I was approached by Jake Fletcher, frontman of Fletcher Jackson, to create a bespoke piece of design for the band's upcoming new single, Prelude. The brief was left entirely open and allowed me to respond in any way possible. The only information I was given was a brief description of the themes within the song:
"The single is about how we interact with and respond to the world through our phones"
Audience
The specified audience for the single were individuals aged between 16-35, and the concepts and aesthetics used should be appealing to both men and women within this age bracket.
Preliminary Designs
From this information, a selection of preliminary designs were created. Influences were drawn heavily from the aesthetics of technology, and the concept of 'the blue screen of death', the blue error screen displayed on Windows computer systems after a fatal system error.
Continuing with the use of bold primary colours, additional designs were created using reds and yellows, and a gradient was added to simulate the standby lights on older television sets. This also added a sense of depth to the artwork.
Feedback
Feedback gathered from peers found the preliminary designs to be effective in conveying the themes of technology, as most said the blue colour reminded them of the error screen.
Feedback from the band suggested that although it was agreed that the colours were effective, the simplicity of the design and the typeface portrayed a retro feel that did not relate to the contents of the lyrics. It was suggested that additional elements could be added to the artwork to fill the negative space. The band suggested that the black and white version of the artwork had a more classy feel, and this was something they were keen to see more of.
Secondary Designs
From this feedback a selection of secondary designs were produced, bearing in mind the limited colour palette preferred by the band. The additional element of a net globe was introduced to the designs, playing on the idea of interconnectedness and a 'global village' - a phrase coined by Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan, meaning the metaphoric shrinking of the world into a village through the use of electronic media. The type treatment remained similar, with an additional drop shadow to maintain the sense of depth created by the 3D globe structure.
The secondary designs were created primarily in black and white, and a neon green globe was added to again reference the aesthetics of technology. Blue versions were also trialled with additional shading.
Feedback
Feedback for the secondary designs from peers was positive. Most felt that the globe motif created a stronger sense of harmony with the themes of the song, and also created a unique symbol which could be replicated and used more widely across other artwork or merchandise. The version with the dark blue background was the preferred design.
However feedback from the band was relatively negative. While the band like the concept of the globe, they were looking for something more illustrative. They forwarded on some artwork for another band, Hookworms, and asked for something more in line with the other band's artwork.
Album artwork for Hookworm album Microshift
It was also made clear that the band had already acquired a second designer to create the type treatments for the artwork, limiting this project to purely creating imagery for the album artwork. Unfortunately due to this lack of communication from the band at the start of the project, and the illustrative direction that the band ultimately wished to take, it was no longer possible to offer design direction to the band and therefore the artwork designs would go no further.
Evaluation
Although the artwork created in this project was not completed, the existing designs can still be considered successful. The concepts and aesthetics accurately represented the key themes of the song, and created a unique visual identity for the single that would have been recognisable amongst its competitors. Working with a client such as this should have demanded further discussion as to the aims of the brief, the outcomes required, and the requirements of both the designer and the client. However, working within an area of design that has personally not yet been explored allowed for a deeper understanding of designing for commercial use, and the importance of branding and visual communication within this particular field.