Design and logistics each fail without the other.

principle — attributed to Mary Boone

Boone coined the term meeting design in 2005 and has been clear ever since about what the term covers. The designer's job is to purposefully integrate the form and content of the meeting within the constraints of venue, budget, and available technology. The best design in the world will not work if the logistics are not buttoned up. The best logistics in the world will not produce anything worth attending if no one has thought through the design and its impact on the participants. The two disciplines are not in competition. They are co-requisites, and either one missing collapses the whole.

For organizations splitting their event function across design and operations teams that do not coordinate closely. The principle is most useful as a diagnostic when an event looks good on paper and falls flat in execution, or vice versa.

meeting-design, logistics, execution, production