This summer project works with the upcoming artist, Nia Archives, creating album artwork for her releases, CROSSROADS X2 and Don't Kid Urself
CROSSROADS X2 Brief
Nia Archives is a London based DIY artist, singer, songwriter and producer. She rose to the top with her top hit Sober Feels in May 2020, with a unique sound which mixes influences of hip Hop, Soul, Jungle and Drum and Base.
Nia asked me to create some album artwork for her upcoming release, CROSSROADS X2. Here are some visual reference images from the client:
Concept requirements:
A picture of Nia, from the set provided to me.
A design within a vinyl record, to mimic a single record sleeve.
Colour scheme of purples and blues.
Vintage tech style as seen in reference images.
Design Requirements:
2800 x 2800 pixels, suitable for digital sharing via Instagram.
Digital format.
Must include the words "Archives Nia" and "CROSSROADS X2".
Initial Designs
These initial designs take Nia's prompts into mind, combining imagery of 'crossroads' - through light trails from low shutter speed traffic photography. I then used the images of Nia she sent over, layering the images, to create the 'murky' effect I noted in the reference imagery. There is a vintage feel in the reference imagery I also noted, with grainy filters which emulate the fuzzy quality of box televisions and 90s graphic design. To recreate this with these images I increased the contrast, added a slight motion blur then filtered the final image with the grain filter. Finally, Nia specified she wanted a colour scheme of purples and blues similar to her break through single design. To include this I fine-tuned the colour balance to favour the specified colour scheme.
Feedback:
I sent these initial designs over to Nia to identify what she liked and disliked about the designs moving forward. Although she initially specified having a portrait of herself in the design, she expressed doubt as to whether this was effective. Furthermore, she was specific about a certain type font, which although I had tried to closely match, wasn't exact. We went through a couple more type fonts together to find the right one. Finally, she asked if we could explore further imagery of maps, sending over some new reference imagery. She loved the grain filter which gave it the 90s graphic style, and also the colour scheme. Noting to keep these elements moving forward.
Development
With Nia's feedback in mind I created an edited design which incorporated the text, and her portrait more zoomed in. I knew she was unsure about using a portrait and thought this would be a good way of making it less recognisable.
Nia did like this design, but felt we should return to the drawing board in terms of what imagery we could go for. She sent over another set of reference images to work from.
Analysing these images I created a concept that would include:
A map similar to these, with block text and shapes. This would be different from something such as geographical map, or satellite map. Something such as an AA map would be perfect. The specifics of the map should be London as that's where Nia is based and she shared the video is also filmed in London locations.
Manipulation of text similar, stretched and morphed. This would need to be the chosen text for "Nia Archives." and any text for the song title.
Emulating the vinyl record by keeping the black shapes outlining the image, and creating depth in the image which would imitate the grooves of an actual record.
Based on my concept ideas i created this base image. The map is taken from an AA road map of central London, with colour balance editing to match the required colour scheme. Then the shape outline of the record has been layered on top.
Adding the text was initially difficult due to the colour matching, which made the white text unreadable. We knew we wanted to go for a monochrome theme for the overlays because it would emphasise the image background. I experimented with adding a black text outline, but felt this looked amateur. I also experimented with adding a glow in the text background which would help emphasise the text. I felt the warmer colours added a nice gradient, which matched the feeling of the song - with elements of nostalgia I feel the warm gradient emulates a sunset. However the top font 'Hijinxx presents Nia Archives' was still unreadable. This was partly due to the font choice, however this was something which was non-negotiable in the design requirements.
In these designs I noticed that the design wasn't true to the record idea we were going with - as an actual record would not have colour in the centre hole - because it would be an actual hole. To fix this I researched some pictures of the actual record sticker which we were trying to create.
Final Design CROSSROADS X2
Using the eclipse shape I managed to recreate the record grooves by clearing the centre fill, reducing the pixel size of the shape outline and then fading the shape into the image behind it, which created a shadow similar to the groove. However, in these examples I also noted the design of the centre hole, which shows a white background with a shadow, to give it a 3D effect.
For this final design I tried to recreate the central hole to create a shadow effect similar to those in my reference images. To do this I added an eclipse with an inner shadow. This small change completely changed the overall design, making it almost an exact match to how a physical record would look. I also added another groove in the outer central circle, to further detail the record grooves. Finally, to make the text clearer I added a black drop shadow.
I'm really happy with this final design, the grain filter and Gaussian blur gives the overall image a 90s graphics effect, which I was looking to recreate based on the reference imagery provided by Nia. I think the small detailing which emulates a record label is effective in giving the final image a photographed feel and 3D effect which is again evident in Nia's reference images. One thing I would note is the background image is not my image, and only edited from a copy of AA. Although maps are public domain, it is something I would need to consider when creating commissioned work.
Don't Kid Urself Brief
For Don't Kid Urself, Nia wanted to go for a slightly different vibe. The song is described by Nia as 'nostalgic, a dance song and summer banger', so already we had a couple of ideas. Nia shared with me the working video (not yet out) which had a grunge feel, shot on 8mm film in urban environments. The video was a murky feeling of nostalgia for those who grew up in working class sub-urban areas, with brutalist shots of the city, graffiti, train tracks and tram stations. The song itself has an upbeat rhythm that you could imagine being played at house parties on summer nights. Again Nia wanted to go for the 90s graphic design style we discussed for CROSSROADS X2. She specified she wanted to keep the format of a record sticker, and was a fan of the Gaussian blur and grain filter mix which emulated a 90s computer screen.
Nia sent over a couple of references images we could work with:
These images weren't much to go off as we knew what feeling and theme the single would have, but didn't know what imagery to work with. I was pretty inspired by the brutalist architecture featured in the video, so explored some photography which had similar feelings.
I felt most inspired by the overhead trainlines, thinking I could distort them in the same way as computerised lines which are recurrent in Nia's reference imagery.
Process
To begin this creative process I created two very different designs which explored the 2 ideas I had. Sharing these with Nia, she noted that she liked the nostalgic city background, maybe combined with the blurred linework. She also noted she liked the colour scheme as she wanted it to match her running theme.
I then created this image which combined imagery of working class nostalgia - layering neon takeaway signs - with adjusted colour scheme and the record label overlay. Sharing this with Nia she felt this gave the single an 'end of the night' feeling, and she wanted to return to the urban imagery.
With this in mind I returned to the overhead train-line imagery I was initially inspired by, distorting the imagery like a 90s TV screen. I created a 'signal failure' effect by combing distortion with Gaussian blur and grain filter. I then changed the colour balance to warm purples and blues. This fit with Nia's running feel and also created a summer sunset colour palette, which reflected the 'summer banger' description of the song. Finally I used the record template from CROSSROADS X2 as this was an element we wanted to keep as a running theme.
Adding text I again kept the font specification Nia mentioned in her design brief. For the title font I had free reign, but it was difficult to find a font which matched both the design and the bottom text. I finally went with a scratchy font, as this also returned to the 90s style record stickers we looked at throughout the design process. With this design I noticed the text lay over the record grooves, which would be a continuity error if imaging this design is a picture of a record - as the grooves would run through the text.
This final design considered the noted detail errors, and Nia was very happy with the finished product.
I like this design as it really compliments the nostalgic vibe of working class sub-urban environments, thinking of transport and architecture. The colour scheme not only matches the previous single design, but also creates a summer sunset which matches the songs theme. Finally I think the record template gives a professional finish to the design.
Conclusion
Working with Nia was really insightful when beginning to consider professionally commissioned work. this project gave me the experience of working with a client in terms of following design specifications, exploring reference and theme imagery, and creating something the client is happy with. A positive about this project is there was great communication between myself and the client, which allowed for a well developed design process, with a considered and researched final design. I would note that when taking commissions in the future I need to thoroughly consider the imagery I am using. As this work was done for free and part of a design process I don't think there would be any issues with copyright, also due to the way I used my images. However, if working with future clients I would need to consider how they may profit off my design and how this may cause issues if I have used an image I do not own. Further research has led me to conclude in future projects adding a commission rate for stock images used, or requesting the client to provide me with copyrighted images, or taking my own photos, would solve this issue. To do this I would need to create a clear business plan which includes consideration of copyright laws.