Side quests
Essay·August 12, 2026·1 min read

Lights, Camera, Step-and-Repeat

Two years designing for the World Culture Film Festival, and a Hollywood world premiere at the Chinese Theater that had me building a 40-foot step-and-repeat on the sidewalk.

Some things you design on a screen. Others you get to stand next to at full scale, ten feet tall, out on the sidewalk. For two years I designed for the World Culture Film Festival, and somewhere in the middle of it a Hollywood world premiere landed on my plate.

For WCFF 2024, I made the things people walk past and pose in front of: a 10 by 10 foot step-and-repeat, wall-hung posters, signage, the logo, a full retrospective magazine, and the festival website on Squarespace.

For 2025, I stepped back into a creative direction seat. I migrated the site over to Framer, laid out the vision for the season, and handed production to a talented designer who brought all the assets to life.

Then came Alix. On December 5, 2024, the film had its world premiere at the iconic TCL Chinese Theater, and I got to design at a scale I had never worked at before. The step-and-repeat stood 10 feet high and 40 feet wide, assembled right on the carpet outside the theater. I cut 5-second hype videos that played across 20 screens around the TCL, and coordinated the ticketing behind a fully sold-out IMAX house of 1,000 seats.

A few pieces from those nights are below, along with the full galleries.

The WCFF 2024 schedule
The Original Site on Squarespace, now migrated to Framer
The protagonist of Alix, standing next to the step and repeat
The team, outside the TCL Chinese Theater

See the full work on Behance: World Culture Film Festival 2024 and World Culture Film Festival 2025.