The Experiment is a thought provoking feature-length documentary produced by Kalel Productions for Channel 4. The show explored the historical persecution of disabled people under Nazi Germany and drew uncomfortable parallels with attitudes and rhetoric emerging in contemporary society.
I worked closely with the production team to help bring Segrilife, the fictitious residential care facility at the centre of the programme's social experiment, to life. Working from an initial logomark developed by the director, I refined the artwork and incorporated the facility's tagline before creating a series of promotional posters and flyers to be used in the programme.
The creative challenge was to develop a visual language that felt entirely plausible within the context of a modern care organisation, while subtly echoing the sinister ideology underpinning the experiment. Drawing inspiration from Nazi propaganda, the team and I developed a series of bold, contemporary designs, combining AI-generated imagery with deceptively positive headlines. At first glance, the messaging appeared reassuring and well-intentioned, but the cumulative impact of the posters revealed a much more disturbing undertone.
The resulting designs played an important role in establishing the fictional environment and helped the programme explore how easily discriminatory ideas can be repackaged, normalised and accepted.
Programme images © Kalel Productions / Channel 4. Used with permission.
“Easily the most disturbing thing on TV…None of us should look away”
– The Guardian ★★★★
“A shocking expose of our treatment of the disabled…
If a documentary’s purpose is to make you think, this one succeeded.”
If a documentary’s purpose is to make you think, this one succeeded.”
– The Times ★★★★
“An unsettling triumph…it succeeds in its most important job of informing and confronting.”
– The Observer
