The ‘Netflix is a Joke’ comedy festival was a successful event launched by Netflix in 2022 and echoed the local flavor of Los Angeles in its 2024 edition. This was primarily credited to Mother Design’s novel strategies, which took the festival experience beyond laughs and giggles.
The official Netflix comedy festival distinguished itself by syncing with the city’s unique vibes. Instead of just serving as a plethora of jokes, the festival mirrored the eccentric vibrancy of Los Angeles, enhancing comedy with a locale lens.
Known for its innovative comedy specials, Netflix is rewriting traditional stand-up norms. Focusing on this genre has created a new, uncensored space for comedians globally.
We didn’t have the information for 2024 — but here is the schedule for April 2025.
Infusing local LA essence into Netflix comedy festival
This ecosystem offered a fresh perspective on societal issues, enabling viewers to connect, laugh, and reflect.
The festival encompassed 300 shows in about 35 venues, with performances from comedy stalwarts like Jerry Seinfeld and Jim Gaffigan. It also presented Mother Design with the opportunity to curate a quirky visual identity that captured the festival’s increasing popularity within Los Angeles’s comedy circles.
Mother Design’s strategy involved a combination of bright hues and illustrative figures, creating a bold, playful visual language. This captivating aesthetic had become iconic for the festival, contributing largely to its success.
Emulating LA’s infamous sticker graffiti, Mother Design developed a ‘self-vandalistic design’ strategy, cleverly named ‘Slap, Stick.’ This involved sticking informational labels over the official festival branding and creating engaging, humorous visuals that immediately caught the public’s attention.
This innovative approach led to the creation of a promotion characteristic of LA’s counter-cultural street aesthetics. It wasn’t just visually appealing but also amusing, intriguing, and engaging for both locals and visitors.
The team at Mother Design, helmed by Associate Creative Director Elliot Vredenburg, seamlessly blended humor with graphic design, overturning the stereotype of graphic design being an overly serious field. Illustrator Jonah Simmons’ artistic expertise and Project Manager Laura Murphy’s attention to detail further bolstered the successful execution of the project.
The partnership between Netflix and Mother Design introduced a visual identity that resonated with the magnitude of ‘the world’s biggest laugh.’ Their collaboration set an unprecedented benchmark for how graphic design can magnify the overall experience of comedy festivals.
