🎨 Experience Design · IRL Event Studio

Ethan Simons

Dec '25 • 🎤 Event Talk

🎨 Experience Design

I have a confession!

Most people don't know this, but i have a college degree in "Experience Design and Management"

Most people have no idea what that means... at least not initially.

Put simply: The skill of designing positive experiences for people!

(the "management" piece is for business management classes like accounting, finance, IS, strategy, etc)

So yes, i studied event design at college. It was a pretty cool and unique opportunity!

But within the last few years since graduating (it's been 4 years now), sometimes I lose sight of the magic and possibilities of experience design

Events are HUGE projects that require a lot of logistics, planning, and execution. I analyze venues to make sure they fit within budget or scour food menus to see how far I can stretch the food and beverage minimum... and sometimes it's easy to lose sight of the "art" behind it all

Recently

@Andy Monroe

reminded me that we are experience designers first and foremost. That every event is a blank canvas, and although we've done a lot of things that worked well for previous clients, each new client is an opportunity to start from scratch creatively.

That's why we renamed the community "IRL Event Studio"

This is a creative hub for experience designers, not just "how to pick a venue"

🥂 So cheers to y'all, the designers, hosts, and creators here!

Don't lose sight of your true purpose: designing experiences that can transform someone's life

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