THE TIMBRES THAT UNITE
Over the decades, Ravi Shankar, Madonna and Jimi Hendrix paved new paths
within the music industry through their refreshing mix of existing and
next-generation cultures.
within the music industry through their refreshing mix of existing and
next-generation cultures.
Their work played a key role in successfully demonstrating transitional genres that became the standard for the next wave of musicians and popular cultures.
Not only did their music unite people culturally and globally, they also united timbres from different musical movements and times.
Ravi Shankar fused Indian classical music with Western music culture.
Madonna transitioned the world from rock to pop.
Jimi Hendrix brought together rock and jazz blues in harmony.
These musicians were pioneers in their industry, ultimately becoming icons of world-class music and beacons of change.
PREVIEW OF FINAL POSTERS
PROCESS
EXPERIMENTAL TYPOGRAPHY: FREE-PLAY TO RULE-BASED EXPLORATIONS
This poster series focused on 3 music "icons" and therefore my initial typographic
experiments concentrated on the key words within the eventual composition.
experiments concentrated on the key words within the eventual composition.
I began with some free-play trials (above) that involved hand-manipulated printed type through destruction and reconstruction in different forms.
This then proceeded to a more rule-based exploration (below) where the target was to initiate a visual system and a digital play with words within parameters.
INSPIRATION
In order to reflect their impact on the industry and game-changing work, this series was influenced by music posters, culture and design from each of their respective eras.
Through a mixture of the typographic free-play experiments and rule-based approaches to design and design principles, these posters merge hand-written scripts with in-built typefaces to play with the idea of blending and breaking.
CREATING A VISUAL SYSTEM
Three visual systems unite the three posters in this series;
merging typefaces in the foreground,
an all-encompassing phrase to identify their music in the background and a homage to their legacy using their taglines.
The backgrounds of all these posters were cutouts shadowed by a projector light to create a subtle dominance over the narrative of each individual yet not overwhelm the viewer.
The colours used pair different hues of reds and yellows in accordance with tones popular with the culture and posters of their respective times.
Mustard yellow and maroon for Shankar, a neon yellow pop with a cherry purple red for Madonna and a cool cinematic yellow and bright red for Hendrix.
INDIVIDUAL POSTER PROCESS BREAKDOWN
COMPONENTS OF THE COMPOSITION: RAVI SHANKAR
Ravi Shankar was the “Godfather of World Music” and was deeply spiritual with his creations, this blending of two cultures and genres is reflected by the Hindi script and the Hindu “Om” symbol merging with Latin letterforms (Myriad Pro) to create his name.
The majority of his work was based on “ragas”, the equivalent to scales in Western music but much more explicitly involved in the music-making process of classical Indian pieces.
COMPONENTS OF THE COMPOSITION: MADONNA
Madonna was the “Queen of Pop”, challenging the industry as a female artist as well as a pioneer in new-age music.
Irony was the undertone of many of her creations and this poster plays into that by shadowing the words “pray like a virgin”, referencing Madonna’s
hit songs “Like a Prayer” and “Like a virgin”.
hit songs “Like a Prayer” and “Like a virgin”.
Using an autographic style of script, her name is split into “Ma” and “Donna” to reflect her breakthrough as a female music icon, translating to
“my woman” in Italian.
“my woman” in Italian.
The outline of Times New Roman type pairs with the hand-writtten script, influenced by music posters of her time.
COMPONENTS OF THE COMPOSITION: JIMI HENDRIX
“The Jimi Hendrix Experience” was a sensation during its time and continues to be a tagline well-known around the world.
Inspired by his own posters and that of other jazz/blues groups, pairing the slab-serif Copperplate Bold with the distressed letterforms inspired by psychedelic rock posters of the time, become the focal point for this composition.
It is shadowed by the words “Purple Haze”, one of the most famous singles of the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
FINAL POSTERS
CONCLUSION
While each of these posters can stand alone, as a series it reflects the fluidity and thematic constants that made these musicians “icons” of their time.
There was the intention and successful execution of art that became trailblazers in the industry.
Their unique timbres only belonged to them, yet they united the masses and became public symbols of change and inclusivity.
