Sep
16
I stumbled upon Alex Cornell’s Wes Anderson Film Festival works and I love his style. His works really standout that I just can’t not feature him in our blog! Luckily, I had the chance to interview this talented young graphic designer from San Francisco.
Could you tell us something about yourself?
I am 24, about to turn 26 (we skip 25 where I’m from to avoid the stress). I am currently living in San Francisco, getting my MFA in design, working and writing for ISO50, freelancing, and running an intermittent solo music career. I went to Duke for my undergrad and studied psychology. I don’t recall doing much work, but I think I may have just forgotten about it with expert use of selective memory. Most of my time at school was spent playing guitar and singing in a band called Running Lights.
What and who are your influences?
For me, first and foremost would be Scott Hansen (ISO50). Before I even knew what graphic design was, I was following Scott’s work. Scott is able to move between both music and design, and create incredible work in both fields. As these are the same two creative arenas I find myself in, he has always been a major source of inspiration and someone to look up to. Otherwise, I would say I am influenced by the design
of Build or Non-Format, the writings of Michael Beirut, and the irreverence of Stefan Sagmeister. And the entire country of Japan. Also John Mayer – I probably built the entire first couple versions of myself around what I thought John Mayer might do.
How do you work on a concept? I try and think about: A) what hasn’t or isn’t being done, B) what would make me laugh, C) what would be the worst possible idea, and D) what is practical (and/or what I can make practical in short order). I will usually just sit and think for about 30 minutes and try and think of ideas. Usually, this is enough to grab some concept but not anything visual. The visual brainstorming is a lot harder and usually takes way more time. This process begins alone, like my conceptual brainstorm, but ends up with me surrounded by piles of books, movies, etc. Each and every time I begin a new project I am frozen with fear that I won’t be able to think of anything good. Every single time.
I really like your works for your hypothetical Wes Anderson Film Festival . Could you tell us about it?
I made the materials for the hypothetical festival over the course of a 15-week semester. Much of the finished product work was completed in a short amount of time, once I had nailed down a visual style and look/feel (after about 4 weeks). It was a fairly smooth process of development actually –much more so than I had become accustomed to. I really enjoyed being able to wield a certain amount of weirdness and randomness throughout the project. For example, I had a lot of fun titling every piece of the project something very long and unusual. There was no single name for the festival because this seemed tired and expected. Instead, each time the brand is encountered, there is a different (but equally) bizarre headline.
That’s a well-polished work for a class project. I will ask you questions that we ask all our designers. To you, what makes a good package?
A good design must be intuitive and simple, first. After that, if it can also be strange, beautiful and exciting than you have a great success. This balance is very important. I also gravitate towards packages implementing really tactile materials. There are magazines that I read because I like the way the pages feel. I force myself to enjoy the content as well so I can hold the paper longer.
Well said. Now, what makes a bad package?
If it attacks you, like clamshell packaging, this would be a good indicator of a “bad” package. Also, bad graphic design can ruin even the best physical package designs.
Thanks a lot for sharing your talents and brilliant mind, Alex. We can’t wait to see more of your designs. Keep it up!
Sep
7
Hi Lindsey! Could you tell us something about yourself?
I’ve always had the knack for creating colorful concepts and jarring composition either through fine arts or media based design. I studied graphic design at Maryland Institute College of Art, graduating in 2009 Magna Cum Laude. After graduating, I decided to travel west to San Diego, CA to discover the West Coast design world. Now as a freelance designer, I acquired a few unique jobs as a package designer for companies in Canada and Australia. In my free time I’m either at the beach, roller blading on the boardwalk, or exploring my new found home in Cali. I love the warm weather and array of diverse people who call this place home.
Could you tell us about the design you made for “The Kinder Kids” Audio Book.
“The Kinder Kid’s audio books offer an interactive and whimsical approach to Dr. Seuss classic stories. I designed a storage sleeve with two movable trays within the CD’s holder allowing both sides of the package to simultaneously open revealing the inner content. The Packaging was inspired by the children’s thick chipboard stylebook. I wanted the packaging to be as engaging as the stories.”
How did you make this design?
I first developed a die cut using Illustrator and hand drawn sketches. Then I applied graphics and typography to the desired areas of the layout. The lay out includes two sliding panels front and back, and one band that wraps around its-self creating the outer box-shell. Next I printed out the design on photo quality ink jet paper. Then used spray adhesive to bond the design to my material. I used 3ply white board as my base for the package. Finally I cut it all out using the die cuts I had created and scored, folded, and glued as need.
Thanks for sharing that to us. Now here’s a question we ask all of our featured designers: What do you think is a good package?
I believe all good designs speak without a sound and the best design is the one that communicates directly to the consumer. As a designer, I love the challenge to design for both thrifty products and high-end products.
Thanks Lindsey for sharing to us your time and talent. We hope to see more of your works!
Aug
30
Calling All CD/DVD/ Vinyl Designers!
Filed Under Announcements, Featured Designers | Leave a Comment
Let Me See Your Package will be featuring CD Designers weekly!
If you think you have good designs or if you know someone who has, don’t hesitate to contact us or email me directly ( marion@unifiedmanufacturing.com). We would love to do a quick interview with you about your works. You can share to us how your techniques, tips, and even your sources of inspiration! Come on now, don’t be shy. Show us what you’ve got!
Jan
21
Northeast Ohio is home to our next group of featured designers, Three Bears Design. The creative and well educated group, with degrees from art and design institutions across the Northwest, enjoy creating all sorts of projects, including illustrated t-shirts, catalogs, show posters, and of course: compact discs.
Today, we’re proudly displaying their “Sospiri” project, designed by Charlie Wagers, Adam Baker, and Keith Konya. The trio drew inspiration from the album’s second to last track, “The Conductor’s Regress.”
Adam’s insanely detailed, freehand illustration style meshed with the label’s vision for the product. The conductor himself is presented front and center on the cover. He is directing a beautifully detailed, illustrated orchestra seen upon opening the package. A rough draft of the orchestra is included in the gallery with this post.
The record label budgeted for a 3-color silk screened chipboard package, so the package was designed around those needs.
Included in the package is a piece of actual sheet music, the annotation of “The Conductor’s Regress.” This bonus goodie compliments well with the look and feel of the project, giving customers an extra physical medium with which they interact with the story.
Another creative detail Three Bears Design included is the barcode on the back. Here’s Charlie on his favorite part of the design:
We wanted to somehow incorporate the barcode into the package, as this is always the most out-of-place piece of any package design. So we made it look like it was bleeding off the edge, to fit with the design.
I’d like to thank Charlie Wagers and the rest of the Three Bears Design team for taking the time to share their story with us. Be sure to check out their other work, it’s well worth a look-see.
Dec
8
Featured Designer: Dusty Steward
Filed Under CD Packaging, Featured Designers | 2 Comments
Dusty Steward
I’m lucky today for the opportunity to speak with one of the most creative minds in cd packaging design, Dusty Steward, who is sharing an eye catching and unique CD package with us.
After studying his trade at various schools in southern California, Dusty settled in and graduated from Cal State Long Beach, where he worked as a freelancer even while studying. After graduation, Steward moved up the freeway to Hawthorne, CA, where he continues his freelance practice along with other design ventures including a clothing line, print and web design, motion graphics, and logo / brand design.
His featured project, pictured below, was created for the Los Angeles hip-hop group Dilated Peoples. It features the type of creativity in package design we just live for!
The design involves two digipaks contained in an outer cardstock sleeve which has a custom created mixer printed on the outside. The inside of the digipaks themselves resemble the turntables often used in hip-hop production.
As wonderful as the design is, another bit of magic is there you can’t see from the pictures. When one of the digipak “turntables” is pulled out of the sleeve, the other comes right out along with it!
Here’s what he had to say about the final product:
The packaging below was directly inspired by all aspects of the music, and is focus on the style and era that make hip-hop have such a strong impact. The original idea for this design was to represent the core strength of the group. I found that much of their success could be attributed to their DJ, DJ Babu, who is a mastermind on the turntables. I took this idea of using turntables and created several mock-ups all which solved the universal issue of design aesthetic. I found that this design complimented the group and created a unique experience for the audience, it enabled the buyer to literally become part of the product.
For Dusty, design isn’t a career, but a lifestyle. He strives to be the best at what he does, and we have to say, he’s well on his way. It is easy to see the passion for design and creativity Dusty brings to his work.
Visit four9seven.com for more work from Dusty and his firm.
All images are © Dusty Steward, and used with permission.
Nov
26
Today, Let Me See Your Package is featuring the work of designer Althea Aseoche. Hailing from Sydney, Australia, Althea is a talented young creative with original, inspiring ideas.
Her DVD and booklet box set, pictured below, takes a fun twist on the standard DVD digipak design. She also drew inspiration from the Lord of the Rings - Smeagol collectible DVD and and “Creating Gollum” book.
What I love about Althea’s design, is how much space there is for the full booklet in the package. The left and right flaps overlap to create a quite sizable box for the booklet. The packaging itself is adorned with characters from the film. Very little text is used, as the wonderful artwork speaks for the personality of the movie well enough on its own.
For more information on the project, visit AltheaAseoche.com. Artwork © 2006-2008 Althea Aseoche.
