Pourri 2024 SXSW Activation

Case Study: Bringing The Funk To SXSW

For SXSW 2024~Pourri presented a multi-layered brand activation. Merging interactive events, music showcases, and tech together, ~Pourri set out to generate massive brand recognition amongst a community of creators.

The activation included Camp Funk, a summer camp inspired installation, The Funk Factory, a week-long party featuring 25+ artists and DJs, a bunch of bathroom takes-overs, and a mobile app powered by NFC technology.

My Role

I directed the end-to-end app experience—from UX and UI to visual design, execution, and live support—and also led the graphic design for all event installations, ensuring a cohesive creative direction across both digital and physical touchpoints.

My Collaborators

Marketing Lead: Josh Herrington
App Development: Defino Galindo
Graphic Design: ~Pourri Creative
Gamification Strategy: The Octalysis Group

Let's Get Into It:

Developing The Funk Factory App

The Funk Factory App was created to test in the possiblities associated with embedding NFC chips into ~Pourri's products.

Perfect for an event like like SXSW we would be able test in real time how users would respond to our hypothesis. This is how we did it:

Step 1: Understand The Big Picture

Introduce NFC Tap Tech

To serve as a beta test for the NFC Tap technology we needed to incorporate this component in as many areas as possible.

The intention of embedding NFC chips is for the product itself to serve as a key. Once tapped with a smartphone, users should be lead to a digital platform that deepens the experience of using the product.

We decided to interpret this literally, upon tapping the bottle with your phone, users would unock an access key exclusive brand content, prizes and events.

Step 2: Design The User Journey

Gamify The Experience

In collaboration with The Octalysis Group we developed a user journey based on principles of gamification.

The thoughtful balance of risk vs. reward created an experience that would naturally motivate users to come back to the app each day of the festival to engage with our activations and earn rewards.

(I apologize for the blur, but some things are proprietary!)

Step 3: User Interface + Development

Applying an Agile Workflow

Considering our massive time constraints we needed to begin building this app before the user interface design was complete.

My Sr. Developer and I worked closely together to start with a basic a wireframe that would allow him to build the framework, while I worked out more detailed visuals.

Step 4: Design Strategic Visuals

Unify Brand Touchpoints

The app would stand as a key unifying component for all of ~Pourri's SXSW touch-points, so it was important to develop a design system that could be incorporated not only into the app itself, but shared with creative partners, incorporated into IRL events.

To create a look that felt as special as our activation, I created a dramatic twist on ~Pourri's typical primary brights and vintage florals by inverting our typical color pallet and creating library of chunky graphic florals.

Step 5: The Finishing Touches

Animation and Interaction

The app wouldn't have the immersive experience we were intending without a little motion.

I developed a base illustration inspired by our Funk Factory concept, then collaborated with animation studio nTropics to bring the vision to life.

And that was just half (ok maybe 2/3rds) of it:

Graphic Design For IRL Activations

After all that app design, it was time to make sure our activations were the real star of the show.

In collaboration with ~Pourri's epic team of graphic designers, producers and event planners

This is no port-a-potty

VIP Bathroom Trailer Design

To give SXSW attendees a true taste of the ~Pourri experience, we transformed luxury bathroom trailers across the festival.

I partnered with ~Pourri’s creative team to adapt the Funk Factory App’s design system, creating bold, immersive visuals that brought the brand to life.

Speakeasy +Moody Theater

Bathroom Takeover

Building on our trailer design, we also transformed the bathrooms at Rolling Stone Magazine’s artist showcase at the Moody Theater in Austin, as well as every bathroom in our IRL Funk Factory activation.

Wanna Funk?

Wild Postings

To spread the word about our events across the city, we designed a series of wild postings that captured attention at every corner. Inspired by the bold, funky aesthetics of the ’70s, the posters paired retro design elements with cheeky, literal photography—striking the perfect balance of nostalgia and playful irreverence to draw people in.

A little reflection:

Crazy.. but, I loved it 🥵

Reflecting on this project is… a lot. Each component could have easily taken months to execute, yet somehow it all came together in just 45 days.

It was HARD, and there are plenty of things I wish I’d had more time to refine. Testing on the app was limited, and yes it glitched a couple of times during the event (though thankfully everything was quickly resolved). Collaborating with designers on the illustrations meant constant iteration and improvement in real time. At one point, I almost missed Janelle Monáe’s DJ set because I was outside teaching people how to use the NFC functionality.

But here’s the thing: to this day I still meet people who were at those events, used the app, and tell me it was the most exciting thing they saw at SXSW that year.

I connected with leaders from huge brands who were genuinely interested in the technology and experience I had poured my creativity and energy into. I even had a random encounter at an oyster bar with someone reminiscing about the time Poo~Pourri took over the Moody Center bathrooms completely unaware that I had designed it all.

Beyond those ego-boost moments, the project gave us a massive amount of valuable user data that’s been essential in evolving our TAP technology and building stronger apps.

Projects of this scale, at this speed, shouldn’t be the norm, but sometimes the impact and learning make the chaos worth it. I’ll never forget working on this one, and I’m proud to have brought such a goofy, yet undeniably epic, experience to life

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