Nick Conley on Designing Creative Events That Deliver Exceptional Experiences

“What is possible?”

That is a question Elevoque’s Senior Event Designer, Nick Conley, asks when merging a client’s vision for an event with their budget, available resources, and, of course, his skills.

Event planning is often thought of as a fun or lighthearted job, but those who do the work day in and day out know it is anything but.

“I think it’s so easy to get caught up in the sexiness behind doing events, but it is truly a selfless job. You have to really love it, and you have to really want to see your clients win,”

Nick told me when I asked him what advice he might have for those thinking about joining the industry.

A Chicago Native, Nick discovered that event work allowed him to explore his creativity and put it to use in a way that many other jobs simply can’t.

“It started early on. I was interested in helping people, and I had a love for creativity that initially pulled me into student council. I wanted to figure out how I could make all of this a thing. My first full-time job was in catering, and it was my interest in hospitality that pulled me into all of it. I like to say I’m a conference kid because I used to travel with my mom, who worked for an ear, nose, and throat doctor. I went around with her to all of these different conferences. She’d drop me off at kids’ care, and as a kid, this seemed so cool – the traveling and everything. It was super memorable. Now, it feels like I’ve made it full circle. I think it’s a culmination of circumstances and experiences that have led me to want to be a part of the industry.”

When I met Nick several years ago through his work with Elevoque (which was, at the time, part of the Ethos Event Collective), he stood out to me as someone who is fun, hardworking, and very focused on-site. I quickly learned that, as one of the event designers, he was the creativity behind some of my favorite events I’d seen put on in the City of Chicago. He has an impressive eye for colors, themes, and use of space that I tried to study when observing his work.

Once I had decided to revive Chicago Planner Magazine, I knew that Nick needed to be one of my first Industry Professional features. The foundation of CPM is the belief that the only way to become a better event planner is to continuously study others with greater skills than you and learn as much as you can about as many things as possible. After seeing Nick in action, I realized that everyone has something to gain by knowing more about him.

“When I walk into an event, I know there is creativity when it is a start-to-finish experience, and the event speaks for itself. No one has to explain the rhyme or reason, it’s the same as when you walk into a restaurant. For me, it’s the full storyline, the full experience. It’s not just the environment, it’s the lighting, it’s the sounds – that’s my goal at every event. I truly think events are art, and the art should showcase itself.”

I will be the first to say that event planning is misunderstood by most people as a fun and jovial job that allows people to partake in the frivolities of life with little or no consequence. It has been my hope that, since the pandemic – when everyone was stuck inside and there were no meetings with colleagues, no weddings, no celebrations, and at times, no funerals – that perhaps the public has come to understand both the societal and economic impact of our world.

It’s a tough job because you have multiple aspects in one role that, in any other field, would be separated into different jobs – like organizing details, handling budgets, managing projects, overseeing client requests, and fitting it all into a timeline. To do this well requires years of skill. And even with skill, the best planners have something you might not be able to replicate with practice: creativity.

“I think I’ve grown through experiences, including the level of my imagination and wanting to not give up on that potential. I think COVID made me realize that I don’t want to work somewhere like a bank. Ultimately, people started to reach out to me to help them out with their events, like graduations and park-and-pull-up opportunities. It made me stretch my imagination and gave me even more confidence that I am in the right place, and I’ve done the right things to be where I am.”

While it’s clear that Nick’s award-winning work is fueled by his drive and unique ideas, it doesn’t mean that creativity doesn’t require a lot of hard work.

“Being creative can be so draining because I am always pushing myself to come up with new things. I’m looking to be the best, and what people don’t know is that I am such a researcher. I’m inspired by everything. Early on, it used to be music videos because that was something that was reachable for me. I learned a lot about lighting, and music and timing just from watching them (not working on them). That inspired me, along with movies and my personal experiences. I am a sponge, and I think that’s why I enjoy going out sometimes, because you get to absorb so much about what people truly enjoy. But it can’t just be about me. This is selfless work because what I do has to reflect the client.”

One of the things that I believe makes Nick’s creativity blend into seamless events is his actual hospitality experience. His work isn’t just eye-catching – he creates a full world that makes you feel thought of.

“It’s not just about what looks good or makes for a pretty picture. It’s about functionality…”

“…it’s about dietary restrictions. The most challenging thing is being mindful of conceptual ideas versus what you can actually execute. Being a creative, you want to dream, but you have to be strategic. I also have an operational background, so I always ask, ‘How do we actually make this work? What is possible?’ That can be hard for people. I’m fortunate enough to have a background in catering, so I always come back to making it work. It’s a differentiator for me. I think I’m approachable, and I’m willing to help. I’ve had a lot of experiences that have made me a well-rounded person, and I can show up in different ways for different people, in the way that they need me.”

But despite all of Nick’s ideas and versatility, he’s well aware that events are not a one-man show.

“More than anything, I love creating an experience and a storyline. But equally important, I love when we can hire small businesses and be able to contribute to their success. As a planner, we have a lot of the ideas or strategic elements, but in order to execute it, we need to bring in partners that get it, and who you can easily walk through it. It’s honestly my favorite part. I enjoy that we can support small businesses.”

The value of supporting small businesses is very important because the events industry represents billions of dollars and contributes greatly to our economy and how we function as a society – a sentiment that both Nick and I strongly share.

“I want people to understand that events and tourism are a large component of our economy. I don’t think it’s talked about enough. We’ve been segmented into three- to four-hour events, but we’re a large component of gathering people and spending money that helps the economy. Events are a part of tourism, they are also a part of leisure, they are a part of business, and our economic growth. Those four hours that people experience have a large opportunity for income – not just for the planner or small business, but it helps generate revenue overall. I wish people would recognize it as more than just a party, but an actual economic opportunity for business.”

Whether Nick is helping to plan incredible events like All-Star Weekend in Chicago or meeting the challenges of large corporate retail holiday parties, the stress is worth it to meet the challenge and create happy clients. And when he’s not spending most of his time working, or with family and friends?

“Um, I love IKEA and World Market! There’s something about home decor that brings me joy, even if I don’t buy anything. There’s just something about those stores!”

More inspiration, perhaps?

Article by Jessica Dalka