BOX PHX.
The mission for Davisson Entertainment is to cultivate and enrich the diverse and spectacular arts & events community that resides here in Arizona. By striving to provide multiple diverse and enriching live performances, art installations, music, and multimedia exhibits, we hope to offer the valley a new happening each month.
Our goal is to provide local artists with a means of producing and showcasing their work. By catering each month’s event to a specific artist, dancer, musician, or theme, we can provide artistic growth and support to such talented artisans right in our own backyard. The fundamental idea of local art supporting local artists.
How long has your company been producing events? What is your main focus?
We have been producing events under one roof for over 6 years, however, we have always been immersed & involved in various capacities of event production & management. Our main focus is providing management, entertainment & production support for the Performing Arts and Fine Art Organizations including theatre, dance, and festivals.
We produce events that support local artists & performers by giving them a platform to showcase their talents.
How do you mix the current trends with the traditional to create a meeting that is engaging and informative?
We are always looking for the next trend, and like to stay current by including creative & eye-catching elements based on traditional design techniques. We like to break the box regarding traditional trends and find ways to make them unique, yet effective.
Our design team loves to challenge themselves by always making sure our clients are satisfied with what they “expect”, but at the same time leveling the competition by adding our own uniqueness and process to the project.
Do you have any advice for a company having a hard time choosing a theme? Is a theme necessary?
Don’t get too overwhelmed with the theme. Find verbs & adjectives that your client uses to discuss how they want their event to feel. What are some aesthetics the clients like or are interested in that can help to narrow your vision when providing design & decor services? It’s our job to try and dissect what our clients are trying to say & create a vision that is collaborative with their ideas.
Other tips would be to ask what they like & do not like. Are there any special themes your clients appreciate? Perhaps you can tie in with a surrounding Holiday to give it some grounding to a current trend. Themes do not have to be all out that theme. You can use an imaginative idea or a group of words to create a theme.
What are some ways to personalize a corporate event?
Some ways to personalize a corporate event would be to refer to the company’s branding. Use their logo projected on AV screens while in session. You can get custom gobos created for lighting instruments and project their logo around the ballroom walls, in lobby areas, or other breakout rooms. Adding a special touch of custom detail really helps to create a personalized event.
We like to also always start with the company’s branding colors when it comes to event design. Finding colors that represent & accent the corporate brand is helpful when finding ways to personalize the event. Use custom printed signage & banners for decor. Use decor themed around the company’s colors. Match accessories to the corporate brand, such as lanyards, badges, promotional giveaways & swag.
What do you see as the corporate event industry’s greatest challenge, currently?
Currently, with the COVID-19 pandemic, I fear that many events & large crowd gatherings will be limited and/or restricted. Ways we may have taken advantage of in the past will seem hard to catch on in the current days. I think there will be a strong push towards sanitization and health at events moving forward, and it will be a trend to see how events & venues react with being transparent with their guests. People will want to see that a venue is practicing healthy habits as well as keeping their rooms & venues clean and sanitized. I think that will be a difficult thing for us all to catch on with as it will add another level of event necessities to our checklists.
What are some practices to follow that will help you to create the Wow factor that attendees seek with a limited budget?
Lighting can make a huge transformation to space, and can typically be done on a limited budget. By using lighting designers & professional equipment you can create a mood and help to feature & focus on specific design elements to give a Wow factor. We pride ourselves on always having great lighting in all of our events as it can create energy to an event & assist in elevating the user experience.
Always make sure to add a budget for some kind of lighting element to your events. Light & shadow can be your friend. Lighting can provide instant impact & amplify any event. It is always fun to also push barriers with lighting since there really is no wrong answer.
