The Lexi Cinema

The Brief

The Lexi Cinema is a beloved independent cinema and social enterprise in Kensal Rise, London, donating 100% of its distributable profits to charity. Following a major rebuild of the venue after a fire in 2020, the cinema needed a new website to match their refreshed brand and reimagined space.

Design & Approach

After researching competitor cinemas and similar national and international film institutes, I began a design process in Figma, rethinking the user journey from the ground up. My unique position in the film industry as the Creative Director of Margate Film Festival gave me a strong insight into the needs of both the user and the venue staff. The focus was on making the film programme easy to browse, highlighting the cinema’s special strands – from Black History Studies and Talking Pictures for seniors, to baby-friendly, audio described, and relaxed screenings – and creating clear pathways to upsell memberships, gift vouchers, and venue hire.

Accessibility was central to the design, reflecting The Lexi’s inclusive, community-first ethos.

A Collaborative Outcome

The designs were built initially with Elementor in WordPress, integrating with the cinema’s Savoy Systems box office platform via a live data feed. As the programme went live, the complexity of syncing real-time screening data between systems meant the site was ultimately rebuilt directly within Savoy’s platform, with the dev team matching the new designs as closely as possible. It’s a great example of how design work can set the creative direction for a project even when the technical implementation evolves.

The result is a colourful, emotive website that showcases the film programme and captures the friendly, inviting character of one of London’s best-loved independent cinemas.