Hype & Genius works across the creative industries to protect creativity and move the culture forward. We advise brands, institutions and funders, set new standards for how the sector operates, and lead on creative education. We also work directly with creatives, through programmes that have supported over 2,500 people across music, fashion, media and content.
Why we exist
Hype & Genius exists to make creativity something more people can reach. We open up access, set standards for fair and sustainable practice, and lead on the education that helps creatives build careers and communities take part. Too many people are still kept out by unpaid work, closed networks and uneven treatment, and our work is built to remove those barriers.
Our co-directors
Korinna is a strategic leader with over ten years across youth employment, education and creative enterprise. She has led partnerships with brands including Sony and Samsung, and previously served as a chief executive in the youth sector and chief operating officer of a tech startup, after running her own creative agency.
Khadijah is a strategic consultant, educator and programme designer with senior experience in creative learning, artist development and inclusive programme design. She currently works in the music team at Arts Council England. Separately, she brings fifteen years in the music industry as a recording artist, giving her a rare view from both sides of the sector.
Our values
We champion original, non-conformist thinking, and create environments where individuality and confidence are backed. It runs through everything we make.
We work to open creativity up to everyone, and to challenge the systems that keep people and businesses shut out of it.
We bring people together across backgrounds, so creatives can connect, collaborate and belong.
We lead by example and create the change we want to see, supporting everyone we work with to grow, adapt and move forward.
We are intentional. Everything we do is designed around meaningful outcomes and environments built for learning and new thinking.
About Hype & Genius
- Who runs Hype & Genius?
Hype & Genius is led by two co-directors. Korinna Williams is a strategic leader with over ten years across youth employment, education and creative enterprise, who has led partnerships with brands including Sony and Samsung and previously served as a chief executive in the youth sector and COO of a tech startup. Khadijah Noel, who records as Lylo Gold, is a strategic consultant, educator and programme designer who works in the music team at Arts Council England and brings fifteen years in the music industry as a recording artist.
- When was Hype & Genius founded?
Hype & Genius was founded in 2023.
- Has Hype & Genius won any awards?
Yes. Hype & Genius won the Partnership Working Award at the London Youth Awards 2023, jointly with the youth charity Shadow To Shine, for the Hype & Genius Creative Summer School — a six-week programme giving young people the chance to learn, upskill and build careers in the creative industry. Garden Studios and Fender were delivery partners on the programme.
- Is Hype & Genius a charity or a business?
Hype & Genius is a social enterprise. It operates through a limited company, which delivers the agency and consultancy work, and a community interest company (CIC), which delivers the free programmes. Income from commercial work supports the programmes that are free at the point of access.
- Why does Hype & Genius exist?
To make creativity something more people can reach. Around 75% of creative workers get their job through a friend or contact, 51% of UK creative output is generated in London alone, and only 5.4% of the creative workforce comes from a lower socio-economic background. Unpaid work, closed networks and uneven treatment keep people out. Hype & Genius opens up access, sets standards for fair and sustainable practice, and leads on the education that helps creatives build careers.