We built a retro, interactive subscription platform for a rebel science channel.
Gorilla Science is a platform founded by Tom Nelson and Martin Durkin that promotes open scientific debate, free thought and questioning of mainstream narratives. They champion values like economic freedom, industrial progress and intellectual curiosity, encouraging people to “doubt everything.”
The project isn’t funded by large industries like oil or coal, instead relying on subscriptions and donations from supporters to grow and maintain their work.
Showreel — retro sci-fi aesthetic, scroll-triggered animations & immersive video content
The Scope
What They Wanted
- A home for video content
- Seamless Vimeo integration for their growing YouTube channel
- A place for donations
- An animated, scroll-happy, hover-mad experience
- Scalability for future content
- A design that aligns with the brand’s playful yet informative tone
What We Did
Discovery & Branding
We began by grounding the project in Gorilla Science’s brand identity. Bold colours, experimental typography and a library of quirky, high-energy assets that capture their playful yet thought-provoking tone. These elements set the foundation for everything that followed, ensuring consistency across design, animation, and functionality.
Brand System
Primary Colours
Secondary Colours
Wireframing
From the start, we mapped out user journeys with wireframes that focused on flow and functionality. The goal was to make video content the star while ensuring donations and community interaction felt seamlessly integrated. These early layouts gave Gorilla Science a clear view of how their big ideas would take shape digitally.
Animations
Static wasn’t an option. We crafted a site that feels alive, layering in scroll-triggered transitions, animated hover states and micro-moments designed to surprise and delight. Rather than simply browsing, users are immersed in a dynamic experience that keeps them engaged at every step.
Interactive Hero
Scroll Animations
Interactive Sections
Video Carousel
Design
Drawing inspiration from retro sci-fi, vintage posters and the static fuzz of old TV sets, we created a design language that was unapologetically bold. Think ’60s space-race television colliding with today’s internet rabbit holes — big, bright, a little bizarre and impossible to ignore.
The Message they want to silence.
The Science 
they want to hide.
From The Channel 
they’d like to ban.
Development
We built Gorilla Science on WordPress with a custom theme tailored to their needs — a subscription-powered video platform with pay walls, recurring donations, and even crypto payments. Vimeo integration handles video delivery, while a custom comment system encourages the community discussion that sits at the heart of the platform. The site is hosted on Cloudflare for speed and reliability, with every animation and interaction hand-coded for performance.
Science Unique
“We had a fantastic experience working with Creative Brand Design. Briony Fairbairn and the team took all of our ideas on board and brought our website to life in ways we hadn’t even imagined. Briony kept in touch throughout the process, was incredibly friendly, and made everything run smoothly. We’re so impressed that we’re already returning to them for another website!”Kirsty Walton — Metroville Media
