Print+ Narrative Design Project (Spring 2020)
After being printed and folded
The first step involved research and creating a booklet of inspiration. I included previous album covers and song lyrics. I also included various reference images to draw inspiration from. This includes Japanese Graphic Design, Vaporwave Art, 1980s Aesthetic, imagery from Japan and Shinjuku, and wabi-sabi.
I then sketched some designs and took notes of various inspiration.
Some drafts for the inside back cover- created using Illustrator. I originally attempted a draft using simple shapes, before deciding to hand-draw it and color it digitally.
Some drafts for the poster design. Again, I originally attempted to design the poster using simple shapes, before deciding to hand drawn the poster and color it in.
I then combined the final images in InDesign and placed some text. I also reduced the image transparency on the inside back cover to improve legibility.
This was a fun project. I always enjoy the research and compiling part of graphic design, especially since I really like Japanese graphic design. I made sure to listen to MACROSS 82-99 while working on this project. This was a useful exercise in designing for print, since the images have to be designed with real world dimensions (I personally prefer using inches or centimeters to using pixels). The dimensions ended up being 10" x 15", with each of the six squares being 5" x 5". It was also fun to see the physical product come to life after being printed out and folded.
