Debs is in the unusual position of being both artist and entrepreneur. She has a passion for creating meaningful and memorable experiences for people and has founded 5 influential creative companies over the last 15 years.
A specialist in Experiential, she was recently voted the 3rd most influential person in the UK Events Industry.
As an Installation Artist and Event Producer, she studied Fine Art from 1993-1997 at Central St Martins and Byam Shaw, where she specialised in immersive installations. She began in the events industry by building installations, but soon realised that the whole event could be treated as an immersive installation.
She first made her mark as the Producer of Lost Vagueness (2002-2006), turning it into a ACE funded, touring theatre company. Lost Vagueness was one of the first ever Live Experiential Events, the first to both articulate and deliver notions of storytelling and the dissolution of audience performer boundaries. Highly influential, it inspired contemporary success stories such as Secret Cinema.
Deborah founded Strong & Co to enable her to design, produce and consult on exceptional Experiential events. Now 10 years old, clients include: Twitter, Warner Bros, Beano, Channel 4, The Guardian, AHMM, Aegis Dentsu, IMG, Bear Grylls, Harvey Goldsmith and many more.
Deborah founded Shangri-La at Glastonbury Festival. As MD and Creative Director she oversaw its development into an experiential event the size of a small town. Described as “legendary” by NME, its cutting edge creativity has inspired a host of younger Producers creating events such as Boomtown. She left in 2005 in order to focus on other projects but Shangri-La lives happily to this day.
Projects
- Deborah Armstrong: A Visionary Storyteller on “Designing Experiential”. Deborah Armstrong is the personification of art and entrepreneurship. Since her days at St. Martins in the 90’s, she has founded 5 creative companies, was voted the 3rd most influential person in the UK Events Industry and has broken the boundaries of Experiential. Debs was the driving force behind projects such as ‘Lost Vagueness’ and ‘Shangri-La’ at Glastonbury, experiences that have inspired a generation of creatives and sybarites alike. Her company Strong & Co. has been specialising in Experiential for over 10years, designing bespoke for the likes of Harvey Goldsmith, Warner Bros., Bear Grylls and even Dennis the Menace! The Dots have spoken to Debs about what it means to ‘Design Experiential’ for clients from Glastonbury to Google.
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Projects credited in
- August 2018 (applications closed)We’re looking for 30 curious, diverse & talented people to join us at a special masterclass at the iconic AKQA. There is no set creative field, you could be in design, UX/UI, creative direction, advertising, experiential, VR, writing - you name it! We are interested in hearing from people who are innovative, use their skills to tell stories or have a passion for making work with social purpose. Whether you want to kickstart your career, show your ideas or step up to a fresh new position, this m37
Skills
- Events
- Marketing PR
- Visual Arts
- Art Direction
- Design
- Production Management
- Creative Direction
- Outdoor Campaigns
- Environment
- Office
- Photoshop
- Over 10 Years of Experience
- Creative Arts
- Ability to Communicate Both Orally and with Writing