Album Redesign
The album reboot project tasked students to create a brand identity for an artist through strong visualization of themes and concepts found in the artist’s music and image. The album I chose to redesign is Billy Woods’ and Kenny Segal’s 2023 experimental hip-hop album “MAPS”
Album Cover Front and Back
MAPS is a sonically dark and esoteric concept album is loosely focused on travel. “Travel” within this album refers to every meaning of the word from plane rides to time travel to out of body experiences. Billy woods speaks in metaphors, likening himself and his surrounding to historic figures and events, framing his modern life experience. In the design, I likened both artists to specific mythological figures (Billy as Odysseus, Kenny as Orpheus), and placed them amidst a modern aesthetic to reflect their roles in the process of the album. The choice of blue and white pushes forth astrological themes with orange to contrast and emphasize important information. A more abstract interpretation of the word “maps” is created in the paths of the map itself, which is shown in orange.
Zoetrope
In the zoetrope design, I focused on pushing forth the motifs and elements found in the cover while using the animation to create deeper context for the viewer. The crossing of paths (Billy and Kenny) on an infinite journey come together to create something greater than the sum of its parts. The signage flips and changes direction as it spins, implying an ever-changing path forward.
