COMPLEX NETWORKS
CREATIVE DIRECTION • MESSAGING • VISUAL IDENTITY • MOTION DESIGN
Complex is a youth media brand that has pioneered a genre-agnostic perspective toward creativity, commerce, and community since 2002.
The Labour office closed its doors and joined Complex in 2017 at the request of Marc Ecko, after having been a retained studio for several years. Complex was shutting down its magazine to refocus on social, website, original video content, ComplexCon, and licensed content, and Ecko was stepping down to pursue other opportunities. Myself and my partner, Ryan Dunn, were brought in to retrain a legacy design team and unify fragmented creative departments across the company and four brands.
MOTION DESIGN & IDENTITY
I created numerous identities for shows, initiatives, and sub-brands at Complex, all demonstrating the tenets of the brand book. Each show had a motion identity, logo, and extensive visual expressions including social elements and marketing.
Collected identities for Complex, in motion. All motion and identity design work is my own.
Here is a selected collection of the programs and initiatives I designed or re-designed, from the core logo for all of Complex Networks to our podcast network and e-commerce platform, and a dozen or so video programs along the way.
Blueprint is a YouTube show that ran for four seasons. Notable cultural figures break down their history and the lessons they learned as they built their artistic or media empires.
Complex Cover is a premium digital interview, an evolution of the print magazine cover feature. To demonstrate this evolution, the logo begins as the old vertical masthead, then turns 90° to become a screen.
Complex on Fuse brought the world of Complex Network to linear tv. The concept was “Complex in a blender” – mixing and mashing together a variety of shows with a totally different lineup each week. The graphic voice added a dash of absurdity and lo-fi spontaneity to make it feel like it was being made in real time.
Everyday Struggle was a long-running daily hip-hop talk show that racked up tens of millions of views. Boxing was a loose thematic guide, setting up the tension and conflict between the hosts, symbolized by the fraying rope.
Good Looking Out paired aspiring entrepreneurs with industry veterans and cultural movers, giving solid direction and business advice.
The Culture profiled musicians on the rise and impactful industry players, hosted by Brandon ‘Jinx’ Jenkins.
Complex Originals is a grid-based system for all of Complex’s original content, both for tagging up front as well as for on-screen animate elements.
NETWORKS REFRESH
Though Complex the brand was founded in 2012, Complex Networks the parent company did not come about until 2016 as part of an acquisition by Verizon/Hearst, and was branded in accordance with the conventions of those companies.
In 2019, we were able to refresh Networks to make it more in line with the DNA of our constituent brands. I matched the legacy magazine header version of the logo with a simple chisel-serif treatment for Networks, while updating the messaging around Networks for a B2B audience, as evidenced in the overview video.
COMPLEX SHOP
Complex entered the ecommerce world with Complex SHOP, connecting our audience to a combination of coveted brands, unique retailers, and original product all in one place. The Complex editorial lens highlighted drops and designers that resonated with our audience. I created the logo, identity, and original voice.
COMPLEX COVERS
Though not a print publication anymore, Complex continued to create digital covers showcasing rising talent as well as established artists through a new point of view. A combination of talent from our content team to our design team lead on these, especially Gina Batlle and Ryan Dunn. These were covers produced during my time and with my input, but largely out of my hands.
