Album design is a crucial factor in music, it is the face of the music. The album cover and branding are what people recognize when they listen to an artist. This also applies to the packaging of the album. You do not only want to sell albums to help you in charts, but an item that people will appreciate enough to spend their money on. You want to create an experience that goes along with the music, something that will enrich the music listening experience. This can be the classic jewel case, the cd, and a lyric book. Or we can also take it further, making more interesting inclusions that reflect the meaning of the music. Inclusions like a photo book, a bigger lyric book, a thank you message card from the artist and much more. Personally I started collecting CDs when I was little, then I discovered kpop 5 years ago and this opened a whole new world of collecting albums, album design, and music conceptualization.
Aitana’s album was released in 2020 with a pop-rock genre, and an early 2000s inspired concept. The concept photos were very simple, and the album packaging was a step up from her last album for sure which was just a jewel case cd. This time there were 3 versions of the album, a normal jewel case and two options for box sets, one with a magazine and the cd and another one with a poster and cd. It felt like the concept itself was missing something; it needed more of a y2k vibe to go with the music. Which is why I decided to rebrand the album, designing new packaging and concept overall.
For my senior project I worked on rebranding Aitana’s 11 Razones album. I made two physical versions of the album, a standard version (the box version) and a deluxe version (magazine version). The album is a 2000s pop-rock inspired album so I really wanted to bring those inspirations into the design by making the box as a cd player and the magazine as a 2000s teen magazine.
To decide what should be included in each version I did research on physical albums on the type of inclusions they have as well as the type of packaging they use. I did not just want to change the concept of the album or make it more y2k but i also wanted to create fun packaging and something different. That would want to make anyone pick it up form the shelf even if they don’t know the artist. In order to fill this innovative packaging desire I had, I decided to make a box for the standard version of the album look like a cd player, and for the deluxe version a teen magazine inspired magazine as the album. I’ve been researching magazines from the 2000s and taking notes on things I should include on mine.
My final project consists of the rebranding of Aitana’s 11 Razones album. I made a standard version with 11 songs and a deluxe version with 22 songs in total. The standard version includes 1 box, the cd, a lyric book, photocards, and 5 postcards. The deluxe version includes a magazine, 5 postcards, photocards, 1 poster, stickers, the cd and a photocard holder. I want to create a product and an experience that people think it’s worth enough to spend their money on while not worrying about it harming the planet.
