INTRODUCING THE WORLD OF EVENT DESIGN TO ARCHITECTURE PROFESSIONALS
Brittney Leeb, Senior Director, New Business — Impact XM
At ARCHCareersGuide.com has the pleasure of inviting essays from guests in the design profession; as with this essay, many of are from those with an architecture education or background who have pursued a career beyond architecture. Do enjoy this essay designed to expose you to the world of Event Design. If this excites you, do contact the author and consider accessing our publication — Careers in Architecture and Beyond.
During my interview at my first position out of college, the president of this small exhibit design agency insisted that my skillset was better suited for sales – not design. Having just spent the past five years learning the ins and outs of Rhino, AutoCAD, InDesign, etc. and pulling all-nighters to complete my architecture degree, I was in shock. I decided to accept the position in sales as it still felt relevant to my experience as an architecture student. Fast forward eight years – I am still in sales and at one of the largest full-service event design agencies in the country; and you guessed it, I still absolutely love it which is why I felt compelled to share my story.
As architecture students, we are often put on a linear path of well… becoming an architect. Being a straight A student in the Architecture Program at the University of Maryland, it felt wrong to admit out loud “I don’t think I want to be an Architect”. But the truth is, during my 4th semester study abroad trip to Kiplin Hall (RIP Du Puy)… I really felt that way and I did not know how to tell anyone. I wish I had known then, what I know now – there are so many different career paths beyond the traditional architecture route that align with the skills that we are taught in school. This observation might just make you think about your degree differently.
… there are so many different career paths beyond the traditional architecture route that align with the skills that we are taught in architecture school, and it might just make you think about your degree differently.
If you are unfamiliar with exhibit design (many imediately think ‘museum exhibits’), exhibits in my world are trade show booths. These structures can be anywhere from 100 to 20,000+ square feet and are installed and dismantled in a matter of days. One of my favorite parts about this industry is the speed at which exhibits are designed and produced. For example, we had 4 weeks to design this 15,000 square foot exhibit for Hisense at the Consumer Electronics Show 2022. And only six weeks after the design was approved by the client, the project went live on the show floor in Las Vegas (that turnaround time would never happen in architecture)! Only one year later, this exhibit has gone on to win four different nationally recognized awards.
With only two schools in the US offering exhibit design degrees – there’s a tremendous amount of opportunity for architecture students to jump headfirst into the industry, whether it be in sales (like me) or exhibit design. Our perspective as architecture students gives us a huge advantage of identifying trends at events, pushing the creative envelope, and helping transform ideas and concepts into a tangible reality for big brands like Amazon, AT&T, New Balance, Sunkist etc. I truly believe that my background in architecture has propelled me achieving the success I have had in this field. And while my time is not spent behind the computer designing exhibits, my skills act more as a liaison, responsible for understanding the client’s brand and sharing their vision with our creative team, collaborating with our 3D Designers, Experiential Creatives, Graphic Designers, Strategists, and the like. When working with new clients about their goals for each event, I intuitively know the right questions to ask, and I know what’s feasible within their budgets without skipping a beat. The event industry could use more of us!
While I may be biased, having an architecture degree is a huge resume builder, I think even more so outside of our field. We pull the all-nighters, and we spend every day studying and sketching until the day we graduate. Like a law degree, most people understand how grueling and demanding architecture programs are and that it takes a strong worth ethic to thrive. Do not be afraid to explore career options that may feel untraditional – you may be surprised how much you love it, and how good you are at it!
Do not be afraid to explore career options that may feel untraditional – you may be surprised how much you love it, and how good you are at it!
If you are interested in learning more about my transition from architecture to trade show exhibits, events, brand strategy, and experiential marketing – please do not hesitate to contact me directly:
Brittney Leeb, Senior Director, New Business — Impact XM
Email: brittney.leeb@impact-xm.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittneyleeb/
And since we are visual people, here are some links to various projects we get to work on in this industry:
- Two-story tradeshow exhibit – Entrada at NAA
- 5x award winning small but mighty exhibit – Longeviti at CNS
- B2C Consumer Event – New Balance NYC Marathon
- Executive Briefing Center – BASF