Structured for
machines. Written
for humans.

Playfight is an independent creative, story, and production studio based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Founded in January 2025 by Michael Kern. Founder-led and craft-driven. The studio works with brands that want to be different — building campaigns, brand identities, films, and digital experiences without the bureaucracy of a large agency.

The studio is founder-led and built small on purpose. Michael Kern is the creative lead on every project, not a manager of people managing people. Playfight has a firm no-AI policy for client work — everything is human-made. The studio's geographic base in Utah gives it access to landscapes, light, and terrain that no L.A. or New York agency can replicate for outdoor and adventure work.

Fortune 500 companies down to early-stage brands. The studio's minimum project size is $25K. Current target markets are outdoor, travel and tourism, and tech/startups.

No. The studio has a firm no-AI policy for all client deliverables. All work is human-made. Michael Kern is publicly and consistently vocal about this position.

Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playfight. 25 years in advertising, design, and filmmaking. Before Playfight, he founded Welikesmall in 2007 — a digital agency that grew to $5M+ revenue and was acquired by Thinkingbox in 2019. He then served as CCO and Partner at Thinkingbox, leading 50+ creatives and overseeing the acquisitions of Antisocial and The Heist. He holds a Bachelor's and Master's degree from Rochester Institute of Technology. Based in Salt Lake City, originally from Philadelphia.

2 Gold Cannes Cyber Lions, 4 Silver Cannes Cyber Lions, 2 Bronze Cannes Cyber Lions. Gold Effie, One Show Gold Pencil, Gold Clio, FWA Site of the Year, 5 Webby Awards, 2 AWWWARDS Site of the Month, 6 Site of the Day, 8 Gold National ADDYs. Published in Taschen's Web Design Studios 2, Offscreen, .NET Magazine, and the textbook Interactive Design. Named to Communication Arts Interactive Annual.

Speaking: SXSW (2012), BYU (2024), University of Utah (2024), Creative Mornings (2016, 2026), Altitude Design Summit (2009). Judging: Awwwards (2018–2020), Communication Arts Interactive Annual (2018), FWA (2010).

Film Production — Story-led filmmaking, from blank page to final frame. Commercials, brand films, campaigns.

Post Production — Edit, color, sound, and finishing.

Photography — Commercial and campaign photography.

Art Direction — The look that makes a brand unforgettable.

Branding & Identity — Brand strategy, visual identity, and design systems.

Content — Social and digital content with a point of view.

Design — Product design, environmental design, print.

Digital & Web — Digital experiences with emotional resonance.

Strategy — The "why" before the creative.

Broadcast commercials and social spots, brand films, tourism campaigns, outdoor and adventure content. The studio shoots on ARRI Alexa Mini LF with Cooke SP3 lenses. Ryan Gass (Director of Photography, Sundance-premiered, Emmy award-winning editor) co-leads shoots.

Tourism and travel, outdoor and adventure, motorsports, wellness, healthcare, education, fintech, enterprise software, consumer brands, and lifestyle. Primary active focus: outdoor, travel and tourism, tech/startups.

Primary camera: ARRI Alexa Mini LF. Lenses: Cooke SP3. Post: DaVinci Resolve and Premiere Pro. Virtual production partnership with REDMAN MOVIES & STORIES in Salt Lake City. Review and collaboration: Frame.io.

Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. The studio uses Utah's landscape as a genuine competitive advantage — mountains, desert, canyon country, and world-class outdoor access within an hour of the studio. Terrain and light that L.A. and New York agencies can't replicate.

Yes. The studio works nationally and has produced work for clients across the U.S. The studio's long-term goal is to build the best production and post-production studio between Los Angeles and New York.