changes to its ticket formats and pricing
this year. Anyone purchasing a full-price
pass can bring a person aged under 25
with them to the festival free of charge,
which Patrick reveals is unique for a
design or creative event.
For the first time, D&AD is also
offering a Sharing Pass. “We know that
small studios struggle to be able to
let staff go to a festival for three days
because they’re so busy,” says Patrick.
“With the Sharing Pass, a studio can
buy one ticket and share it between
three people across the three days of the
festival, so people can take it in turns to
come along.”
Yet while many festival organisers
turn to brand partnerships to raise
finance each year, Lars and Peter
have always been resolutely against
it. “We made the decision very early
on to not to turn Pictoplasma into
a commercial showcase to avoid
giving too much space to brands and
commercial interests,” says Lars. “It
would lack the beauty and surprise
we find motivationally essential. We
work tirelessly to keep the conference
as affordable for creatives to join and
contribute as possible.”
BALANCING THE BRAND
PRESENCE
For Us By Night founder Rizon,
partnerships have been an essential
part of running the festival since the
start, but it’s all about finding the right
partnerships to get to the balance that
makes it sustainable.
“We don’t want to say yes to every
brand, we agree to a partnership if we
see there’s an added value to the overall
Us By Night experience,” says Rizon,
who partnered with Adidas and its
workshop lab last year – a relationship
that has seen the company become
a friend of the event. “We sell out
comfortably and we could probably
raise the ticket price significantly, but
we want to keep the event accessible for
students and upcoming talent. It’s their
energy that makes it not turn into a
corporate event and they surf the night
in the right way!”
While ticket prices for Glug Events
are at the lower end of the scale, the
atmosphere can be just as invigorating
and energising as a conference, offering
a more intimate way to hear from
design heavyweights. Past speakers
include Studio Moross, Monorex,
Google Labs, Manifest, Social Chain,
BBC Creative and Taxi Studio. When it
comes to the business model Ian says it
hasn’t been easy. “It’s tough – it certainlydoesn’t make much profit.
Up to now it’s mostly just
covered its costs. We’re
trying to navigate that
delicate balancing act
between making sure we’re
not charging much to the
community and punters, and then not
working with brands and sponsors that
don’t feel authentic.”
Yet despite the many challenges
faced by festival organisers, their
passion for the industry and belief in
what they do is the fuel that keeps them
going. “It’s ridiculously addictive on so
many levels,” says Rizon. “There’s the
kick of doing something completely
new that just works, while it’s all built
on gut feeling – sometimes naively, butfrom the heart – and when this works
it’s a huge rush and at the same time
there’s still so much room to explore,”
he explains.
Luke agrees, adding that being
part of something so positive is
hugely satisfying. “I get to spend time
throughout the year with an amazing
team. The sleepless nights of worry
and hundreds of hours of admin all are
quickly forgotten when the festival buzz
begins,” he says. “Unexpected moments
are par for the course with events of
this scale, emotions run high and small
snags can feel epic, but mostly it’s lots of
moments of pinching ourselves at how
fortunate we are to do this.”
At the heart of these
events is the desire for
human connection and
creating something
meaningful, Patrick
observes. “So much of our
lives take place online, I
think there’s huge value
in having a space that
brings everyone together
in an open environment. A space to
connect with other creative minds, to be
inspired, to learn, to share.”
“There’s an untameable hunger,”
concludes Rizon. “Seeing people’s eyes
light up is so heart-fulfilling, too. I still
remember vividly how my first OFFF
visit 20 years ago changed my whole
view on design, so the idea of Us By
Night having that same impact on
people is an unmatched fulfilment
in my career.”“WE WANT TO
KEEP THE EVENT
ACCESSIBLE
FOR STUDENTS
AND UPCOMING
TALENT”
RIZON PAREINErik Kessels, creative director of KesselsKramer, speaking at Forward Festival in Vienna.