Where Creativity Meets Strategy: How Lauren Barry Shapes Event Design at Markham
Lauren Barry and Markham Founding Partner Greg Hale at the 2025 Clinton Global Initiative in New York, NY.
“I don’t think many designers even realize this path exists,” says Lauren Barry, Markham’s Vice President of Creative & Design, known affectionately as “LB.” “But that’s part of what makes it so exciting. You get to help shape what the role looks like as you grow.”
Since 2012, LB has helped define the visual identity behind many of Markham’s most high-impact events. From animated screen content and show-stopping stage design to the tiny, thoughtful details that attendees carry home with them, LB’s work blends creative vision with strategic clarity. Her team doesn’t just decorate a space. They design an experience.
Today, as VP of Creative & Design, she leads a talented and ever-growing crew of designers who bring depth, cohesion, and creativity to every client brief, no matter how complex or fast-paced.
Where Storytelling Began
Before she ever worked on large-scale productions or traveled for global summits, LB studied Theater and Media Arts & Design, a creative combination that would eventually shape how she approaches experiential design today.
“I think that background gave me an instinct for storytelling and for thinking about space,” she reflects. “I always loved the idea that you could shape how someone experiences something, just by the way you present it.”
She began her design career in Chicago as a Presentation Specialist, a role that was gaining traction at the time in corporate and agency settings. It was creative, technical, and high-energy, and she found herself thriving in it.
But after having her first daughter, LB began looking for more flexibility in her schedule and the ability to work remotely. Around that time, her husband (who was contracting with Markham) suggested she take on a few small design projects to help the team. She did. And quickly, things grew.
LB and her daughters, Pearl and June, at a Mike Bloomberg campaign stop in Richmond, VA (2020).
Growing With the Work
LB’s early projects for Markham included banners, wayfinding signage, and branded collateral that reflected her eye for detail and talent for storytelling through design. What started small quickly expanded.
“The projects kept getting bigger,” she recalls with a smile, “and over time, Markham became my main freelance client.” Eventually, she joined the company full time, bringing her creative style and thoughtful approach into larger, more strategic roles.
As the company grew, so did her impact. LB’s fingerprints can now be found across some of Markham’s most iconic projects, always evolving and always improving.
More Than Just Aesthetics
To LB, event design is about so much more than how something looks. It’s about how it makes you feel.
“Event graphic design sets the mood the moment someone walks in,” she explains. “It invites guests to think, feel, and experience the event in a specific way.”
Her team’s goal is to design visuals that don’t just impress but connect with people. From welcome signage to digital animations to custom menus, every element is meant to be cohesive, intentional, and emotionally resonant.
“When it’s done well,” LB says, “it can completely transport someone. And when that happens, the event becomes something people remember long after it ends.”
Markham team at the 2022 Clinton Global Initiative in New York, NY.
A Defining Career Moment
One of the most pivotal projects in LB’s time at Markham was her first Clinton Global Initiative event: a multi-day global conference packed with complex, high-stakes deliverables.
“I had never been responsible for producing so much high-level content for such a major, high-stakes event,” she shares. “It was a lot. A tight timeline, constantly shifting pieces, and so many layers of design.”
The project stretched her creatively and logistically. But once the event was finally over, LB didn’t feel exhausted. She felt pure exhilaration.
“When the show wrapped and we had pulled it off… I’ll never forget that feeling. The euphoria was indescribable.”
The Creative Process, Start to Finish
When designing for a large-scale event, LB’s team always begins in the same place: side-by-side collaboration.
“We start by brainstorming and mood-boarding together,” she describes. “There’s something about seeing ideas side by side that sparks direction fast. It helps us develop early concepts and dial in on the exact vibe our client is aiming for.”
From there, it becomes a back-and-forth with clients, producers, and strategists as we refine, adjust, and translate abstract ideas into visuals that feel right for the moment.
LB emphasizes that the key to great design is building in enough flexibility to adapt without losing clarity.
Mainstage at the 2025 Heartland Summit in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Designing a Town-Wide Experience
One of LB’s favorite examples of immersive design in action? The Heartland Summit.
For this multi-venue event, Markham transforms spaces across Bentonville, Arkansas. Each has its own tone, purpose, and energy. The design challenge is to make it all feel seamless.
“We basically transform the town,” LB says, “and every venue has a distinct role. But because the branding threads through all of it, everything feels connected. It’s like the town itself becomes part of the experience.”
That kind of cohesion across locations and formats requires not just great design but a strong foundation of strategy and storytelling.
For someone whose career has spanned military bases, international tours, and last-minute roadside pivots, it’s advice earned from experience and proof that calm, care, and trust will always be the heart of great production.
Designing for Every Angle
Live events don’t have a single vantage point. Someone might be in the front row. Someone else might be in the back corner. A third guest might be watching virtually.
“One of the hardest things about this kind of design is remembering to consider all those perspectives,” LB explains. “Even the simplest-looking graphic usually represents a ton of behind-the-scenes testing, adjusting, and checking it from every angle.”
Her team designs with this in mind from the start, thinking through font scale, color contrast, lighting conditions, and more.
“If it looks effortless, that means we did our job.”
Impact That Sticks
When asked what makes design truly impactful, LB lights up.
“It’s when we’re not just branding a space, but helping our clients tell a story through the environment itself,” she replies.
LB and her team look for moments where guests can engage, not just glance. Maybe that’s an interactive wall, a meaningful quote installation, or a visual that sparks conversation. LB says, “We want people to connect with it. To linger.”
““That sweet spot where design looks good and pulls people in? That’s what we’re chasing every time.”
Behind the Scenes
The Dream Team
While LB is the creative lead, she’s the first to say that her team’s dynamic is what makes the work truly special.
“I get so much inspiration from our team,” she beams. “Everyone comes from different backgrounds and has produced wildly different kinds of work. That makes our creative sessions so much richer.”
She describes Markham’s culture as collaborative to the core with strategists, designers, and producers bringing ideas to the table in a way that pushes everyone forward.
“When the whole team is in the room, throwing out ideas and shaping them together, that’s when the magic really happens.”
Words for the Next Generation
To young designers dreaming of a creative career, LB offers this advice:
“Don’t lock yourself into one idea of what your path has to look like,” she encourages. “Try everything. Say yes to unexpected opportunities. Follow your curiosity.”
That’s what led her to a path she hadn’t imagined before: working alongside people that inspire her while doing work that makes a difference.
“And if you’re lucky,” she says, “you’ll find yourself creating beautiful, meaningful moments with a team that feels like family.”