Designing Wonder at Scale | Kelly Knapp on the Sphere, Netflix House, and Empathy

Описание: Kelly Knapp is a creative leader behind some of the most ambitious experiential work in the world. She helped shape the $2 billion Sphere in Las Vegas, writing early show treatments, defining how content lives on the exosphere, and guiding the interior experience of the venue. She’s also designed immersive theater in Times Square, built Netflix’s first permanent venues, and co-led the creative for the 2025 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.

In this episode of Second Wind, Kelly shares how her background in ballet, music, outdoor leadership, and landscape architecture shaped her belief that creative work is choreography — the careful layering of elements to create meaning. We talk about immersive audio, technology as a creative medium, her skepticism of AI in the ideation process, empathy as a leadership skill, and why great work depends on humility, rigor, and care for the audience.

Second Wind is a podcast about careers, conviction, and the long arc of creative leadership.

00:00 Introduction: Kelly Knapp and the Sphere
01:26 “Everything is choreography”
02:46 Patagonia and learning to endure
03:55 “After that, I don’t say no”
05:01 Joining the Sphere and learning tech at scale
06:41 Immersive audio and HOLOPLOT
07:38 Using technology with delicacy
08:31 Why Kelly doesn’t use AI
09:55 Creativity, physics, and imagination
11:31 Paper models, decks, and process
12:43 Empathy as legacy
13:48 Advice for brands using the Sphere
17:31 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show
19:07 Building Netflix House
21:34 Experiential as community building
23:14 Advice for young creatives
24:14 Empathy and leadership