Inspired by the fleeting nature of time perfectly encapsulated by falling cherry blossoms, I initiated a music album design project as a tribute to my favorite childhood animation "Cardcaptor Sakura".
Main Concepts
My brainstorming led me to the following three main concepts for my project:
Maturity & growth of a teenage girl symbolized by the portrait of cherry blossoms
Vapourwave & city pop aesthetics to evoke nostalgia
Gradient & hazy effects for dream-like, innocent & sweet feelings
Research Process
My research process was mainly broken down into:
1. Concept Crafting
Understand the key messages of each song
Identify important keywords
Finalize the overall concept
2. Visual Research
Refer to albums/artworks with similar concepts
Decide on key visual languages (colors, effects, elements, etc.)
3. Moodboard
Pinterest, Behance, Note, Instagram, etc.
Keywords: vaporwave, city pop, hazy, retro anime styles, gradient arts
For reference, the following is how my moodboard looked (compressed version):
4. Visual Testing
Create sample works to bring ideas to life
Get feedback from the mentor & start creating
Color and Font Choices
Main Palette
In order:
#FE72A2, #EF9BB9, #F9DEE7, #FEF4FA
#46A8DE, #84C3E7, #CCFFE0, #5F55A0
#FAFCB3
Fonts
Title: 瞬きノ明朝
Texts: イシングソーダ2.02
Sketch
Key Visuals
1. CD Cover
Cover, Edge, Label
CD Cover
2. Lyrics Book
Song 1: Catch You Catch Me
Song 2: Please Open The Door! (扉を開けて)
Song 3: Platinum (プラチナ)
Song 4: A Song of Nights (夜の歌)
Song 5: A Hidden Map (見えない地図)
Mockup
As I printed the designs and formed an actual music CD, I did a little real-life mockup. The following are some pictures from the mockup.
Index
Cardcaptor Sakura Playlist
Song 1: Catch Me Catch You
Song 2: Please Open The Door! (扉を開けて)
Song 3: Platinum (プラチナ)
Song 4: A Song of Nights (夜の歌)
Song 5: A Hidden Map (見えない地図)
fin.