WOW. i sit here right now watching a beautifully breathtaking sunset in Dana Point California. i am out on the porch of my hotel room enjoying the end of day sun rays. and it is beautiful. it’s nice to be working in a different place for a change. I am here with my husband Brian for a business trip. That is the one really nice thing about what i do.. i can do it from literally anywhere… as long as i have my laptop and internet… haha. right?
I wanted to share the process of this recent project that i did with Ryan Axtell. Ryan is a really talented singer songwriter with a killer vibe. He actually works in the exact same office as Brian does. So i guess they have had some bonding time or something. His wife Danielle is bomb and I have really enjoyed getting to know her better over the past few months.
Ryan and Danielle went through a very traumatic time during their recent pregnancy in this past year. You can read about their story on Danielle’s blog HERE. Ryan’s album was based off of that specific time in their lives when they walked through the valley. Therefore the album was titled “This Valley”. When Ryan and I talked through what exactly he envisioned for this cover.. we talked about plain bold simple text, an image of him on the cover, an artistic indie vibe, and all these things accomplished in a non-cheesy way. haha. and he specifically asked for the NON cheese effect. haha. I thought that was funny considering debut albums usually have that cheese factor.
below is my favorite cover option as well as some possible covers options that i came up with. Many of you have expressed in the passed that you enjoy seeing the process and understanding why I do some of the things that I do. So… i am going to walk you through the reasons why i did what i did. haha.
I could have chosen a desert scene with the heat of the sun in a dry place etc to represent the theme “this valley”. But i didn’t. I wanted the visuals to be more subtle and meaningful than that.
1. I first chose an earthy paper.. kind of faded away and eroded to represent a long journey. This paper has been through the wringer of a journey.. let me tell you. it’s brown like the dirt of life and the dirt of the valley.
2. I chose a plain font mainly because Ryan requested a simple large typeface. In the logo I created, I reversed one of the Ls to create a little valley of it’s own. I then placed the words “this valley” in the valley. Funny that. I added a little splatter to create a messy unpredictable element.. like his life situation.
3. In all of these comps (except for one) i used earthy colors: brown, orange, beige, green, gray… like the desert. But for some random reason Ryan choose the comp that had blue. I think its ironic.. because:
“Blue is the color of the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven”
HOLY WOWZA!!!! Good choice Ryan.. very fitting considering their faith and hope has carried them through these hard times.
4. I REALLY didn’t want cheezy desert scape so i decided to do an abstract version of a valley. A valley is a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river. Therefore, a valley is the absence of land.. so there must be two mountains/or land on either side.. right? That is how the V shape came to be the main element.
5. My favorite photo of Ryan is the one with his eyes closed. I think it shows thought, thinking, hardship, and sadness in a neutral non depressing creative way. Make sense? He chose looking to the right side. and that is fine too. I think the photo he chose expresses all of those things as well.
6. I love the bottom right comp… mostly because the “X” is over his eye. The X symbolizes a death in the family or hardship. (remember when those cartoons would die and get XX in their eyes?!?!). Same idea.
7. For the back I choose to use the LLs from the cover logo to create a valley and I placed all the text for the album in there. I felt like it visually yet abstractly carried the theme all the way through the print pieces.
8. I chose for the graphics to be overlayed on his face because I feel that he is being transparent with his life, thoughts, and emotions by creating an album out of this experience.
Wow. okay.. So thats that! I am not the graphic design Queen nor are these the only design options for this project. This is just my take on this project and idea. There are millions of ways this could have been done. Please check out Ryan’s site and well as Danielle’s personal blog. Ryan’s album is releasing very soon, so keep your eyes peeled. I think the end result is simple, unique, and deep in theme. What do you think of the final result and explanation? As always, I would love to hear your thoughts.
P.s Bless your heart if you read all of this. If you DID… say so in the comment section. lets see who actually reads these suckers.
January 28th, 2010 at 9:54 pm
Promise, I really read the whole thing! I find it all so interesting – I love what you do and your process! Have fun in Dana Point, so jealous right now
January 28th, 2010 at 10:00 pm
Oh, you so know I read every word
Enjoy your hubby time…and thanks for making my hubby’s album look AMAZING!!!
January 28th, 2010 at 10:05 pm
i love when you give us insight into your process!
and the comps are great!
January 28th, 2010 at 10:16 pm
this… is awesome. thanks for sharing your process!
January 28th, 2010 at 10:20 pm
Read, and read. Love the one you chose and the symbolism of the V shape, but there is something really beautiful, serene, and even disturbing about the bottom right comp. Great work.
January 28th, 2010 at 10:25 pm
You make me laugh! Of course we read it all.
January 28th, 2010 at 10:58 pm
promise- I LOVE this. I love your integration of design, photography and all things art. I’m sort of a mixture of things myself, and your blog is one of my go-to reads
January 28th, 2010 at 11:07 pm
Love it! You are such an amazing designer I find myself drooling more than reading! Thanks for such an informative and thorough post! Thanks!
January 28th, 2010 at 11:31 pm
i love hearing about other people’s creative processes! please keep sharing.
January 28th, 2010 at 11:42 pm
Looks great Promise, so great
and YES you are a graphic design queen!
January 28th, 2010 at 11:46 pm
It’s great reading about your process and I think he chose the best one hands down! Great job Promise!
January 29th, 2010 at 12:23 am
I made it. Love this. Thank you for sharing, as always.
January 29th, 2010 at 12:34 am
Promise —
I love the abstract in this piece, that it wasn’t taken literally. Seeing you, Chaz, and Chris do such awesome work has given me great inspiration. Keep up the amazing work!
January 29th, 2010 at 12:38 am
Read it! Love your style and hearing how the creative process works!
January 29th, 2010 at 1:01 am
totally read the whole thing.
so powerful.
i’m so interested in hearing the album!
January 29th, 2010 at 1:08 am
All of that looks great. Interesting to see that you could get Ryan’s story not only in the songs on the album, but in the name of the album, the arrangement of letters and the colors. I am mostly excited about the use of the earthy paper. Hah!
January 29th, 2010 at 1:46 am
Read the whole thing! Love reading how other people’s creative process actually turns into reality. Found myself relating very much to portions of your process.
2 cents… You (Promise) as well as people in the comments had reaction/intrigue toward the bottom right comp. Use it! For something else…web banner, myspace page, promo poster etc.
Even though it wasn’t chosen as the final cover, it still has appeal & interest & spark and is visually consistent with the primary album art, enough to get at least a little mileage from.
January 29th, 2010 at 1:55 am
i read! and i love!
are there any books or websites you go to for inspiration and tutorials for your designs?
January 29th, 2010 at 2:08 am
AWESOMMMMME!!!!
January 29th, 2010 at 2:08 am
I did, I read it! And I think it’s great. I love how well-rounded your blog is. A little bit of everything for us to read and enjoy
January 29th, 2010 at 2:19 am
Oh, I just love those Axtells. Excited to see what the end result is!
January 29th, 2010 at 2:40 am
I’ve been reading your blog for a little while now, and I absolutely love love love your style. I’ve never really had a role model before, but I can honestly say that you’re mine! I will never reach your level of creativity, but you inspire me to try my best!
I actually just bought a Canon Rebel too, because I really want to get into photography and graphic design. Considering I’m an accounting & finance major, this is kinda a stretch, haha, but it’s what I love so I decided to go for it! And it’s partly because of your blog & the inspiration it gives me. So thanks for sharing everything you do! Love it!!
January 29th, 2010 at 3:50 am
thanks for the comment! your page is so super inspiring!
January 29th, 2010 at 9:57 am
I read it all! =) And as soon as you said he went through a valley and I saw the first picture, I got that his picture was in the valley and that the blue represented mountains. Psssh. You know, girl. =) Very nice. It’s so cool to see it in it’s completed way and see how you came up with it.
January 29th, 2010 at 11:39 am
I read it all the way through! I really enjoyed it. I like your creative process.
January 29th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
i read it prom! haha, i love seeing the process you go through when you design…it helps me to evaluate my own!
January 29th, 2010 at 12:23 pm
I didn’t read it all : ( Am I going to get fired??? My excuse is that I got way side tracked by Danielle’s blog. Thanks for that link! Her hope is beautiful.
January 29th, 2010 at 12:35 pm
SARAH!!! you are FOR SURE FIRED!! OUT OUT OUT! hahahaa. jk
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
Promise- this is WAY cool. I honestly kinda thought graphic designers just put stuff together that looked neat and pretty (I am SO ignorant, my apologies), but I LOVE that this design has such a personal touch. Each element has a purpose and a meaning, which makes the whole thing come together so cohesively for the artist’s purpose. It’s beautiful, and I think it shows a hope that closely resembles their story. Thanks for sharing
and yes, I read the whole thing
January 29th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
Read! Having gone to design school I love seeing the path a creative mind goes and the reasoning behind decisions. I totally get you and you convince me everytime how much I want you to brand our business! Hopefully one day soon!
January 29th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
I love reading how you come up with concepts… it stretches my own creativity and thinking. Thanks for sharing this! I love these…
January 29th, 2010 at 5:54 pm
i read this entire post…these are the kinds of post i love the most… thinking processes. i agree with you on the photo with his eyes closed, but i do love the complete and finished product.
off to read their story now, and will be on the lookout for the album!
<3
January 29th, 2010 at 7:27 pm
Looks great ! Love your blog ! You are so talented !
January 29th, 2010 at 10:46 pm
Promise, Knowing what he went through this year and the work he has put into this I have to say this brought me to tears. The bottom two are my fave but when I look at the one on the left it brings up so much emotion in me. Wow is all I can say. Beautifully done, so much thought and heart into it.
January 30th, 2010 at 11:18 am
aww Promise you’re such a talent!:) i’m sure your clients love how much heart and thought you put into your work!
January 30th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
I read it all :] I love seeing how other designers work. I really like the blue cover that was chosen and it is so simple, but very striking. You did a great job!
January 31st, 2010 at 10:41 am
yup! read it and loved your process!
January 31st, 2010 at 9:33 pm
I read this whole sucker. And I want that album!
February 1st, 2010 at 10:03 am
yep. definitely read the whole thing. you’re such an inspiration to designers and i love reading about your process. it’s so encouraging to hear about the struggles that other artist go through and to know that someone else feels the exact same way. great work!
February 1st, 2010 at 3:08 pm
Done!
Your thought process is really great. I love the imagery and specific choices made. You really understand how design can speak to a certain situation and/or emotion. I can’t wait to pick up Ryan’s cd. I admire their strength and a desire to honor God in this valley of their lives.
February 4th, 2010 at 1:26 am
super fab — turned out amazing…well done, friend! and indeed…read every word..LOVE knowing more about your process!
February 4th, 2010 at 11:04 am
I still think it’s bizarre that anyone would want to blog, and have their entire life on the net…… way to creepy for my husband and I to ever do
February 4th, 2010 at 2:07 pm
jlett,
haha. Thanks for visiting this blog anyway.
well that is the beauty of free will i guess. you are not obligated to blog or even think about blogging if you dont want to.
do you have a facebook or twitter account?
February 6th, 2010 at 1:54 am
i enjoyed looking over your shoulder at your design process. thanks for sharing!
February 23rd, 2010 at 12:00 am
I READ it and totally appreciated the understanding to the symbolism. I would have know idea how an artist comes to design things and the meaning behind them. That was awesome thanks for sharing!