Es Devlin describes herself as an ‘everythingist’, a term borrowed from artist Natalia Goncharova that neatly captures a spectacular practice spanning stage design, architecture, sculpture, theatre and installation art. She is equally at home creating set designs for experimental theatre productions as spectacular live shows, and has worked on Beyoncé's stadium tours, U2’s residency at the Sphere, Olympic opening and closing ceremonies and Super Bowl halftime shows.

Es Devlin: Other Worlds, the designer’s first retrospective in Europe, celebrates her 30-year creative practice. Now open at the Design Museum in London, the exhibition brings together artworks, installations and film alongside the largest solo presentation of Devlin’s archive to date, with marketing, film and exhibition graphics by Pentagram.

Conceived and designed in close collaboration with the artist, the exhibition explores the way Devlin imagines things, her processes and the worlds she creates inside her head.

The design concept for the marketing and communications is based on the idea of entering Devlin’s other worlds. ‘Thresholds’ are a recurrent theme throughout the exhibition, representing a point of entry into her imagination. The colours chosen for the marketing, film and graphic design by the Pentagram team are among Es’ favourites, and feature frequently in her work.

The particular red was taken from the cover of her monograph An Atlas of Es Devlin, and the font used is Es Allianz. The name is a coincidence, but it’s an adaptation (or more modern version) of her favourite font, Helvetica. Early concepts for the graphic design were based more on the otherworldly, eventually reaching a conclusion which felt more paired back, using a more neutral typeface which could carry Es Devlin’s imaginative work. It was very much her desire to use a typeface in the world of helvetica.

The all-caps version also appears in her book, reflecting her unique voice and helping everything feel connected. The animations and film emphasise the feeling of entering into Es‘ imagination, inviting audiences to join her on that journey.

Exhibition highlights include An Infinite Library, a remarkable new kinetic sculpture featuring over 2,000 books that have informed Devlin's worldview. Arranged by colour, many are well thumbed copies drawn directly from Devlin's studio bookshelves.The eight-metre-wide triangular bookshelf rotates on a circular mirror, invoking Umberto Eco's description of a library as a compass of the mind.

Visitors can also see a detailed replica of Es' London studio, filled with her books, objects and maquettes. A wall installation entitled Archive Unboxed presents early sketches, paintings, collages, diaries and prints that Devlin produced at school, university and art college, and has continued to create throughout her practice. These works demonstrate Devlin’s love of drawing and show how all her projects originate from this art form.

Central to the exhibition is the 30-Year Desk, a large-scale circular display specially designed for the gallery space. It references works including Devlin’s set design for The Lehman Trilogy (2018), Forest of Us, shown in Miami in 2021, her work on the London 2012 Olympic Games Closing Ceremony, the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show, and ambitious kinetic stage sculptures created for concert tours by some of the world’s most celebrated musicians. Seen together, the installation allows visitors to trace the evolution of Devlin’s practice and explore the recurring themes at the heart of her work.

Photography by Daniel Devlin @susakpress and David Parry for the Design Museum