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Working Late
Auckland · Realised · Festival creative and experience design with Department of Arts and NextGen Touring.
Working Late was a one-day winter music and art festival co-produced by NextGen Touring and Department of Arts, taking place in Auckland at Shed 10. Held over two consecutive years, the event drew 2,000 attendees and was designed as a fully independent production that blended performance, installation, and absurdist spectacle. The goal was to fill a gap in Auckland’s off-season cultural calendar with something distinctly DOA: art-led, immersive, and irreverently fun.
3D Design
3D Motion Graphics
Branding
Experience Design
Graphic Design
Spatial Design
Event Design
Experience
Logo Mark
Look and Feel
Motion Graphics
Product
Challenge
The core challenge was building hype around an experience-first, art-led festival—one that didn’t rely on a typical headline-driven marketing strategy. Selling tickets to a concept that hadn’t been seen before proved difficult, especially in winter when Auckland’s event calendar is sparse. Additionally, staging something of that scale as a self-owned, independent production came with financial and logistical pressure to deliver a truly unique experience that could justify its ticket price.
Approach
We leaned into absurdity and play. The approach was to fuse a game show aesthetic with a music festival experience—blurring the line between guest and contestant. The venue was transformed into a theatrical world: upon entry, guests received a ticket to drop into a large barrel for prize draws throughout the night. Smaller sponsored giveaways (from Beach Brains, Spark, Aotea Skincare) were structured like mini game show rounds—spin-the-wheel, pick-the-briefcase, answer-the-question style interactions. The entire show was art-directed around this concept with custom sets, lighting, signage, and performance mechanics.
Performers
Output
In Year One, we built a spinning main stage set complete with theatrical flats and game show visuals. The centrepiece was a 1999 Suzuki Carry van, covered in full event vinyl and mounted on a motorized turntable on stage—which we gave away to one lucky attendee live on the night. In Year Two, we scaled things up with an even bigger set and another major prize: a brand-new Yamaha Tri-City three-wheeled motorbike, courtesy of Yamaha. The structure, entry mechanics, and game show flow remained similar across both years, but each evolved creatively and technically to raise the bar.
Working Late was a wild, hilarious, and deeply memorable success. It sold out both years, with the concept of art-first programming combined with physical, interactive spectacle proving that non-traditional formats can cut through. It left attendees talking about the experience long after, reinforcing DOA's capability not just as fabricators or designers—but as festival producers and creative visionaries. Massive thanks to James and Bruce from NextGen Touring for being such crucial collaborators in making the madness happen.
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