The Kingdom

CREATIVE DIRECTION

For the Kansas City premiere of ESPN’s The Kingdom, the Kauffman Center was transformed into a red carpet event rooted in the history and visual culture of the Kansas City Chiefs. Guests moved from press arrivals and a cocktail reception through a memorabilia display, screening and closing panel.

The design pulled from details that already felt connected to football, including field markings, athletic tape, chalkboard textures, play diagrams, and layers of old posters and photography. Historic imagery and hand-drawn details added texture, while oversized typography, large fields of Chiefs red and cleaner architectural moments kept everything bold and polished.

For the main press backdrop, we moved away from a standard repeating step-and-repeat and created a full field-inspired scene with dimensional lettering, tunnel imagery and a dramatic red carpet. That same visual language continued across the entry graphics, photo moment and reception, then carried through the smaller details like credentials, menus, signage and reserved seating.

Role:
Experiential Designer + Art direction

Agency:
agenc

Client:
ESPN / Disney

Location:
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Kansas City, Missouri

Date:
August 24, 2025

A museum-style installation brought real pieces of Chiefs history into the reception. Uniforms, equipment, photographs and archival objects were displayed in modern vitrines with short descriptions, giving guests time to explore the team’s history before entering the screening. The quieter presentation created a nice contrast with the louder, more graphic moments throughout the rest of the event.

That same visual system carried through all of the smaller pieces, including credentials, wristbands, bar wraps, menus, coasters, wayfinding and reserved seating. Not every item needed to be a huge design moment, but keeping those details consistent helped the experience feel complete as guests moved from the red carpet into the reception and theater.