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AKLMELLDN

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AKLMELLDN

Auckland Arts Festival

A platform as dynamic as the festival itself.

Industry

Not-for-profit & charity

SERVICE

UX Strategy

UX & UI Design

Website Development

YEAR

2024

WEBSITE

thebigidea.co.nz
A woman with long hair, wearing a fringed top, light pants, and a dark pendant, kneels and looks up under warm orange lighting against a dark background.A woman with long hair, wearing a fringed top, light pants, and a dark pendant, kneels and looks up under warm orange lighting against a dark background.

We partnered with Auckland Arts Festival to build a fully bespoke digital experience that immerses audiences in the programme while giving organisers the flexibility to evolve it in real time.

Auckland Arts Festival presents a diverse and expansive programme of performances, installations and events each year. Their previous monolithic CMS limited agility, making programme updates complex and constraining the evolving visual identity of the festival. We rebuilt the platform from the ground up; delivering a flexible, future-ready system designed to showcase culture at scale while empowering internal teams with full content autonomy.

Camille O'Sullivan, in a dark hat and suit jacket, sits on a floral couch, gesturing, with text "Camille O'Sullivan 'Cave'" and dates 13, 14, 15.Camille O'Sullivan, in a dark hat and suit jacket, sits on a floral couch, gesturing, with text "Camille O'Sullivan 'Cave'" and dates 13, 14, 15.

The experience balances bold, immersive visuals with structured content architecture, making discovery inspiring yet effortless.

Festival audiences explore by date, genre, venue and interest. We designed advanced filtering and intuitive programme pathways that allow users to navigate a high volume of events without friction.

Eight people in diverse, festive costumes pose happily in front of a glowing moon and black balloons.Eight people in diverse, festive costumes pose happily in front of a glowing moon and black balloons.
A woman with voluminous curly hair and red lips, wearing a dark jacket, gazes to the right with red light illuminating her face.A woman with voluminous curly hair and red lips, wearing a dark jacket, gazes to the right with red light illuminating her face.

Once the festival concludes, a static archive system preserves each year’s programme - creating a living digital record while preparing the platform for the next evolution.

Each festival year carries its own visual identity. We developed a modular design system with bespoke theming capabilities, enabling the platform to reflect the unique creative direction of each season without rebuilding the site.

Auckland Arts Festival website displaying various events.Auckland Arts Festival website displaying various events.

The result is a digital platform that performs under pressure while celebrating creativity.

Alongside event discovery, we developed a bespoke donation engine integrated with Stripe - allowing supporters to contribute seamlessly. Behind the scenes, a highly flexible CMS enables organisers to quickly update programme changes, manage content and respond to real-time scheduling adjustments during the festival period.

Auckland Arts Festival website displaying event banners, dance performances, and promotional images.Auckland Arts Festival website displaying event banners, dance performances, and promotional images.
Four mobile screens showcasing different interfaces of the Auckland Arts Festival app, including event listings, categories, and an artist's profile page.Four mobile screens showcasing different interfaces of the Auckland Arts Festival app, including event listings, categories, and an artist's profile page.
A live band and singers perform on stage under bright spotlights, with a silhouetted audience.A live band and singers perform on stage under bright spotlights, with a silhouetted audience.

Outcomes

  • Fully bespoke festival website built from the ground up
  • Advanced filtering across complex event programming
  • Modular annual theming without rebuilds
  • Static archiving system preserving past festivals
  • Stripe-integrated donation functionality
  • Flexible CMS empowering internal teams

Next project

University of Auckland - COMPASS

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