“The use of color in my paintings is of paramount importance to me.
Through color I have sought to concentrate on beauty and happiness,
rather than man’s inhumanity to man.”
— Alma Woodsey Thomas

Alma Woodsey Thomas is one of my favorite artists of all time. I love her abstract expressionist paintings and her use of bright and vibrant colors inspired by flowers and nature. The majority of her work was created while she was in her 80s and she was the first African American woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

The following are color palettes inspired by some of her paintings. These are useful color palettes for a variety events including cocktail parties, birthday parties, fundraising dinners, weddings, garden parties, and baby showers.

Here are a few resolutions to consider as you implement your corporate events strategy for 2018.
 
Start with objectives.
Identify key priorities and goals for the event. It’s a good idea to ask what you want to accomplish with the event. Even with annual events, objectives can change from year to year. One year, it could be promoting a new service offering. Another year, it could be raising the profile of a company leader. Even if stakeholders don’t want to be bothered with objectives, you can create your own objectives based on your understanding of the event. The answers should dictate how you proceed with planning and drive the event marketing plan. Clearly identifying objectives at the beginning of the planning process, makes life easier for everyone and keeps everyone on track.
 
Focus more on Value vs. ROI.
ROI is a term people love to use as they debrief after the event, often when team members are often focused on the next big project and there is little opportunity to change anything about the event. Focusing on ROI is a passive activity that looks backwards. Value is present moment - focused and enables you to find ways for achieving objectives at every phase of the event life cycle. Focusing on value ensures you get the most for your investment throughout the event by taking advantage of opportunities to realize benefits before, during and after your event.