Formed in 2015, Kubrix is the creative partnership of Barry McGovern and Mark Seaton.

The first thing that struck me when meeting Barry from Kubrix Design was that not only was graphic design his job, but it was his passion, he was what I regard as a vital ingredient for any creative industry, a FAN. Particularly when it came to film poster design, a shared passion. He would recommend designers he admired who were reinterpreting classic film posters with a fresh eye and fresh technology. Exactly what I needed for the various projects I do. Film festival events, club nights, charity events, whatever it is, the process is always simple. I mail or call Barry, tell him what it is and what I have in mind for the design, Barry goes away and comes back, normally within a day with either exactly what I had in mind, based on a rather basic explanation from me, or something completely different but WAY BETTER than I had thought up. His work always amazes me. It has a classic quality to it, it never dates, looks old or too ‘now’, which I hate. Bandwagons are for cowboys, not graphic designers and certainly not for me. Kubrix designs are fun, too, there is often a playfulness to them which I believe is part of the reason why I, and the people who come to my events, love them so much they ask for prints/tee shirts of them, ask who did them, steal them off the wall at venues and frame them up in their homes. 

To give an example of why I only go to Kubrix for all my design work; they have done designs for three of my Twin Peaks Fests so far. The posters have been much sought after, I’ve got them on my walls at home and can honestly say they’re incredibly accurate at nailing what the series is about and interpreting it in designs that encapsulate the festival itself. Barry has never actually seen Twin Peaks. Like, never. Not a single episode. Extraordinary. But my favourite, and I think their greatest design for me (so far), was a poster for a David Bowie night I was doing in Bangor as part of Open House Festival, in memory of my friend David Aumonier who had recently passed after a long illness. David was a hairdresser, a well-known and much-loved figure in his hometown of Bangor and a fellow Bowie fanatic. Not a single poster survived the night without capture and kidnap to various abodes from the packed out, sold out venue. The design was the iconic Bowie flame orange/red barnet, above it a pair of scissors, one blade shaped like the lightening bolt make-up from the cover of Aladdin Sane. It was beautiful and I found it incredibly moving, it was perfect. So perfect in fact, that the ‘Aladdin Scissors’ are now a tattoo his daughter Paris had done. A design for life.

We have worked with Kubrix for over four years and they have consistently delivered excellent, innovative designs.  The team takes time to learn about a client’s aims, key messaging and target audience, so that each identity created is specifically tailored to needs. They have enabled us to enhance our work and grow audiences, from rebranding the award-winning Atlantic Sessions Festival (across all print and digital collateral) to attract younger music goers, delivering the annual NI Opera productions at the Grand Opera House, to one-off events and corporate work for conferences. The team are extremely hard working, always deliver under tight deadlines, accommodate last minute changes, and a testament to their creativity is that artists have shared their designs far and wide on their own social media platforms. I would have no hesitation in recommending Kubrix and they are a pleasure to work with.