Case Study

CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite Helps
Bring Hollywood Events to Life
Overview
Name: David Merrell
Company: An Original Occasion
Location: Los Angeles, California
Industry: Event Planning
Product: CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite“Since we started using CorelDRAW, we've noticed amarked increase in the number of our proposals that arebeing accepted.” – David Merrell
An Original Occasion is a Los Angeles-based special events
production company renowned for its fabulous themed events
that have hosted American presidents and Hollywood's elite.
Whether they are working on movie premieres, social functions,or corporate events, the creative team at the company relies onCorelDRAW® Graphics Suite to win business and deliver theiraward-winning projects.
David Merrell, president and founder, has used CorelDRAW
Graphics Suite exclusively since he was introduced to the powerfuldesign package seven years ago by his Creative Director Cindy
Wiedenheft, and swears it is a key component of his success.
“Since we started using CorelDRAW, we've noticed a marked
increase in the number of our proposals that are being accepted.
With this software, we are able to provide proposals filled withdetailed graphics that fully illustrate the vision we have for theevent. CorelDRAW Graphics Suite allows us to bring a room to lifeon paper—which absolutely convinces our clients that we canmaster their event."
Great Graphics Create a Competitive Advantage
A staple in the Hollywood events
scene, An Original Occasion usesgraphics to communicate thecompany's vision to clients. Event
planning, David explains, is a very
conceptual and competitive
business. "It's really hard to convey
just what you intend for an eventwith words. You can use all theadjectives in the dictionary, but aclient can still imagine something completely different than what
you intended. Visuals are key to success. By using CorelDRAW

Graphics Suite to provide acomplete layout, we caneasily convey our intentions
and iron out the details
within minutes. Whenpresenting a proposal thatprovides a realistic picture of
the room complete withprops, decor and lighting
effects, it takes amassive burden off theclient. They know we're
really interested – andmost importantly highlycapable.”
To ensure that thecustomer has a clearidea of the team's vision
during the planning andproposal process, An
Original Occasion often
uses both applications in the suite, CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTOPAINT ®, together to create realistic illustrations fora client's consideration. Starting with a photo of the room orvenue, the designer uses Corel PHOTO-PAINT to optimize thephoto, improving details like its color, brightness and size. The
improved image is then imported into CorelDRAW where vector
graphics of the planned elements like chairs, tables, and props areadded. The end result? An Original Occasion is able to provide thecustomer with an accurate image of the final look and feel of theevent, ensuring that everyone can visualize the proposed end
result right from the start.
David says that the realistic portrayal of space continues todifferentiate his company from the competition. When competingin this multi-million dollar business, clients want to be impressed.
"An event plan is an intangible product. Using CorelDRAW in theproposal process has tripled our closing percentage! Some event
planners use industry-specific event planning software or CAD

Case Study

products for layout and design. However, these tools don't givethe same level of detail. We are really able to personalize ourplans using CorelDRAW, down to the very last detail. I'drecommend CorelDRAW Graphics Suite to anyone with an interestin realistic design!”
From Proposal to Event of the YearIn addition to creating powerful proposals, the team at An
Original Occasion can create graphics to be used throughout
planning and coordination. "Weare completely dependent on
CorelDRAW to execute an event.
Whether rendering props anddécor, or creating a schematicwith the layout of the event ona grid to scale, we use thesoftware at every step along
the way. It
makes project
execution wildly
simple.”CorelDRAW
Graphics Suitealso helps AnOriginal
Occasion beflexible whenworking on
projects that
may be planned in rural areas or in a location far from LA—saving
the company significant time and money. The company's
graphically rich plans are so detailed and complete that the event
planner can confidently hand off the “on location”
work to local staff to execute. "With our very detailed schematics,
everything is outlined for the local staff, with no need for theplanner to ever visit the site, saving me many travel hours. Thisincreases my capacity to build and manage the business."© 2009 Corel Corporation. All rights reserved 9/09 JB#2434-09

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite – An Easy Choice"When I teamed up with
Cindy seven years ago," Davidsays, "she told me we simply
must use CorelDRAW forevent preparation. Now, wewouldn't turn back.
CorelDRAW is an essential
part of our business."
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
has become such an integral
part of An Original Occasion
that each new recruit must
learn the program to join thecompany. "In order totransform a room in keepingwith a client's theme, ouremployees must use
CorelDRAW to show every
little detail and present a plan that will make a lasting
impression." He says that CorelDRAW Graphics Suite has theadded benefit of being easy to use, so new staff are able to get
up to speed quickly.
By offering ease of use and powerful graphics capabilities,
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite has helped An Original Occasion growits business by delivering some of the most well-respected eventsin the industry. Whether they are creating proposals or executing
on a client's vision down to every last detail, David says: “In somany ways, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite aids in the success of ourbusiness immensely.”
To learn more about CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, visit
www.corel.com/coreldraw.

United Kingdom