Event Design – Architecture and Structure

Hijack is built to be intuitive and flexible. It’s flexibility allows you to structure your events in a number of different ways. SMILE creative services can offer guidance through the initial design of your event to ensure the best experience for you and your users. We know all of the tips on how to create a successful event and all of the pitfalls to avoid.

Our team will consult with your staff to gain an in-depth understanding of your proposed event including the following:

• Target audiences
• Target territories
• Approximate number of attendees
• Proposed length of event and timings
• Content availability
• Your team – structure, widening participation, available resources

This insight will drive the direction of your event, allowing us to advise on the most appropriate architecture.

Practical example: For smaller events we recommend a single Hijack. There may be a requirement for multiple chapters within this Hijack to extend its reach. Larger events can be split into multiple Hijacks with their own chapters (Chapters are repeatable so can be used across multiple Hijacks)

Following an initial briefing session and gathering of insight, we’ll draw up the architecture for your event. We’ll identify the Hijacks and Chapters required. We’ll need some guidance from you on which pieces of content fit into which Chapters.

Once the architecture of your event is approved, you can choose to build the event yourselves. Alternatively, SMILE can build the structure of your event for you.

Event building

Based on the complexity of your event, building Hijacks can be a fairly lengthy process. But don’t worry, our team can help you build the structure of your event. 

Based on the architecture described above, our team can build all of the Hijacks and Chapters required. 

We will build all of the connections between Chapters and Hijacks, so all that is left is to add the content.

What does this mean?

Chapters are repeatable. This means they can appear in multiple Hijacks (there’s no need to create them over and over again). Once Chapters are built, they are assigned to the appropriate Hijacks. 

For example, consider a large scale event aimed at prospective Postgraduate students. The event covers subject areas from across your institution. Each subject area could have their own Hijack that appears on their pages of your main website. Their Hijack contains specific details about their subject area but also covers more generic information such as accommodation. Creating an ‘Accommodation’ Chapter means that it can be reused across all of the subject area Hijacks.

We’ll even design a naming convention which will not only make this event easier to manage, but all future events too.

Identifying and building this structure is pivotal to ensuring a successful event. And once you have the structure, the rest is plain sailing.

Once we’ve finished, all that will be left is for you to populate each of the Chapters and Hijacks accordingly.