Serious about silly?
Playgroup Festival
An immersive character-driven festival that transformed audiences into participant clans through CX design, building an authentic community and growing attendance from 400 to 3k people.
Challenge
Playgroup began as a successful Brighton club night with theatrical pop up events. The ambition was to grow it into something bigger, communal and sustainable. The challenge was designing a festival from the ground up, not from music programming. It needed to feel magical, cinematic and social. The concept had to bridge campaign and real world, with a brand that was instantly recognisable and acted as a creative call to arms.
Approach
I worked as creative partner to the founders, shaping narrative, visual identity, and experience design. We designed each festival around eight clan characters and a story system. I led art direction, print, digital, promotion, spatial interactions and environments. Costumes and games became one continuous world experienced before, during, and after the festival. The focus was creating a brand that was all about participation.
Outcome
Each ticket came with one of eight themed character cards, meaning attendees arrived in character as part of a story. Each year the festival became a themed world across stages, bars, games and performance spaces. Groups were drawn into interactive narratives that connected strangers in playful, often silly ways. I produced brand systems, campaigns and promotional materials, then help programmed music, performances and games.
Impact
Playgroup grew into a creative movement, not just a festival. Alongside the team, I helped establish the Blind Tiger venue as our permanent cultural home, hosting gigs, exhibitions, and community events. Together we built an ecosystem of artists, performers, and audiences. The experience shaped my philosophy around culture as design, and design as a catalyst for belonging, identity, and shared joy across digital and physical worlds.
Year of the animals
I art directed and produced a wide array of promo materials like posters, flyers, money, character cards, tickets, websites, promo videos, festival spaces and architecture, signage, games, digital campaigns, publicity stunts and more. These helped build a cohesive narrative, connecting audiences across physical and digital story-worlds, bringing our brand and community alive.
Year of year of the toys
Exploration of a category-based design systems
The concept was born out of encyclopaedia and animal species posters. A system-level design approach where the sum is greater than its parts, and the parts are human. Creative direction expanded from there, drawing on bookish typography and Latin species naming to form a cohesive visual language.
Our festival and music venue
We cultivated a community through our annual festival and 200‑capacity music venue, inviting artistic collectives from music, cabaret and visual arts to express and connect. By designing open briefs and providing platforms, we empowered people to create shared meaningful experiences.
Reflection
Magic comes from the time, the place, and the people, so make sure to appreciate these times
The beauty of creative communities, and the importance of platforming creative talent
The intrinsic power of dynamic systems, so much was born out of simply building themed tribes of people
