At the end of each year, the Culture & Trends team at YouTube publishes an annual report for the popular trends. In 2023, YouTube went a step further and hosted a 2 day event in November, turning the annual Trends Report into a real-life experience at Google’s event space in NYC, just a week before the report release.

The goal of YouTube Try a Trend 2023 was not just to invite people to try the trends out, but to host an ecosystem-wide event for multiple XFN YouTube teams to participate and contribute to.

I was brought in to help some fine folks concept, ideate, and design for the builds that would bring each of the top trends to life - a Nail Art wall with glory holes for manis on the spot, a 2-sided 10 foot vertically scrolling Barbie milky way galaxy and hot air balloon ride, silent disco popular music rooms, a Lofi lounge speakeasy, a retrogaming arcade and prize wall, the chance to VTube yourself, a giant LED screen Wes Anderson-esque backdrop, and not to mention a Skibidi Toilet flash mob. Needless to say, the event was a huge hit among everyone who attended, especially the YouTube Creators.

The event also won an Ex Award for Best Influencer Event 2023 so that made my heart even more full.

Scroll down to check out photos and some of the content the Creators posted on their channels.