Client: TheyFriend
Job: Spotify canvas
Skills: 3D design, 3D animation, visual effects design
My design for the Spotify Canvas of TheyFriend’s “Synthetic Love” is a vivid homage to vaporwave aesthetics, blending elements of retro technology and dystopian commercial themes. The design imagines the effects of a nuclear meltdown, covered live by a CRT broadcast monitor as a giant metal heart melts behind it. The monitor plays a vintage news clip, distorted under the effects of heat and radiation, symbolizing the breakdown of synthetic love.
The background draws inspiration from the infamous wall of dials in the Chernobyl reactor control room, adding a layer of historical and symbolic depth to the visual narrative. The lights flash a warning of lost control and looming disaster, mirroring the lyrical themes of the song.
The midground of the piece features a large metal heart inscribed with the message “DROP AND RUN,” the stark warning etched onto certain radiation sources that could also apply to certain relationships. As the scene unfolds, this message is lost as the heart melts into an unrecognizable metal sludge.
The logo on the TV is from this clip of Soviet TV coverage of the Chernobyl disaster, aired in April 1986. This footage was chosen when our first choice of footage featuring “the elephant’s foot,” a highly radioactive mass below Chernobyl Reactor No. 4 proved to dark to use.
This project proved to be a challenge in several ways including the topology of the text engraving and the computational requirements of the melting animation. Overcoming these challenges to make a smooth and satisfying animation that exceeded client expectations, combined with a personal interest in the subject matter made this project a personal favorite.