Designer Deep Dive: Es Devlin

(Above: Lorde at Coachella with stage design by Es Devlin, image courtesy of Es Devlin)

Ever wonder who’s behind the jaw-dropping stages at Beyonce or The Weeknd concerts, or luminous public artworks that have the power to stop you in your tracks? Meet Es Devlin, the designer who turns light, language, and movement into sublime — and utterly unforgettable — experiences. This feature kicks off our Designer Deep Dive series, where we spotlight the creative minds shaping the spaces where we live, work, dance, and dream. We’ll delve into these designers’ unique approaches and share takeaways you can apply to your own creative practice.

Who She Is

Es Devlin isn’t just a stage designer — she’s a world-builder. The British artist has spent three decades transforming theaters, stadiums, and city squares into living, breathing works of art. With roots in theater design and fine art, she turns empty space into something you feel as much as you see.

And sometimes, the building blocks of her creative worlds come from unlikely places: years after a breakup, an ex showed up with “six giant garbage bags” stuffed with her teenage paintings, sketches, and models. All those materials made it into her 2023 museum exhibition at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, her first major solo exhibit in the U.S. “Everything in that second room is stuff I made when I was 13, 14, 15,” Devlin told Debbie Millman on the "Design Matters" podcast. Proof, as she puts it, that the real rule of design might just be: “Don’t chuck your kids’ stuff away, parents. And don’t chuck your own stuff away, kids.”

Es Devlin Mirrormaze 2016 01 — Es Devlin's 2016 Mirror Maze — a multi-sensory experiential installation commissioned by Chanel and i-D magazine — included video projections, water, and a bespoke Chanel scent.

Image courtesy of Es Devlin

What She’s Known For

Devlin is the creative force behind some of the most ingenious stage designs of our time — the kind that make you gasp before the first note is sung. She’s designed for U2 at the Sphere, Lady Gaga at Coachella, Bad Bunny, Adele, Beyoncé, The Weeknd, Ye (formerly known as Kanye West), and even the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show and the closing ceremony for the 2012 London Olympics, turning concerts and events into full-body experiences.

But her work doesn’t stop at the arena. Devlin has created monumental public artworks and installations for Tate Modern and Serpentine Galleries, and she brought a forest to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26) with Conference of the Trees, where 197 living trees — one for each nation in the climate summit — invited visitors to pause and reflect before the trees were replanted.

Es Devlin Carmen Bregenz 2017 01 — Devlin's stage design for Carmen at the Bregenz Festspiele on Lake Constance in Austria, 2017.

Image courtesy of Es Devlin

Why People Love Her

Devlin designs like a storyteller. Her sets and installations don’t just frame the action — they become the action. She digs deep into research, collaborates with everyone from engineers to poets, and builds spaces that hit on every level: intellectual, emotional, even spiritual. For designers (and design lovers), she’s a walking reminder that good design should do more than work well and look good — it should move people.

Art historian Katy Hessel told the New York Times that Devlin has “reinvented the wheel in every field she has been part of, whether theater, poetry, sculpture, climate or installation.” She added, “I would define her as a visionary.”

Adele Radio City 2015 01 — Adele at the Radio City Music Hall in New York, set designed by Es Devlin.

Image courtesy of Es Devlin

Take That Progress stadium 2011 01 — Take That's stadium tour designed by Es Devlin.

Image courtesy of Es Devlin

Where to See Her Work

You’ve probably already seen it — on stage, in a museum, or on your feed. She’s built mirrored labyrinths like Forest of Us at Superblue Miami, and reimagined opera classics with her set design for Don Giovanni at London’s Royal Opera House. Her concert stages — from U2’s Innocence + Experience to Beyoncé’s Formation World Tour — have set the gold standard for live performance design. But set designs are ephemeral; if you want a bit of Devlin design that lives on, check out the concrete lamp she designed for Spanish fashion brand Zara’s 50th anniversary collection.

And if you want to go behind the scenes, her TED Talk offers a glimpse into her process; her 2023 book, “An Atlas of Es Devlin,” is a visual deep-dive into three decades of work; and her MasterClass offers a rare chance to learn directly from the designer herself.

Beyonce Tour Es Devlin — Beyoncé’s Formation World Tour stage design, dubbed the monolith, by Es Devlin.

Image courtesy of Es Devlin

Spotlight: Salone 2025 — “Library of Light”

At Salone del Mobile this year, Devlin turned Milan’s Pinacoteca di Brera courtyard into a glowing beacon of knowledge with “Library of Light.” Picture this: an 18-meter-wide rotating cylinder stacked with more than 3,200 books, catching the daylight with a mirrored cap and then glowing after dark. Visitors could wander around the piece, attend readings and talks, and watch the courtyard itself transform — perfectly on theme with Salone’s 2025 motto, “Thought for Humans.”

Don Giovanni ROH 2014 12 — Don Giovanni was reimagined at London’s Royal Opera House by Es Devlin's innovation stage design.

Image courtesy of Es Devlin

PARSIFAL Royal Danish Opera 2012 02 — The immersive "Parsifal" set design by Es Devlin at the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen.

Image courtesy of Es Devlin

What to Take from Her Playbook

There’s a reason designers across disciplines look to Devlin for inspiration — her work is a living lesson in how to turn concept into experience. She treats space as a stage and carefully shapes how people move, pause, and look, ensuring that every step is part of the story. She plays with scale, proving that epic structures can still feel intimate when they connect emotionally. She blurs the line between disciplines, using language, light, mirrors, and even data as raw material, and she collaborates widely, inviting voices from outside design to shape her projects. Most importantly, Devlin reminds us that design doesn’t just support a narrative — it is the narrative.