Merchandising for Bacon Grease
An experimental artist in the Orlando music scene, Bacon Grease brings her live performances to diverse audiences.
This project encompassed various forms of merchandise, including T-shirts, stickers, and social media assets to promote upcoming performances.
My role was to create designs tailored to suit their DIY aesthetic and resonate with their listeners. As a fan of their music and the music scene in general, my approach was a made by fans, for fans mentality.
The initial concept for the T-Shirt was based off of a discussion with the client and the idea to create an outline of them during a live performance. Drawing inspiration from neon signs, my concept focused on high contrast and connecting line work.
Recalling my first live experience with Bacon Grease, the overwhelming setup of gear and wires came to mind. There were so many wires. This being the nature of seeing electronic music, incorporating the wiring as a central theme in the design would be something that fans could relate to. I reflected on the immersive aspects of her live performances, how the beat was built up over time until some kind of order was created out of the chaos of sound. I brought this idea into the design and creating order out of chaos was also my challenge. With these concepts in mind, a few potential designs emerged during the ideation phase as seen below.
Bacon Grease Uncle Lou’s 2023
Another aspect for consideration was the screen printing process for the T-shirts. Attention to line thickness was crucial to ensure effective translation to the medium.
The client was very pleased with the final outcome and expressed interest in expanding the line of merchandise which lead to the creation of buttons with a similar design which included color. The adaptation involved a shift to a circular orientation and the introduction of new color combinations.
This successful collaboration not only exceeded the client's expectations but also expanded the design into additional merchandise, further engaging Bacon Grease's fan base. You can listen here: Bacon Grease
These questions guided my design process:
Which details overcomplicate the design and should be omitted?
Which details should be included for clarity or inferred?
The answers to these questions allowed me to solve this challenge by distilling the design down to essential elements and establishing a flow within the line work while paying special attention to overlapping areas and the negative spaces created. Connecting the cords at the bottom created a dripping effect that really rounded out the structure of the design.
Tape deck design for Synth-Pop artist Octodaze
Octodaze is an emerging Synth-Pop artist in the Orlando music scene. This cassette tape insert was created in anticipation for their upcoming album release party.
Octodaze’s music is considered the genre of Wave, which incorporates both nostalgic 80’s culture with futuristic technology. With this at the forefront of my mind, my plan was to merge the bold aesthetics of brutalist design with elements of retro-futurism.
From there, I paired their previously used typeface of BD Geminis with a bold block typeface, a contrast that could be unified through the use of italics. High contrast color choices were used to reflect the themes of dystopia and Japanese cyberpunk.
The bold colors and retro aesthetics make this tape deck stand out, catching the eye of a passing music fan and preparing them for the sonic experience Octodaze has crafted.
Listen to their music here: Octodaze
To begin this process the client provided me with some assets including an image of the Japanese superhero Kamen Rider to use for the cover, along with their logo, which is a throwback to 80’s dystopian film Robocop.
Album art for Quarantine Dream
The client had shared that the pandemic was the catalyst for this project. While it was a time of fear and great upheaval in our world, it was also a time to spend time at home, reflecting and creating, fleshing out our dreams for the future. With this in mind, I drew a lot of inspiration from dream pop and vapor wave music genres. Incorporating cool colors for the background and lazy Sunday pool side imagery. This same idea is very much reflected in the typography chosen alongside the cover art. To create contrast, I broke up the space by placing the cowgirl image in the center along with her superimposed shadow, using orange for a pop of surprising color.
This design will be used for the client’s album release in 2024.
This album design was created for up-and-coming artist Quarantine Dream. The goal was for the album cover to stand out as a declaration of her arrival in a music industry that has often been perceived as a "boys' club". I aimed to create a visual representation that reflected the duality of the artist’s sound and identity. My approach was to use a juxtaposition of contrasting elements to create a visual metaphor communicating this sentiment.
