How to sell visuals to your client

A slightly shameless plug —
but maybe a useful one.

A dark room with multiple projection screens showing images and text, including a woman's face and the words 'Brix & Maas'.

If you work in events, stage design, experience concepts or agency life, you probably know this situation:

You feel that visuals could elevate an event significantly…
but explaining why to the client is harder than expected.

Especially because “visuals” can quickly sound like:

  • decoration

  • extra budget

  • “nice to have”

So here are a few thoughts that might help structure that conversation a bit better.
Not to convince clients at all cost — but to arrive at the right solution for the specific event.

And yes, in the end this might create work for me or some other VJ / motion designer.

Here are a few angles that can make the role of visuals easier to communicate:

A hand-drawn blue check mark or X on graph paper.

No Visuals

Lets be honest: Not Every Event Needs Visuals

  • A unplugged concert in an intimate setting.

  • A carefully designed dinner atmosphere.

  • A conversation-focused experience.

Sometimes adding screens actually reduces focus instead of improving it.

And sometimes the better decision is:

less content, less motion design, less stimulation.

Good visuals should support the intention of an event — not justify their own existence.

Simple sketch of the Earth on graph paper with continents outlined.

World Building

Many brands already invest heavily into world building:

through social media, campaigns, testimonials, copywriting, photography and design systems.

An event can either ignore that world completely —

or extend it into physical space.

Screens and projections are not just displays.

They can become part of the continuity between the brand promise and the live experience.

Hand-drawn blue speech bubble on graph paper.

Every event communicates something.

Sometimes explicitly:

  • “be part of the movement”

  • “innovation”

  • “trust”

  • “growth”

Sometimes emotionally:

  • safety

  • excitement

  • confidence

  • belonging

Visuals can reinforce these messages quietly throughout the evening — not just through content, but through rhythm, atmosphere and timing.

Communicating
the Core Message

Sketch of a human figure standing on a rectangular platform, drawn on graph paper.

Visuals work best when they support what is already happening.

  • A speaker.

  • An award moment.

  • A product reveal.

  • A live act.

Good visuals don’t compete for attention.

They help direct it.

Supporting What
Happens on Stage

Hand-drawn cloud icon on graph paper.

Emotional Framing

Before people remember information, they usually remember how something felt.

Visuals can influence:

  • tension

  • calmness

  • anticipation

  • intimacy

  • spectacle

  • energy

Sometimes very subtly.

And often without audiences consciously noticing it.

Hand-drawn map on graph paper with mountains, trees, a river, and a path.

Structure & Orientation

Especially at larger events, visuals can help audiences understand:

  • where to look

  • what matters

  • when something important is happening

Not just emotionally — but structurally.

Empty gallery or art space with large digital screens or projected images on walls depicting artistic portraits of women, in a dimly lit room with a few lights, some scaffolding, and a ladder near the center.

Again:

not every event needs massive visuals, LED walls or motion graphics.

But when visuals are integrated intentionally, they can become part of how an event communicates — not just how it looks.

Get In Touch

if you feel like discussing some ideas
or projects, feel free to reach out

contact
contact