Synopsis

A surreal animated journey follows a bewildered character through shifting psychedelic landscapes populated by strange creatures and a distinctly unsettling dog. Drawn environments dissolve into swirling vortices before giving way to soft, fleece-like mountains whose surfaces appear to come alive with monster faces. The narrative feels dreamlike and disorienting, but the dog plays an important role: although its expressions make its intentions difficult to read, it is ultimately trying to help and save the central figure.

Factoids & Trivia

• "Design" features Bobby Birdman and appears on Ben Butler & Mousepad's 2011 album "Formed For Fantasy," released through Lo Recordings.

• The video's visual style combines hand-drawn animation with strata-cut stop motion, a demanding technique that creates movement by photographing successive slices of a sculpted form.

• The landscapes were built from physical materials rather than created entirely in software. Pencil drawings, felt-tip imagery and folded white fleece were used as the basis for several environments.

• The fleece was shaped into soft, snowy, marshmallow-like mountains, then photographed and combined with monster faces to make the scenery appear alive.

• The visual approach drew subconscious inspiration from the surreal animated worlds of Rene Laloux, as well as strata-cut work by David Daniels and animation by Sally Cruikshank.

• The video's deliberately garish color palette reflects an interest in Memphis Design and the idea of visual forms refusing to follow conventional function.

• The central dog's strange expressions are intentional. Its face seems to communicate something different from its actual intentions, creating confusion before the character's helpful role becomes clear.

• The track belongs to the colorful, synthetic style associated with Skwee, a microgenre that Ben Butler and Mousepad's Joe Howe described as a form of "Scandinavian conflict R&B."