I was chosen as lead designer for PitchBook's hospitality chalet at the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome after pitching an idea that tied the event's history back to our data. I designed ten walls that told the story of the Ryder Cup's beginnings, plus welcome cards and signage throughout the space. Interior views shown are visualizations of the final graphics in our build partner's renders.
Creative Team
Design Lead: Claire Teters
Design Support: Audrey Easley
Creative Director: Jennifer Sam
Copy Lead: Kelly Knickerbocker
Design QA: Chris Drysdale
Copy QA: Daniel Craig
Project Manager: Becca Houske
The idea
Samuel Ryder, the man the trophy is named after, was a seed merchant who started the matches 100 years before Rome to promote his company. That gave us our theme: big things come from tiny seeds. I paired his story with PitchBook data on golf startups at the seed stage, so the room connected golf's history to what our clients use us for every day.
Exploration
I sketched directions right on top of the build partner's floor plan and wall elevations. Early rounds leaned on a living plant wall and on PitchBook's Emerging Spaces research. The final system kept the growth idea but traded the plants for bold rings and a warm orange that reads from across the room.
The walls
The walls read in order as guests move through the room: the headline, Samuel's story, what the Ryder Cup became, and the seeds being sown in golf right now, with real startups, when they were founded and what they've raised. I built every wall at 1:10 scale against the elevations so the copy cleared the TVs, bar and buffet.
Guest touchpoints
The same system carried into the pieces guests held in their hands: an A5 welcome card with the week's itinerary, made in two day and four day versions depending on each guest's trip, plus signage for the phone charging station.
The result
The chalet sold out and every invitee showed up. The event photographer told us it was by far the most thought out space he'd seen, and that he'd never seen anyone tie back to the Ryder Cup the way we did. His photos of our chalet were later used to promote the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage.
