"So basically I'm coming up with visuals for my EP that I'm releasing in early Feb.
I haven't decided a title yet but the music content is mostly concerning
identity politics and social issues. So I talk about domestic abuse, gentrification, social
media, protest and music."
"I would like the artwork to symbolically reflect the major social and political
changes that have happened over the last two years (during which I was writing)
so Brexit, rise of hate crimes, the Me Too movement etc..."
"I would like it to be combination of photography and illustration
(again not sure if that is the right term) but I really liked the image
I showed you on insta, but I'd like it to be more colourful"
Key Points taken from the briefing email:
- EP releasing early feb
- concerning identity politics and social issues
- domestic abuse
- gentrification
- social media
- protest
- music
- artwork to symbolically reflect the major social and political changes that have happened over the last two years.
- Brexit
- Rise in Hate Crimes
- The Me Too Movement
- Combination of Illustration and Photography
- Colourful
amahla's past work incorporates imagery of her and her logo:
"Because of this I would like to incorporate a photograph of me somewhere (on top of photographs more generally) , its not the main focus but it's important people can recognise what I look like now not as a child haha."
"I'm not 100% sure what this photo will be of yet but I'd appreciate if you kept this in mind!
I want it to be detailed enough so that if you look at it a few times you'll find something new in the narrative - like Little Simz- Stillness in Wonderland or Anderson Paak's Malibu"
Over a phone call I was able to determine the key themes that amahla wanted to cover for the EP design:
- Brexit
- Rise of Hate Crimes
- Me Too Movement
- Gentrification in London
- House Prices - how expensive living is
- Rise of Trump
- Black Lives Matter
- Jeremy Corbyn
- Migration Crisis
** Concerns for this is that Amahla doesn't want the design to be too political but the symbolism she want's me to approach is really confusing.
I asked for photos of her bedroom and key elements that she holds dear to get a better understanding for who she is - this would help with coming up with design ideas and sketches to present to her.
After discussing that Ridley Road was the area amahla wanted her work to be shown at I travelled down to London to take primary imagery and get a better understanding and feel for the area:
- Brexit
- Rise of Hate Crimes
- Me Too Movement
- Gentrification in London
- House Prices - how expensive living is
- Rise of Trump
- Black Lives Matter
- Jeremy Corbyn
- Migration Crisis
** Concerns for this is that Amahla doesn't want the design to be too political but the symbolism she want's me to approach is really confusing.
Mind-mapping ideas about ways in which I could visually represent all the symbolism was a great way of generating outcome ideas.
The outcome idea that stuck the most was designing an outcome that both represents amahla and the subjects she sings about in one layout/set up area.
I thought that creating the setting to be in her bedroom might be a great layout design for the EP - it would allow me to show a personal aspect of her and still intertwine the messages of her music into elements around the room. Examples being having 'Im in' poster on the wall the represent Brexit, of Vinyls with her old EP's on them. This design approach would allow me to combine both illustration and collage/photography in a nostalgic way.
This approach would also follow the brief and link to the design ideas she presented in her email.
I asked for photos of her bedroom and key elements that she holds dear to get a better understanding for who she is - this would help with coming up with design ideas and sketches to present to her.
This setting would tie in really well with the approach amahla wants. When initial design ideas are accepted and confirmed, I will come back to Ridley market to take final photo design for the outcome. I was only given ten minutes to collect these photos.
Further Idea Generation:
- The whole of the market is the cover
- A Stall is the main setting with elements entwined in
- Fruit Stall?
Looking back at Amahla’s past EP work, they were very simple with oversized handwritten type. The nostalgic feel to the imagery is the key thing that Amahla uses across her work, so using old imagery of her will be one of the key things to use to keep a consistent link to the new EP.
Amahla’s music reaches out over a large age group (18+) target audience, specifically the Soul Music community so the design needs to target and relate well to both young and old - offering a nostalgic yet youthful tone.
Amahla’s inspiration for the new ep consists of having one location shown and elements building out from it. The chosen location for the album was chosen as Ridley Road Market. Primary imagery was taken of the Market and of her room to gain a stronger understanding for her and the area.
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