I was recruited by Big Indie, a record label and publishing boutique based in Austin, TX and London, UK to help their up-and-coming artist, Yoke Lore, develop a visual identity system for his EP release
Yoke Lore (aka Adrian Galvin) and his manager, Kelli Fannon of The Sound Club set up a meeting with me to talk about the art he wanted featured on his Extended Play release. We met at his apartment in Los Angeles and discussed his philosophy and Taoism practice. We spoke of Lao Tzu and the I-Ching, two major influences on the concept of his album and his writing.
Adrian wanted his brand to represent his philosophy, but to do so subtly, not overtly. We agreed to follow a continuity with his previous album’s aesthetic and developed a narrative, that used the motif of boxes to capture a theme prevalent in Adrian’s music, of constraint and breaking free.
I used the box as the constraint and his drawings as the representation of humanity or the spirit. By placing Adrian’s drawings over the edge of the box, it added dimensionality and discord. Adrian hand-wrote the lyrics and titles to further achieve a hand drawn, human approach to the very constraining geometry of the box.
I designed the system of gradients, representing change in particular circumstances as they’re described in the song. The EP cover containing all the songs, moved the gradient direction from top to bottom to encompass the whole of change in perspective. I selected the color combinations based on naturally occurring palettes found in the sky, ocean and forests, also important to Adrian’s work. The visual identity system was created and distributed through all the market partner channels while the packaging for the CD and Vinyl record design, which included the jacket, sleeve and inserts were printed by Pirate Press.
I worked with Yoke Lore's digital strategist to cultivate a unique instagram story for each touring city. We used Adrian's many sketches to match the location and set it against a colorful gradient and keep it on brand.
I also worked with their team on scheduled web headers for twitter, soundcloud, youtube and facebook to change as the released date approached.
We wanted to highlight all his currently released music videos into a spotify ad. I edited in all the best parts, while highlighting all the information the label wanted to include. The client loved the final cut below.
An additional request came towards the end to design some apparel as well as a booklet with the explanation of the concepts found in the Album. Overall, this was a huge overhaul of Yoke Lore’s art and design reach. His music is charting high on Spotify and has been featured in several industry articles. I’m very proud of the scope and versatility of this project.
Hernan Valencia / Art Director
Artist / Adrian Galvin
Stacey Faulkner & Kelli Fannon / Creative Directors
