Decinda Burrell, founder & creative director, Event Society, shares how events are more than just gatherings; they are immersive worlds built to surprise and inspire
When you are tasked with planning an imaginative event, where do you find your inspiration?
Inspiration always comes from storytelling. I see every event as a living theatre set, where guests step into a world that suspends reality for a few hours. Usually the spark comes from nature, a colour palette in a sunrise, sometimes from a dream, art, or it just bubbles up from my soul.
I design events that I would want to attend, the kind that make you remember the child-like wonder that is forgotten in the business and uniformity of adult life. That is where the magic lives.
Do you find that budgets have shrunk, and demands have gotten more? What are your strategies for creating high-impact events?
I think it depends on the client, their values and expectations. There will always be clients who trust us and have budgets to allow us to do our best work, and there will always be others who love what we do but don’t understand that the level of detail we put in does have costs associated with it.
Some want champagne on a lemonade budget, and if we choose to work with them, our strategy is to focus on the elements that deliver the greatest emotional impact – lighting, performance, and bold statement pieces. We focus on the components that I believe will create the most emotional resonance, and do them really well.
I also build layered experiences: the surprise of a hidden performance, the drama of a lighting shift, the intimacy of scent in a space. Those things cost less than building a set from scratch, but they create a sense of wonder that lingers.
With so much focus on technology, how do you ensure that events still deliver that essential human connection?
Technology is a tool, but connection is the heart. A giant LED screen means nothing if that’s all there is and people feel isolated in the room. I use tech as a way to enhance emotion, not replace it.
At one of our corporate gala dinners, we wove in projection and cinematic LED visuals, but paired them with live performers, candlelight, and shared storytelling moments. The tech enhanced the real live performances and touches we had curated rather than replace them.
Guests didn’t just watch a show; they felt a collective energy ripple through the room. Connection is about those goosebump moments when humans laugh, cry, and celebrate together. Tech should serve that, not overshadow it.
How has the purpose of corporate events shifted in the last few years?
The balance has definitely shifted. Pre-2020, corporate events were heavy on sales and lead generation. Now, there is an equal, sometimes greater, emphasis on internal culture, teambuilding, and wellbeing. Employees need to feel connected, inspired, and valued, not just sold to.
I approach every brief by asking: how do you want your guests to feel? For sales-driven events, we design experiences that celebrate innovation, brand power, and client wins. For culture-driven events, we create immersive spaces that encourage play, collaboration, and pride. Both matter, and the magic is in weaving them together seamlessly.
What is one piece of advice you would provide to event organisers and corporate planners in this time and space?
Guests are hungry for meaning and memory, they may not even know this, but it is our job to show them. They want to be surprised, delighted, transported. My advice is: choose imagination over imitation. Take a risk. Build a forest inside a ballroom. Turn a staff meeting into an interactive journey. Look beyond the checklist and ask yourself ‘how can I make a memory here?” Your audience will forgive imperfections if you give them a story worth telling the next day.
Looking ahead, how do you see Australia’s events industry evolving over the next three to five years? Will you be planning overseas expansion?
Australia is stepping into an age of experiential bravery. I see the industry moving away from “cookie-cutter” events and towards immersive storytelling and sensory design. Creativity will be the differentiator. At Event Society, we are investing in partnerships with incredible performers, designers, and technologists who help us push the boundaries of what’s possible.
As for expansion, I will go wherever there are clients and companies who appreciate our approach to event design and delivery. The Asia Pacific market excites me enormously. If the right opportunity came to create a truly imaginative activation overseas, I would leap. But it would have to be the right project, one that allows us to showcase what I do best: bold, beautiful, heart-led storytelling.
