Creatives in Bloom…sbury.

Unlike its sister show Cannes Lions, Eurobest moves to a new European location every year, with the 2017 event staged in a cold, wet, wintry London in November. Did 2LK’s senior designer Kyle see the light in spite of this?

Cannes Lions is the world’s biggest celebration of creativity. Every year, people from all over the world descend on the French Riviera to be inspired by award-winning work and engage with cutting-edge thought leadership – not to mention the sun, sea, food, drink and other festivities that the event and city have to offer. It’s the epitome of cool. The global creative industry giving itself a high five. And I’m pretty proud of 2LK’s involvement in Cannes Lions.

So I was kind of expecting more of the same from Eurobest, the smaller, more intimate European cousin to Cannes Lions, but it’s delightfully different. This year’s London location could have possibly played a part in that. Swapping shades and trilby hats for coats, scarves and a decidedly trendy London vibe, Eurobest 2017 took place in the edgy basement venue of Victoria House in Bloomsbury Square.

Like Cannes Lions, the event takes on a different graphic style each year. The overall design language was simple, with a minimal ‘less is more’ approach providing ample room for visitors to move around. Ground lighting accentuated the building’s character, a cost-effective way to add interest.

Almost certainly inspired by the Bloomsbury location, moving floral motifs on LED tiles served as digital backdrops to the stages, with content on the tiles also supporting the live presentations. The mix of floral motifs and presentation content, however, was sometimes a distraction from the people on stage, and the glare made it hard to look at them for long periods of time. That said, there was an undeniable hip factor about it and it certainly drew people to the stages.

There were dozens of presentations on offer about creativity and its impact on business, but change consultancy Utopia’s talk on the creative industry’s future stood out for me. It highlighted current problems and forecasted solutions: tackling working in collaboration, inclusion of all, leadership, focusing on ourselves, and how creatives can act differently to shape a better industry. Much food for thought.

Eurobest 2017 shone a lens on how the creative industry operates, now and in the future: motivating content of aspirational work; insights into working with, for and managing other creatives; reflections on world problems and how creatives can be part of the solutions; analysis of challenging social issues in the workplace and how we can create a more diverse, fair-minded industry. I left on a high, better understanding my role in shaping its future.