Category: Professional/ School Assignment

Published: Spring 2016

Commissioned By: Ray Sams & Michelle Carpenter

Programs Used:  Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator
The main goal of the assignment was to focus on branding. We were each given an artist and told to create a music box set targeted at millennials without the use of photographs of the artist. My biggest struggle with this project without a doubt was finding a way to market Ella Fitzgerald to a millennial crowd. Unlike Bob Marley or Jimmy Hendricks who have a strong millennial following Ella seemed to be trapped in the past.
I experimented with some drawings of a rose concept but it never really took off. A few days passed and I still had nothing. I decided to take break before I threw my sketch pad through the wall. I popped Fallout 4 into my PS4 and took a load off. As I was scouring the apocalyptic country side a familiar voice came on the in-game radio. My girl Ella was jamming in a pop culture video game.

This inspired me to get back to work. I scoured the internet and got up to date with the video game culture. Pinterest and Tumblr really helped to get me in line fast. I ended up coming to the conclusion that a video game/ cartoon esque treatment of the Ella’s legend would be the most successful approach for marketing to millennials. From there I looked into the Jazz scene and the art that came out of that movement. It all came together fairly easy after that. The colors were taken from some of her past album covers. I wanted the typography to be the driving force in capturing her essence. In off stage Ella was known to keep to herself. She was quiet and very graceful; however, the moment she stepped into that spotlight she took control of that room. She was bold and powerful. This concept is what fueled the CD cover designs and the title itself.

 I was all done and ready to present. My pack was set up in a nice feminine looking hat box and I was satisfied, but after running it by some non-art school friends I got some feedback that I did not even think of. They all asked how they were supposed to play the records and if they were just for show. It had never dawned on me that the record was so out dated. After all, the very first checkpoint in the assignment was to “design the record cover”. I got to thinking and figured the best way to bring record players back was to do just that. I scrapped the hat box and mocked up a record/ CD player combo and a box to carry the content underneath.

Some last minute additions included the coasters and playing card set. I decided that if I really wanted to take the customer through her life I should include some items that she would see in her day to day life. Ella was known as the Queen of Jazz and was known for playing in jazz and poker halls. I figured playing cards and coasters would be the cheapest items to reproduce from that scene.
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