THE VACCINES' PICK-UP FULL OF PINK CARNATIONS REBRANDING
Hunter Fitzgerald
THESIS STATEMENT
I want to explore how graphic design can enhance the experience of music. This takes the form of rebranding the visual experience of Pick-up Full of Pink Carnations. By examining how visuals complement a band's sound I can highlight the importance of cohesive design in shaping a band's identity and standing out in their genre of music.
PROCESS
The Vaccines are an English indie rock band formed in 2010 in London, with six albums to date.The visual map from everynoise.com shows bands' similarities. The more similar the bands are, the closer they are grouped together. This is crucial for envisaging an album's visual identity as they can be easily be compared.
By juxtaposing album covers from these bands, we discern strong thematic parallels. The prevalent motifs, such as group photos in urban settings, indicate a recurring trend. A band's identity extends beyond its album cover. Let's scrutinize their merchandise offerings for this album. Emphasizing consistent type treatment, more cohesive color, and innovative designs to transcend mere album cover replication onto merchandise.
Having analyzed their visual aesthetic compared to other bands , our next step entails an examination of the album's essence to determine the sequence of creative elements. First and foremost, we address familiarity, acknowledging that repeated exposure enhances visual recall. Our strategy entails breaking down the creative process into similar manageable segments.
Subsequently, the research phase commenced, pivotal for delineating the album's visual direction. Deconstructing song lyrics and interviews unearthed the album's thematic core, unearthing
potential visual connections.
What did we uncover? The album encapsulates themes of loss and nostalgia, with a requisite infusion of grunge to maintain their indie rock identity. Highlighting a poignant quote encapsulating the album's essence—exploring loss, nostalgia, and the enduring beauty amidst decay. Memories fade, but the emotions they evoke persist.
I began sketching inspired by nostalgia, decay, time, and memory, exploring various concepts for album art.
Here are the two primary directions I pursued, with the left exploring the loss of identity through decay, but keeping a feel of beauty, and the right exploring themes of nostalgia and loss of momory through oral history. Ultimately I opted for the first direction.
Opting for a pink color palette to keep the idea of beauty, I experimented with type placement and variations, envisaging their application across merchandise and promotional materials.
Satisfied with the direction, I captured images of carnations to integrate throughout the designs for continuity.
The final image asset focuses on the loss of identifying elements from the face. allowing the audience to project whoever they want onto the image. The recognizability of the person is fading away but still leaving beautiful imagery where it once was, with cascading petals weaving through the design.
For typography, I selected two complementary fonts—a sans-serif reminiscent of flower petals and a textured script evoking vintage aesthetics of old truck logos.
To imbue physical objects with the theme of deterioration, I integrated photographic textures into the typography, ensuring coherence across all design elements. Variation applications are explored below.
Physical poster experience.
Digital ad and album experience.
Virtual and physical ticket
Tour bus and venue
Wristbands
Stage deterioration
Petals from the concert fall onto the merch designs.
Album with deterioration on see through back cover.
REFLECTION
Looking back at the project I feel as though I was able to complete my vision for what I think would enhance the visual experience for this album through creating a design system that was able to be applied to all of the final deliverables. For me, the process was the most rewarding for this project, allowing me to work with physical materials and learn new applications for 3D and animation. the research phase to this project was also particularly rewarding as music is not a visual medium, so I had to really dig into the essence of the album for coming up with imagery.
SOURCES
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Bhatt, S. (2022, May 4). The cultural capital of designing for musicians. Eye on Design. https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/the-cultural-capital-of-designing-for-musicians/
FitzGerald, E. (2023, October 19). Devolutionary design. 99% Invisible. https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/devolutionary-design/
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