Role

Creative Director
Guitarist

Skills

Branding, Typography, Logo Design, Design Production

Background

Where were you when the world ended? I was in an Ohio basement in March 2020, the month Governor Mike DeWine decided to shut down the state due to the rising cases of Covid 19 cases. Many of us exercised, binged watched, and picked up new hobbies during this time. This capstone was inspired by my shutdown hobby. Learning guitar opened a whole new creative passion that melded perfectly with my career as a creative, designer, and producer.

Goal

Create the music, identity, and cover art for my band. The band is named Midwest Basement (MWBM), inspired by the location of the band’s creation.

Exploration

My identity in the band was inspired by the music I discovered while learning guitar from my instructor, Derek Roland. I became a frequent visitor to record stores. I gravitated towards fast-driven punk rock with the playful chaos of jazz and blues. During this time, I also followed the launch of the James Webb telescope. These explorations help me come up with a clear vision of the band’s identity.

1. The band is a cosmic funk rock band, current members are my guitar, named FrankieRay, and myself. My friend, Andy, helped me with the music production.

2. The goal of the band is to explore the galaxies, joyfully, with music.

3. The lore of the band is based on searching for a “star”. I’m not sure what exactly that means, but I know when I find it my wish will come true.

With the persona confirmed, I was ready to create the branding.

Experimentation

First order of business was the typeface. I wanted the branding and identity to center around the name of the band. I was inspired by gritty vintage punk rock posters and screen-pressed t-shirts. Nove was an instant favorite with perfect imperfections that add character to the name. Early in the process, I added a four-pointed star because I wanted MWBM’s lore to be present in all its branding.

The feedback I got from my guitar teacher and my design mentor:

• The “star” looks more like a cross or reminds them of a compass. It’s also breaking up the word, and with all caps, making it look like it’s two separate words: MID WEST BASEMENT.

• The symbol does add intrigue to the band. But maybe just use a classic five-pointed star. Something that integrates better with the rounded typeface.

I adjusted the typeface with this feedback and continued with the next branding task: the singles and album cover.

Execution

Another hobby I picked up during the shutdown was illustration and this was the perfect opportunity to put it to the test. I wanted to see the branding by bringing it to life as an album cover for the first album, MWBM1. I began sketching cover layouts while testing my second round of the branding on the singles covers. MWBM’s album would introduce the main story of the band while the singles would be fun and eye-catching as the album develops.

The feedback I received from my first fans (friends and family):

• The “solar system guitar” has a more interesting front cover, which is the most important part of a cover. But it’s too busy with all the different pieces clashing together.

Once I fully rendered the face, the clashing became even more apparent. So, I nixed the planet and created much-needed space for the face and rings.

Evaluation

With a strong first cover I returned to creating merchandise and social media accounts for MWBM and started planning marketing campaigns for the album’s releases. Some things I learned along this journey:

• I like creating stories and bringing that story to life. With this project, I integrated my Art Direction studies to find a great brand identity and my user surveying to get feedback throughout the process.

• Stepping outside my comfort zones has led to a whole new creative outlet and passion: illustration.

• Producing merchandise and social media helped developed my marketing strategy experience.