IAM TONGI
ALBUM COVER DESIGN
CLIENT: College
PROJECT TYPE: Graphic Typography
THE CHALLENGE:
Our assignment was to design an album cover of our choice, using typography in a graphic way. I decided on a cover for Iam Tongi’s (the Oahu-raised American Idol season 21 winner) first album: I’ll be Seeing You.
THE SOLUTION:
I chose a bold font and incorporated the silhouette of a ukulele in the type, as Iam Tongi is a talented ukulele and guitarist. I’ll be seeing you was a tribute to his late father, so I wanted to choose a background image that I evoked a sense of sadness and peace. I decided on a photo of the ocean on a cloudy day, where the haziness of the horizon gives the design a heavenly feel.
DESIGN PROCESS:
Because this assignment allowed us so much creative freedom, I had a little trouble getting started as there were endless ideas to choose from. Although I typically start in my sketchbook, I decided to start in illustrator this time to see where my hands would take me.
After deciding on the ukulele/guitar concept, I chose a fitting typeface and worked on personalizing it to match Iam Tongi’s album. I added a tribal design around the “O,” because he frequently uses guitars and ukuleles decorated with tribal patterns.
One of the challenges I faced was being able to trust the viewer’s ability to recognize the hidden instrument; during the iterative process, I distorted the type to see if it would help accentuate the shape. I’m glad I attempted this and failed fast. I decided to trust that whoever saw this piece would understand what I was going for, and returned to my original type design.