Alethia
Branding & Album Design
Alethia, an independent Colombian artist based in Melbourne, Australia, embarks on a unique musical venture blending Latin, reggae, jazz, R&B, and soul. With heartfelt lyrics in English, her sound exudes a jazzy, soft, and delicate ambience. Her music serves as a personal journal, capturing her reflections through lyrics sung in both English and Spanish, leaving an indelible mark on each composition.
Initially, Alethia sought the assistance of a design agency to create compelling visual content that would complement the release of her four concept albums. Each album delves into intimate stories, weaving together a spiritual and emotional journey that resonates with listeners through the energy centres known as the 7 chakras.
Alethia's music transcends boundaries, offering a deeply personal and soul-stirring experience. Her artistry connects with audiences on a profound level, evoking emotions and inviting listeners to embark on their own transformative voyage.
Branding
The initial stage of this project involved the creation of a distinct visual identity that would capture the essence of Alethia as a burgeoning artist, ensuring a unique and recognisable style across all her assets.
To achieve this, we delved deep into Alethia's brief and immersed myself in her music, seeking inspiration for the visual elements that would best represent her artistic vision. After careful consideration, we distilled her style into five evocative keywords: ethereal, delicate, light, and airy.
Drawing upon these keywords, we embarked on the creative process, designing elements that would embody the ethereal nature of her music, infusing them with a delicate touch that mirrored the intricacy of her compositions. The resulting visuals exude a sense of lightness and airiness, perfectly complementing the soul-stirring melodies that define Alethia's musical journey.
By translating her musical essence into a captivating visual language, we aimed to create a cohesive and immersive experience for Alethia's audience, allowing them to connect with her artistry on a profound and aesthetic level.
Primary Logo
For Alethia's visual identity, we selected a straight typeface and added a subtle curvature to infuse a whimsical feel. Additionally, we incorporated simple line drawings of wildflowers inspired by nature as symbolic motifs. These elements create a unique and recognizable style that reflects Alethia's ethereal and delicate music.
Secondary Logo
The secondary logo for Alethia's album covers features a script-like font that can be interchanged with album or song titles. By combining a serif typeface with the script lettering, the logo has a natural and organic feel, perfectly complementing Alethia's music. This dynamic design adds a personalised touch to each album cover while maintaining a cohesive visual identity.
Album Design
We ensured that each of Alethia's four album covers possessed its own unique beauty and strength while seamlessly fitting into the overall project. We developed mood boards, designed high-quality album covers, and crafted animated GIFs for social media promotion. The result is a collection of visually captivating album covers that stand out individually and maintain a cohesive visual identity.
Hope
Capturing the essence of hope proved to be a challenging task due to its intangible and personal nature. Balancing recognisability and avoiding clichés was crucial in this endeavour. To portray hope, we turned to the symbolism of butterflies, but with a unique twist.
Through animation, the butterflies symbolise the liberation of hope from confinement. They come to life gracefully fluttering about, representing the transformative power and freedom that hope brings. This visualisation strikes a delicate balance, evoking a sense of hope while maintaining a distinct and memorable visual concept.
Love
Alethia's “Love” album takes listeners on a profound and ambient journey, exploring the depths of emotion and the mysteries of the heart. To visually capture the essence of this album, we employed a metaphorical approach, deviating from the conventional depiction of a heart.
Drawing inspiration from the metaphorical significance of a chest as the dwelling place of the heart, we created a visual representation that goes beyond the literal. This unique interpretation reflects the album's dark and emotional nature, inviting listeners to explore the depths of love in a non-traditional way.
By embracing symbolism and veering away from clichés, the visual concept for the “Love” album resonates with Alethia's artistic vision, encapsulating the raw and ambient essence of her music.
Nostalgia
Nostalgia, with its elusive nature, presents a challenge in visual representation. To convey this complex emotion, we focused on its core elements: memories, photos, and the passage of time.
Drawing inspiration from these key aspects, we crafted a visual concept that embodies the essence of nostalgia. By incorporating elements such as vintage photographs, evocative imagery, and subtle cues to the passing of time, the design captures the wistful sentiment and reflective mood associated with nostalgia.
Through careful selection and composition, the visual presentation resonates with Alethia's music, inviting listeners to delve into their own nostalgic experiences and embark on a journey of introspection.
By embracing the intangible nature of nostalgia and translating it into a visual language, the album cover becomes a portal to cherished memories and an exploration of the enduring power of time.
Roots
The "Roots" album is a heartfelt tribute to Alethia's Colombian heritage, celebrating the vibrant culture and rich traditions of the country. Drawing inspiration from the colourful South American-style houses, intricate patterns, and blooming flowers that define Colombia, we aimed to create a visual representation that resonates with the essence of the album.
Through animation, we brought to life the imagery of closely stacked houses reminiscent of the colourful streets in Colombian towns. To symbolise the deep connection to roots, we traced the houses with delicate lines, mimicking the growth of roots intertwining with the architecture. This animation serves as a visual metaphor for the album's exploration of cultural identity and the deep-rooted connections to one's heritage.
By infusing the artwork with vibrant colours, playful patterns, and the captivating motion of growing roots, the album cover encapsulates the spirit and energy of Colombia, immersing listeners in a sensory journey that reflects Alethia's profound connection to her cultural roots.
Final Product
One of the key aspects of this project was ensuring a cohesive and seamless experience across all four albums. To achieve this, we carefully considered the themes and moods of each album and reflected them through consistent design elements.
For the albums with deeper and more ambient themes, a darker colour palette was employed, evoking a sense of introspection and emotional depth. This choice enhances the atmospheric quality of the music, creating a visual harmony between sound and visuals.
Conversely, the albums with a more upbeat and jazzy vibe feature brighter colours, infusing a sense of liveliness and energy into the visual representation. By aligning the visuals with the tone and spirit of the music, a seamless flow is achieved throughout the entire collection.
The intentional contrast in colour palettes not only distinguishes the albums but also adds depth and variety to the overall visual experience. This approach ensures that each album maintains its unique identity while contributing to the overarching cohesiveness of the project.
The cohesive and seamless flow of the albums allows listeners to embark on a journey through Alethia's musical exploration, effortlessly transitioning between different moods and themes while maintaining a visual thread that ties everything together.