Whenever you’re planning an event you need to generate a computer-aided design, also known as a CAD. This is a blueprint for your event, indicating the location and placement of everything that will be included – from tables and chairs to stages and sculptures.
Why is it so imperative that you create a CAD for your event?
The number 1 reason is that it puts everyone on the same team. An event CAD can be compared to sheet music that everyone is singing from. You, your team, your client, the venue and the fire marshal will all be on the same page.
Most of the time at larger events, CADs are not optional because the fire marshal requires one to conduct a thorough inspection of the space and deem whether or not it’s safe enough – the CAD indicates if something is blocking the sprinklers or fire extinguishers and if there is a sufficient emergency exit. For more tips on working with your local fire marshal click here.
You can also use a CAD to determine if there will be a smooth enough guest flow during your event and where all the electrical power is in the venue so you can arrange things accordingly.
And, don’t be put off thinking it’s hard to do. There are easy-to-use CAD designing software programs on the market, such as VectorWorks or Social Tables.
You can draw one out by hand and hire a CAD designing expert to create one for you.
Before CADs, we would learn the hard way when a venue wasn’t right for our event. We would pursue venues that we fell in love with but that ended up being inefficient, not allowing us to reach our event’s goals. With CADs, this is no longer a problem. We can determine whether or not all of the event’s components will fit ahead of time.
Do you create your own CADs or do you hire a CAD designer? Let us know in the comments.
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