From Miami to Seoul, the gargantuan, mind-bending stages of Ultra Music Festival have left an indelible mark on the global EDM community for over two decades. But unbeknownst to most festivalgoers getting lost in the atmosphere, one man has been the driving creative force behind Ultra’s bold visual direction and unforgettable live experiences.
Enter Richard Milstein, the festival brand’s stalwart Creative Director who oversees the design of every single stage, activation, and branding element across Ultra’s 26 worldwide locations. From stage production to digital marketing assets, Milstein is the decisive hand shaping Ultra’s unmistakable identity as one of electronic music’s leading festival brands.
Over his decade-plus tenure with Ultra, the Miami-based creative has brought more than 250 jaw-dropping stages to life, including the festival’s crown jewel Main Stage in its namesake city as well as the underground-inspired RESISTANCE concept.
Early Inspiration and Career Path. “It’s Been in My Blood“
“It’s been in my blood since I was a young kid,” Milstein tells in an interview with EDM.com, now deleted, recalling his infatuation with electronic music that sparked in the 80s era of Carl Cox, Danny Tenaglia, and his first trips to the record store. While music production was his initial career path after studying at Berklee College of Music, financial instability ultimately pulled him into the design world when a friend introduced him to Photoshop 3.0.
Recognizing his knack for graphic design, Milstein harnessed the opportunity to fuse his two creative loves. “I’ve always had a passion for electronic music,” he says. “I went into the nightclub industry first and started doing flyers, posters, ad campaigns.”
The Big Break at Ultra. As the Festival Grew Globally
In the mid-2000s, Milstein caught his big break after coming across a Craigslist post from Ultra Music Festival looking to hire an in-house graphic designer. He applied on a whim, landed the gig, and never looked back as he climbed the ranks to his current leadership role. “As the festival grew globally, there was a huge amount of resources to fulfill when it came to design work,” he recalls of those early years.
However, the graphic design proved to be just the beginning of Milstein’s wide-spanning influence on Ultra’s overall visual landscape. When he had the opportunity to test his skills in stage production in 2008, an innate passion ignited. “I’ve always been so fascinated because of my work as a musician and desire to perform in front of a huge crowd,” he says of first witnessing the live show designers in action.
Crossing Into Stage Production
Drawing upon his background as a 3D rendering artist, having spent a decade honing those skills with a Miami architect, Milstein felt equipped to cross over into the architectural realm of stage design. “If you look at a stage, it’s considered some sort of architectural piece because you’re building something, even though it’s temporary.”
What Milstein lacked in formal training, he made up for in an eagerness to learn from Ultra’s production team veterans. Over time, his understanding of the mechanics and engineering behind mind-bending festival stage spectacles has become second nature.
MainStage design – Ultra South Africa 2024 pic.twitter.com/g4RWRj7ZRQ
— Richard Milstein (@richmilstein) March 1, 2024
These days, Milstein houses a comprehensive vision that begins with Ultra’s visual marketing campaigns and crescendos into the multimillion-dollar momentous live shows that seduce fans from across the globe. He remains as passionate as ever about delivering an unparalleled level of design across mediums.
“Marketing was very hungry for a lot of content, and obviously, over the years, we’ve shifted from printing more into digital stuff,” Milstein says, noting the evolution in his role’s responsibilities across Ultra’s websites, fonts, posters, and more. “I designed flyers, ads, posters, campaigns—you name it.”
When the beats drop and those transcendent live experiences come to life on Ultra’s iconic stages, fans can thank the quiet pioneer whose creativity and vision shine through from the uplifting initial graphic teasers to those final jaw-dropping production marvels.
