For seven years, I grew with an iconic Leeds grassroots venue, evolving from Graphic Design Assistant to Creative Director. This journey paralleled the venue's own transformation from ambitious pop-up to essential hub for underground electronic music and marginalized communities.
As Creative Director from 2019-2023, I led a team of three in crafting visuals across multiple entities: the nightclub, two restaurants, an art gallery, and international festivals. During this period, we secured significant Arts Council and Music Venue Trust funding, launched a successful university cantina location, and organized outdoor festivals featuring artists from Sherelle to People Just Do Nothing.
Our brand strategy was deliberately anti-brand. Each sub-brand, club night, and event maintained its own unique identity while being loosely connected through subtle design elements. This approach reflected our community's DIY ethos and diversity. We played with this concept across the city, creating cryptic billboard campaigns which revealed their secrets only to those who looked closely enough.
Given complete creative freedom, our promotional materials often pushed boundaries with anarchic political messaging and meme-like aesthetics. This bold approach, balancing irreverence with authenticity, earned us viral recognition nationally while cementing our reputation locally as cultural truth-tellers. Our willingness to take creative risks with minimal budgets resonated deeply with our audience, proving that genuine voice matters more than polished presentation.
My role centered on nurturing young creative talent while maintaining this delicate balance of chaos and coherence. Managing designers, illustrators, photographers, and various freelancers, we created an environment where radical creativity could flourish within flexible boundaries. The simultaneous running of art and music programmes transformed the venue into a melting pot for creative relationships.
The success of this approach helped establish the venue as Leeds' premier destination for underground culture, launching countless artists, parties, and labels while providing a nurturing space for emerging talent across disciplines.
