Role: Graphic Designer - Academic
Key Skills: Typography, Illustration
Tools: Procreate, Adobe Illustrations, Adobe InDesign
Timeline: Three weeks
Type: Individual
Assignment Overview
Every song that exists has its impression and emotions. This assignment required me to use typography to express the music expression. I used the visual elements to help the cover convey a story that I felt through listening to the song.
The Chosen Song: Mon Soleil - Ashley Park
Brainstorming
I used mind maps to see possible ideas or keywords I could use for the cover in this process. During the process, I also try to hear the song repeatedly and get more inspiration. I hear the music on different occasions and moods, such as when it is sunny, rainy, cloudy, bored, bad mood, or happy, and I try to close my eyes to feel more of the song. The shared feeling I got is I suddenly think I’m in the sky, and many happy people are dancing to the beat. Therefore, I wanted to convey my feeling to everyone through this cover music booklet.
Rough Sketch
After brainstorming, I started sketching out all the ideas according to the words or pictures I liked. I was interested in playing around with handwritten typefaces because they represent the freedom of the dance rhythm that Mon Soleil’s song gives to the listener. Also, I immediately added colour to every sketch to have a clearer vision for each sketch.
Mock Ups
After making the first draft, I realized the artist's name needed to fit the overall cover's flow. Also, I got a few peer feedback:
• The pen tool stroke of hand-written typeface and the cloud did not go smoothly.
• The artist name typeface seems off; I might need to explore the artist name typeface.
• Add stroke colour on the cloud for consistency.
• Minimize the spacing between each letter to make the typeface convey the sun.
• The pen tool stroke of hand-written typeface and the cloud did not go smoothly.
• The artist name typeface seems off; I might need to explore the artist name typeface.
• Add stroke colour on the cloud for consistency.
• Minimize the spacing between each letter to make the typeface convey the sun.
In the final draft, I made a few changes to the peer feedback that I got from the previous draft.
Final Cover
For the final cover, I experimented with a new colour palette that communicates romance and the feeling of the sky simultaneously: pink, orange, and sky blue. Even though I was happy with the previous colour, the touch of pink in the background gave it an additional romantic summer mood. So, I decided to move forward with this colour palette.
I keep the clouds as an element representing the sky, and the typography of “Mon Soleil” in the center represents the sun. In the final cover, I added more details to the elements, like a little texture to the cloud, and the lights that come out from the title add more details to the cover. Furthermore, the artist name is displayed inside the cloud, following the cloud’s stroke as I want it to be noticeable by the user but at the same time not as striking as the others.
Overall, this cover triggers the viewer’s mood of summer with sky elements and light, happy romance, with a touch of pink in the background.
Takeaways
Through this project, I learned the importance of expressive typography by experimenting in different ways. I have learned how to properly display visually appealing type and add personality to it to make it alive. Therefore, I have learned many things through this project, including that details matter and speak louder.
