Case study — experience & spatial design
Ellington Properties — Brokers Awards Ceremony 2024
A $10M+ luxury jazz-themed awards evening for Ellington Properties, staged at Jumeirah Beach Resort, Dubai, for VIP brokers. I set the concept and visitor journey from Ellington's sophisticated brand guidelines and led the execution across every zone so the brand read consistently all night. My role: creative director & art director — concept, direction, and leading the 3D team to execution.
Client
Ellington Properties
Event / location
Jumeirah Beach Resort · Dubai
Year
2024
My role
Creative & art director
Agency
Elements ME
Deliverable
Concept, art direction & 3D team lead
The brief
Ellington Properties needed a brokers awards ceremony that fused modern sophistication with timeless glamour for a VIP audience. I drew the concept from Ellington's elegant brand guidelines, shaped the venue as one continuous jazz-themed journey, and directed a freelance 3D team to execute it across a $10M+ production, concept to delivery.
Tone
Elegant · upscale · jazz glamour
Palette ref
Black · bronze · patterned marble
Structure
Seven-zone linear journey
Visitor journey
01
Entrance - Arrival tunnel
02
Bar - Jazz centrepiece
03
Activation - Interactive corner
04
Main stage - Awards focal point
05
F&B - Bespoke service
01 — Entrance
(Threshold)
Built form · layered tunnel · arrival
Arrival
I set the entrance as a sleek black-marble tunnel layered with triangular frames, drawing VIP guests through depth toward the room. I anchored the concept in Ellington's brand, with gold accents, geometric pattern and the wordmark crowning the threshold. I directed the 3D team to make the tunnel compress, then release, turning arrival into a deliberate sense of occasion.
Black marble
Triangular frames
Gold accents
Geometric pattern
Design decision: I built the entrance as a layered tunnel so guests pass through depth and read the brand's luxury before entering.directed the 3D team to make the tunnel compress, then release, turning arrival into a deliberate sense of occasion.
Format
Built tunnel
Material
Marble + gold
02 — Bar
(centrepiece)
Outdoor bar · sculptural lighting · networking
Social
I directed the bar as the evening's social centrepiece, themed around modern jazz. I specified polished countertops, sleek gold accents, and sculptural lighting to set a warm, upscale tone, with minimalist stools to keep the look refined. It gives brokers a relaxed, elegant space to network while live jazz carries the atmosphere.
Polished counter
Gold accents
Sculptural lighting
Minimalist stools
Design decision: I made the bar a sculptural focal point so the networking zone reads as luxury rather than a service stop.
Format
Outdoor bar
Material
Gold + polish
03 — Activation
Corner · multi-station · experiences
(interactive)
Activation
I shaped the activation corner as a set of interactive moments that hold the jazz theme. I brought together a champagne wall for a touch of luxury, a piano corner for live music, and a vinyl wall as a nod to the evening's sound. Bespoke photo opportunities give guests a polished, on-brand space to capture the night.
Design decision: I clustered the interactive pieces into one corner so the jazz theme becomes something guests step into, not just hear.
Champagne wall
Photo booth
Vinyl wall
Piano corner
Format
Activation corner
Theme
Modern jazz
04 — Main stage
(focal)
Stage · grand platform · awards focal point
Live
I made the main stage the centrepiece of the evening, a grand platform carrying the same black-and-bronze geometric language. I directed it to frame both the awards presentation and the headline performance, with elegant detailing scaled to anchor the room. The stage gives the ceremony its focal point and its sense of arrival.
Grand platform
Black + bronze
Geometric detail
Awards focal
Design decision: I extended the venue's geometric language onto the stage so the room's focal point still reads as one continuous brand.
Format
Built stage
Palette
Black + bronze
05 — Décor
(Ambient)
Lighting · accent layer · atmosphere
I built the décor as the ambient layer that ties every zone together. I used refined lighting beams to cast an opulent glow across key elements, with gold table lamps and soft floor lamps creating warm, intimate pockets through the space. A champagne tower stands as a glamorous focal accent, lifting the overall sense of occasion.
Ambient beams
Gold table lamps
Floor lamps
Champagne tower
Design decision: I layered warm, intimate lighting over the geometric shell so the venue feels exclusive rather than austere.
Format
Lighting layer
Palette
Champagne tower
06 — F&B
Stations · mixology · branded service
(bespoke)
Service
I treated food and beverage as part of the design language, not a separate service. I directed a bespoke mixology station as an interactive, refined element, with branded ice cubes carrying the identity into every glass. Optional food stations extend the same upscale tone, keeping the detail consistent down to what guests hold in hand.
Mixology station
Bespoke cocktails
Branded ice
Food stations
Design decision: I branded the details down to the ice cubes so the identity holds even at the smallest scale.
Format
F&B stations
Detail
Branded ice
Outcome
One continuous brand, entrance to stage.
I led a freelance 3D team and worked alongside marketing to deliver seven zones that read as one coherent expression of Ellington's luxury — black, bronze and modern jazz carried from the entrance tunnel through to the awards stage so the experience never broke character.
+10M$
Production
05
Zones
VIP
Brokers audience