Branding between floors and why transition spaces matter.
When most people think about event branding, they think about stage backdrops, registration desks, presentation templates, and signage. I think about escalators. Not because they’re exciting, but because they’re often one of the first places attendees begin experiencing an event.
How attendees move matters.
During site visits, I pay attention to how people move through a venue. Where do they arrive? Where do they pause? What do they notice first? Escalators often sit in the middle of that journey, connecting spaces while creating branding opportunities many event teams overlook.
I’ve designed messaging along escalator handrails and environmental graphics that transformed the ride between floors into part of the event experience. At one event at ARIA in Las Vegas, we installed a branded graphic pattern along the glass wall beside the escalators leading attendees into the event space. What could have been a simple ride between floors became an extension of the brand.
The escalator isn’t really the point.
Not every event has escalators, of course. Plenty of events take place on a single floor. But many of the larger hotels, convention centers, and multi-level venues do, and that’s where I’ve found some of the most interesting branding opportunities.
The escalator itself isn’t really the point. It’s the transition. It’s the moment between where attendees are and where they’re headed next.
First impressions start before registration.
Before attendees reach registration, enter a keynote, or pick up a badge, they’re already forming impressions. They’re looking around. They’re taking in their surroundings. They’re deciding whether the event feels intentional, connected, and worth paying attention to.
That’s one of the reasons I photograph escalators during site visits. I’m not documenting a way to move between floors. I'm looking at an often-overlooked branding touchpoint.
What do attendees see from the bottom? What do they see from the top? Does the event presence begin here, or does it start later than it should?
Escalators also offer something designers are always looking for: perspective. They reveal attendee traffic patterns, sightlines, gathering spaces, and potential bottlenecks. They show where people naturally look, where they pause, and where branding or wayfinding can have the greatest impact.
The spaces between destinations matter.
The longer I work on events, the more I appreciate the spaces between the main event spaces. Hallways, elevator banks, registration approaches, and escalators rarely appear in event recap videos, but they often have a bigger impact on the attendee experience than people realize.
Those transition spaces are where attendees shift from traveler to participant. They’re where anticipation builds. They’re where first impressions are formed.
Sometimes the most important branding touchpoint isn’t the destination.
It’s the journey between floors.