DEE GEE DESIGN
Vinyl Cover
Photoshop and Illustrator
This was a class assignment in which we had to choose one of our favourite songs and create a vinyl cover for it, so technically I was the client. Ed Sheeran's song "Bad Habits" was my choice since it had great music and thoughtful yet lighthearted lyrics. This song represents, in my opinion, engaging in harmful habits while fully aware of their negative effects since, in the end, you only have one life to live, so live it to the fullest.
This cover required a lot of different thoughts, thus it took me around 6-7 weeks to design.
My goal was to create an unconventional design.
Background: Since these albums already have covers and images connecting them, I wanted it to be unique by combining various aspects from digital and traditional sources. However, in this digital age, there aren't many vinyl designs available.
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The results was pleasing because I had never considered using conventional media and I got a lovely product that simultaneously looked elegant and well-organized.
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This project allowed me to step away from my computer and work with tactile materials to create something worthwhile, something I had long forgotten because we are so surrounded by them. This project has taught me a lot about trying out different approaches to get a goal.
The Objective: I wanted to accomplish something unique and unattainable. The chance to mix all the techniques and produce a successful result was good. The most crucial aspect was to use a straightforward layout and plenty of white space to create a high-quality design that was easy to grasp and something that people would remember.
The current one has a red background with a colourful butterfly in front; I wanted to take a fresh approach to produce some unique results with nice colours that weren't overpowering.
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Methods
The winter trees kept coming back to me when I was trying to locate a specific item, and each time I saw them, I could relate to the song. Like how these trees are so barren, with nothing on which to rely or care for them, yet they are so robust, and how the lovely skies always go with their emptiness and enhance the beauty of their existence. Similar to the song, he engages in harmful behaviours while knowing they are wrong since he has nothing left to lose.
The difficulty is in creating a coherent piece with all the methods and components working together as a team rather than competing with one another. The similarities between these components and various types of listeners will cause the music to resonate with them in various ways.
It's crucial to create something distinctive in a world filled with vinyl design options. Given that there is already a design for the same item, it would be best not to make anything identical to it but rather to connect it in some way so that it may accurately reflect the essence of the music.
Putting together an eye-catching graphic layout that looked good both online and in print. In order to accomplish all of this, it was crucial to take into account both media throughout the process because some of the techniques were all traditional. It was also crucial to check whether everything appeared attractive online and to combine and take elements that worked well together to achieve the desired result.
All of my students made these lovely patterns while we were listening to the song, and as I was admiring them, it occurred to me that just as everyone has various bad habits, so too does the song's mood.
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Then I began experimenting with the patterns that my classmates had made. I wanted to keep the foreground a touch lonely and dark, while keeping the background as vibrant as a rainbow in keeping with the subject.
After that, I started looking for pictures in my home to incorporate in a collage. My original intention was to place it somewhere in the foreground, so I wanted it to be a little overbearing. So I included everything I could think of that had to do with unhealthy habits, but after much deliberation and discussion, I decided to leave out some of the key points.
I took these photographs with bubble wrap and a mesh cloth.
With the title of the song I wanted to create a messy look so I started with a large typeface, added some wordplay, and then tore the paper's edges before writing the artist's name in my own handwriting. When I was finished, I really loved the results because they were all unique in some manner.
Final
Finally, I combined all the greatest components from several approaches to create the final product.
