How is a floats design determined?
The float-building process begins in February with design development sessions between the corporate client commissioning the float and the folks who will build it. Taking into account the parade’s theme and the wishes of the client, in-house designers produce detailed hand-drawn sketches. This year’s theme is “Our Good Nature,” a simultaneous nod to the world’s flora and fauna and the benevolence of mankind. “Once the final design has been selected and hand-colored, I’ll take it from there and begin to interpret that design into the appropriate floral and organic material,” says Hynd, floral director for Fiesta Parade Floats. Hynd chooses flowers primarily for color and effect. For example, Hynd is using masses of crimson carnations to replicate the red crushed-velvet jacket worn by a figure on a float.
