Playstation X David Lynch
Fields
3D DESIGN ANIMATION
course
DIGITAL VIDEO
year
2025/2026
Project overview
PS2 x David Lynch is an advertising project that reimagines the iconic PlayStation 2 through a new celebratory edition, blending nostalgia, gaming, and cinematic imagery. The project portrays the console’s transformation through a surreal visual language, with liquid becoming the key element of the final reveal.
The project was created with the aim of developing a digital advertising campaign that highlights the product’s identity and key features through a contemporary and distinctive visual language. The concept was adapted across different formats and content, including a 16:9 commercial video, a series of 9:16 Instagram Stories, and a logo animation. The entire project follows a consistent creative direction, designed to showcase the product in an immediate, engaging, and visually compelling way while effectively connecting with its target audience.
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the PlayStation 2, Sony introduces the PS2 Mini, a limited-edition console inspired by the concept behind Nintendo’s NES Mini and SNES Mini. The product faithfully recreates the design of the original console on a smaller scale, featuring a selection of iconic pre-installed games.
The project also pays tribute to filmmaker David Lynch, who directed a series of advertising campaigns for PlayStation 2. The console is reimagined with an exclusive shell, featuring the rose from Blue Velvet embossed onto its surface, while the visual direction and atmosphere of the ADV film draw inspiration from the surreal and mysterious world of Twin Peaks. The result brings together nostalgia, cinema, and gaming, offering a contemporary reinterpretation of the PlayStation 2 identity.
Storyboard and process
The storyboard translates the concept into a visual sequence, defining the shots, composition, camera movements, and pacing of the video in advance. The narrative alternates moments of mystery with the gradual reveal of the PS2 Mini, creating a surreal atmosphere inspired by the world of Twin Peaks.
A key element of the sequence is the liquid, which gradually spreads across the surface of the console and becomes the visual thread of its transformation: as it moves, it progressively covers the original shell before revealing the new edition underneath. The storyboard was therefore essential in shaping the narrative and maintaining a strong visual consistency between product, transformation, atmosphere, and cinematic language.
The liquid modulation is the main focus of the video. The effect was created using a Vertex Map, which controls the distribution and progression of the liquid across the console’s geometry. The surface was then raised above the shell to create the necessary thickness and achieve an initial wave effect. Using the same Vertex Map, a grow effect was animated, allowing the liquid to gradually and uniformly spread across the entire surface of the console.
For the liquid texture, a Vertex Map-controlled blending system was used to visually follow its evolution across the surface of the console. The color starts with a light blue tone, gradually shifts into purple, and finally reveals the color of the new shell.
In addition to the color transition, a displacement was applied to create a more organic and irregular surface, simulating the behavior of a viscous liquid. This enhances the initial wave effect and makes the liquid’s movement and propagation feel more natural and dynamic throughout the animation.
The result
The logo animation draws inspiration from the iconic PlayStation 2 startup sequence, reinterpreting it with a contemporary approach to introduce the identity of the PS2 Mini. The animation preserves the digital and nostalgic atmosphere of the original, creating an immediate connection to the PlayStation visual language and preparing the viewer for the project’s visual experience.
The final reveal presents the PS2 Mini in its definitive form, following the liquid transformation. The new shell is fully unveiled through carefully designed lighting and camera angles that highlight its materials, details, and finishes, marking the end of the transformation and presenting the product in its new visual identity.
