COMPLEXLAND
(2020–2022)
CREATIVE DIRECTION • MESSAGING & THEME • VISUAL IDENTITY • MOTION DESIGN • MARKETING
2020 will always be the year the world turned upside-down. It was immediately clear that Complex would not be hosting ComplexCon in the fall, and every day we saw how our audience was reaching out to connect with each other at a difficult time. The lifestyle brands that were important to Complex and our audience were taking hits too, and looking for some way to keep afloat. We knew we had to do something.
We connected with Jam3, a top flight digital agency, and they had similar ideas. We agreed that a digital version of ComplexCon could bring the audience and brands together, but what would it be? When you can do anything at all, why recreate a convention center?
WORLD DESIGN
We began to imagine ComplexLand – a place where all of Complex culture has been filtered, remixed, and reformed into something new. It was a floating island of sorts, with distinct neighborhoods populated by shops, artists, and brand partners, with monuments to important moments and ideas in Complex culture. And importantly, ComplexLand is open to everyone in the world, free to enter, with no app to install, a truly democratic metaverse experience.
Visitors could access exclusive content in the Theater, where digital roundtable talks and performances from the like of Jack Harlow, Blxst, and Jaden Smith were broadcast. A live chat allowed visitors to communicate with each other, meet Complex talent, and find out about exclusive drops.
Jam3 was an excellent partner in bringing our vision to life, leading the modeling and visualization based on our references. CD Steffan Christensen organized the world and lead designers Mike Lamont and Charlotte Lucas created many of the hybrid forms and characters that populated the land.
GAME EXPERIENCE
Our goal for ComplexLand was for visitors to be able to manifest in whatever way they want, whether gendered or not, through the form of avatars with glowing ‘auras’ in place of skin. These avatars could be dressed and customized in a variety of streetwear both real and fantastic, with wild hairstyles and sneaker options. Visitors could collect coins to unlock styles provided by brands like Gucci, Off-White, and Versace, or more left-field options like dinosaur heads.
Avatars could explore the landscape and visit a variety of shops to purchase real life exclusive product, like limited edition sneakers, upcycled handmade items, artist prints and figures, and more from over a hundred international vendors.
Also, special exclusive drops would appear at various times across the lands, and visitors would race to the drop zones for a chance to purchase limited edition items. There would also be free giveaways teased on social that drove tons of visitors trying to score rare items.
MARKETING & SOCIAL EXPRESSIONS
To promote ComplexLand as a destination visitable from anywhere, I created a series of ‘tourism’ videos inviting people to the various neighborhoods while also setting up the central conceit of ComplexLand. These were places like Sunset Lagoon (a beachy Miami-esque locale), Astral Market (modeled on Tokyo night markets), The Boro (NYC in a blender), and Hi-Bye (a mall in the LA desert surrounded by ruins).
The guide voice was fully computer-generated, with 3D help from Jam3 and Hunter Hanson of the Complex team.
ComplexLand was a great success and a breath of fresh air amidst the constant lockdowns and uncertainty. ComplexLand 2.0 and 3.0 landed in 2021 and 2022 respectively, with added upgrades and refinements with each iteration.
Since ComplexLand was a fully digital experience, social presence was key to its success. I developed the visual language and system using a core ComplexLand mark and glyph set designed by Warren Cochrane. Hundreds of assets were made per event, running on Complex channels as well as brand partners. Below is just a small cross-section of posters, announcements, and elements that ran on social. Merch design by Nick Sultana.