Music Icons: 50 Years
Objective:
Design three cohesive posters advertising 3 events dedicated to music Icons: Ravi Shankar, Jimi Hendrix, and Madonna.
Conceptual Project
Concept:
Each poster is meant to embody the sound and life of their respective icon.
Approach:
Shankar’s poster features harmonious warm colors and a liquid quality to his name to represent his peaceful sound. Hendrix’s poster is psychedelic with its colors and the haziness of his name. Madonna’s poster uses pinks and blues to symbolize her breaking the glass ceiling of the music industry.
Free-Play
Letters and lines of text were cut up to explore possible dynamic layouts. Then varying techniques were used to warp the names of each icon and text relating to them by hand. For Madonna the lyrics to her song Like a Virgin, were warped. For Hendrix the lyrics to Purple Haze were warped, and for Shankar a public essay on his Morning Love Raga were warped.
After the desired warps were found, they were brought into Photoshop to clean up the images and colorize them to potentially use in the posters.
Initial Ideation
Final Hendrix Poster
The assets created through free-play were used as the basis for the posters. Vibrant secondary colors were used to give off a funky, 70’s mood. For the body copy about the event, it was kept clean and simple so that it would be readable and overwhelm the poster.
Developing a Series
After deciding on what method to use for the series, the designs for the Ravi Shankar and Madonna posters were solidified.
Applications
Animation
Concept:
This animation will focus on one musician, Jimi Hendrix, to build interest for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Music Icons: 50 Years concerts. The animation will be representative of Hendrix’s sound and aesthetic. Hendrix was famous for utilizing glitches and warps in guitar amps to create his unique, psychedelic sound.
Audience:
The general public, specifically those who are interested in music icons throughout history or with an interest in rock music.
