Music by Design

Joseph Kent, Northeastern Illinois University

Nate Mathews and Kim Ambriz are the faculty sponsors of this project.

Abstract

In my Graphic Design exhibition, Music by Design, the purpose is to showcase these various styles of music and their personal or narrative meaning, alongside stylized illustrative work that can go beyond my personal style. Music is a very connective medium; shared among friends or a place of personal solace and enjoyment for many. I believe songs can mean very different things based on when they are first heard – and that the song itself is not the only thing a person keeps with them when they listen to music. This can include the simple experience and feel of opening a CD case, the events in a person’s life coinciding, or the experience of sharing it with someone. My personal work, as seen in certain Mixtape covers, favors high contrasts, flat colors, and an amalgamated style heavily influenced by anime in general. As an artist, I am quite content to draw characters, monsters, and a slurry of other iinspirations and influences. As a designer however, my work is not always about inputting my personal style. I am challenged by design and its more impersonal aspects, but it can show its uniqueness beyond its immediate style with many considerations such as its presentation and purpose. The exhibition focusses on music as a product with its packaging and artwork, rather than the music itself. There are total of 6 CD albums of their standard size each with their own interior booklet of standard size, as well as associated posters (24x36). Nearby is a computer listening station, with the songs used in the design of these albums, also showcasing their applied use in a digital format. Though not the creator of the displayed music, its organization as selective as the artwork created for the albums themselves.

 
Apr 19th, 12:00 AM

Music by Design

In my Graphic Design exhibition, Music by Design, the purpose is to showcase these various styles of music and their personal or narrative meaning, alongside stylized illustrative work that can go beyond my personal style. Music is a very connective medium; shared among friends or a place of personal solace and enjoyment for many. I believe songs can mean very different things based on when they are first heard – and that the song itself is not the only thing a person keeps with them when they listen to music. This can include the simple experience and feel of opening a CD case, the events in a person’s life coinciding, or the experience of sharing it with someone. My personal work, as seen in certain Mixtape covers, favors high contrasts, flat colors, and an amalgamated style heavily influenced by anime in general. As an artist, I am quite content to draw characters, monsters, and a slurry of other iinspirations and influences. As a designer however, my work is not always about inputting my personal style. I am challenged by design and its more impersonal aspects, but it can show its uniqueness beyond its immediate style with many considerations such as its presentation and purpose. The exhibition focusses on music as a product with its packaging and artwork, rather than the music itself. There are total of 6 CD albums of their standard size each with their own interior booklet of standard size, as well as associated posters (24x36). Nearby is a computer listening station, with the songs used in the design of these albums, also showcasing their applied use in a digital format. Though not the creator of the displayed music, its organization as selective as the artwork created for the albums themselves.