The goal of my thesis project was to explore the connection between music and graphic design. 

I accomplished this by rebranding The Vaccines’ new album Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations.The Vaccines are an English indie rock band formed in 2010 in London, with six albums to date. This visual map from everynoise.com shows bands' similarities. The more similar the bands are, the closer they are grouped together. This is crucial for envisaging an album's visual identity as they can be easily be compared.By juxtaposing album covers from these bands, we discern strong thematic parallels. The prevalent motifs, such as group photos in urban settings, indicate a recurring trend. However, I propose diverging from this trend for The Vaccines' rebranding.A band's identity extends beyond its album cover. Let's scrutinize their merchandise offerings for this album.  emphasizing consistant type treatment, more cohesive color, and innovative designs to transcend mere album 
cover replication onto merchandise.Having analyzed their visual aesthetic compared to other bands , our next step entails an examination of the album's essence to determine the sequence of creative elements. First and foremost, we address familiarity, acknowledging that repeated exposure enhances visual recall. Our strategy entails breaking down the creative process into similar manageable segments.Subsequently, the research phase commenced, pivotal for delineating the album's visual direction. Deconstructing song lyrics and interviews unearthed the album's thematic core, unearthing  potential visual connections. What did we uncover? The album encapsulates themes of loss and nostalgia, with a requisite infusion of grunge to maintain their indie rock identity. Highlighting a poignant quote encapsulating the album's essence—exploring loss, nostalgia, and the enduring beauty amidst decay. Memories fade, but the emotions they evoke persist. Sketches  was inspired by nostalgia, decay, time, and memory, for various concepts for album art.
Here are the two primary directions I pursued,  with the left exploring the loss of identity through decay, but keeping a feel of beauty, and the right exploring themes of nostalgia and loss of momory through oral history. Ultimately I opted for the first direction.Opting for a pink color palette to keep the idea of beauty, I experimented with type placement and variations, envisaging their application across merchandise and promotional materials.Satisfied with the direction, I captured images of carnations to integrate throughout the designs, imbuing continuity.The final image—a harmonious amalgamation of visual elements, with cascading petals weaving through the design.For typography, I selected two complementary fonts—a sans-serif reminiscent of flower petals and a textured script evoking vintage aesthetics of old truck logos.To imbue physical objects with the theme of deterioration, I integrated photographic textures into the typography, ensuring coherence across all design elements.Returning to our creative roadmap, encompassing all assets from the album to advertisements, we ensure a consistent user experience from initial discovery to subsequent engagements.

Before unveiling the final album, let's traverse a user journey, elucidating how these elements synergize across various touchpoints—from poster sightings to concert experiences and beyond.Lets follow Jim, who recently passed a poster for the upcoming concert while walking downtown. Later, Jim then sees the same advertisement on his Instagram. He recognizes this from earlier, and on his second time he decided to look up the album. Digital deterioration After listening to the album, Jim is interested in seeing the concert coming up and looks for tickets. He finds them for same online and adds the ticket to his phone and prints a physical copy just in case.The day of the concert finally comes and Jim has been learning the songs in preparation. He arrives the the venue, ticket in hand and seeings the signs at the front door. He makes his way in and recieves his wristband.Jim passes by the merch table on his way in and after enjoying the concert decided to buy some items to remember the experience. Jim buys a few items he can wear and then decides to buy the record so that he can listen to the album at home and add to his record collection.     He is excited to see the unique elements of this cover that has decayed through the back, giving a view to the record inside.Jim returns home ready to listen to his new vinyl for the first time.