Back in June, the LGBTQ+ community flocked to LA State Historic Park to take part in the annual Los Angeles Pride & Parade. 

In addition to the string of vendors, bars and open dance floors, the event featured various showstopping performances from some of the music industry’s biggest talents – including Megan Thee Stallion and Mariah Carey.  

While the aforementioned performers delivered unforgettable moments for fans, their performances wouldn’t have been possible without the design creativity of Sutherland and his company DX7 Design. 

Since 2012, the studio has lent its expertise to an array of high-profile events, including the MTV VMAs, The BRITS and American Idol. 

In a recent interview with GAY TIMES, Sutherland opened up the creative process for this year’s LA Pride design, which he described as a full circle moment.

“Designing an event like LA pride always brings me back to my roots. I started my career lighting for G-A-Y at the London Astoria, so its great to take a moment and look where you have come from,” he revealed.

“LA Pride has multiple artists, so we had to create a main stage that was suitable for both a vogue ball and Mariah Carey. That meant the design needed to be flexible, big at times and have the capability of showing more venerable moments.

“Myself along with the LA Pride team also wanted the site to feel special, we spent a lot of time and effort placing lighting installations and towers of colored lights around the park so the whole festival felt like a cool vibe.”

In addition to working on events like LA Pride and the BRITS, Sutherland’s DX7 Design has worked closely with pop star Miley Cyrus for some of her biggest live performances.  

When reflecting on their creative partnership, Sutherland described the ‘River’ singer as “the best boss”.

“Whenever you start a creative process with Miley, it’s such an inspiring sequence of events,” he revealed. 

“She always has strong views on how she wants the creative of the show to look and feel, which is great because it provides us with a strong sense of direction.

“It’s always a really fun collaborative process with an amazing team that Miley has built around her.” 

As for the rest of 2023, DX7 Design is set to have a busy fall season, with design contracts lined up for the upcoming MTV VMAs, MTV EMAs, People’s Choice Country Awards, and the first-ever Las Vegas Formula One Opening Ceremony. 

For more information about DX7 Design, click here.