Gorillaz: An interactive experience

My project is based around the animated band Gorillaz, originally created by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. I was inspired to design this project by the exhibition House of Kong, which took place in London over the summer of 2025 and celebrated the band’s 25th anniversary. For my concept, I have imagined an interactive experience where the audience is guided through a building, in which each room displays a key moment from an album’s creation. I have chosen the album Plastic Beach, which was released in 2010 and demonstrates themes of pollution, consumerism, and artificiality.  My designs feature futuristic and dystopian elements as recognisable features of the band’s iconic style. To limit my colour palette, I chose to use colours taken from the miniature set which was created for use in the music videos for Plastic Beach. The island is a key feature within this album, as it is a visual representation of the albums key theme of pollution, being made entirely out of landfill.

I believe this project is relevant in 2025 due to the increased news coverage of the climate crisis and an increase in politically driven protests and riots taking place in countries around the world. Gorillaz have been know for their strong political views and for taking part in protests so it feels fitting to create a project inspired by an album which presents the consequences of climate change on our oceans.

For this project I designed a series of posters inspired by political speeches surrounding topics of ocean pollution and climate change.

Final Character designs made using spray paint, pen, and digital collaging.