COMPLEXCON
ComplexCon is an expertly curated cultural festival that unites music, street style, food, entertainment, education, sports, and entrepreneurship in a one-of-a-kind unforgettable weekend. Conceived by Marc Ecko and Aaron Levant, ComplexCon kicked off in 2016 with hosts Pharrell Williams and Takashi Murakami, and in the years since has had Virgil Abloh, Sarah Andelman, J Balvin, Kristin Noel Crawley, Verdy, and others as hosts and artistic directors. Tens of thousands of visitors come through the doors each year, and millions of dollars are spent over the course of the weekend. I began work on ComplexCon in 2017 and continued through the 2022 event. Event Director Neil Wright was the major driver of brands, talent, and overall direction.
Edit by Elan Alexenberg & Wyeth Hansen
As co-Creative Director/Executive Creative Director of Complex Networks, I worked with our editorial leads to establish the theme and messaging of each event, and worked in collaboration with Takashi Murakami and his studio to create the visual expressions for each event. Each year had a modification of the core ComplexCon mark, retaining continuity year-to-year but with a unique expression for each event which would help drive marketing and merchandise.
While collaboration and community are at the heart of every ComplexCon, each year had a different thematic focus, like “1+1=3,” “Growth From Chaos,” “The Future Made Physical,” and so on. These videos show how the themes are expressed year to year.
These themes were also expressed through all manner of social assets and in situ graphics. I created the templates and majority of elements for each event, from 2017 through to 2022.
In 2019, ComplexCon partnered with the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Lakers to produce limited edition capsules to release at both Chicago and Long Beach events. These were produced with Mitchell & Ness, and were instant sell-outs. It was quite a sight seeing Offset from Migos dropping 30k in cash at the ComplexCon booth in Long Beach to pick up one of everything. Kid Cudi appeared wearing the Cubs jersey to pick up some exclusive Murakami jewelry.
Both capsules were designed by Nick Sultana and Warren Cochrane in cooperation with the ©TMKK studio.
A major aspect of ComplexCon is our topical roundtable series, ComplexCon(versations) – a sort of Ted talk for the creative entrepreneur and socially minded misfit. These would bring some serious star power while also highlighting rising stars and new voices, all tied together by our stage design and video elements. Con(versations) was also recorded and lived as a series on YouTube and select linear partners.
In 2018 and 2019, we worked with Strong Brew to produce and design Con(versations), and they contributed the stage designs under our direction.
More than anything, ComplexCon is a unique event, a coming together of all kinds of people looking for inspiration and connection. You can be standing side-by-side with design heroes, pop stars, and athletes, and everyone is on the same wavelength. Always worth a trip to Long Beach.
ComplexCon would not exist without Marc Ecko, event director Neil Wright, Complex content officers like Noah Callahan-never, Damien Scott, Cornell Brown, an army of designers like Sean Botwinick and Kevin Luyster, and the hundreds and hundreds of others, past and present, that have brought the event to life year after year.
