Jermaine Davila Artist Launch
Multi-Channel Brand Campaign
Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign
Jermaine Davila is an artist/rapper from Miami, Florida who reached out to me to create the designs for his debut artist launch on social media and music streaming platforms. The campaign included a logo design, an album cover, two single covers, various photography and social media banners. The goal of the project was to showcase Jermaine’s artistry and personality through bold, yet simple imagery and designs. The target audience for his music and the project are young, 18-30 year olds who listen to underground rap, old school hip-hop and follow the latest trends in art and music. He wanted to incorporate elements of Miami/Florida culture, symbolism of a Raven and poetry (Edgar Allan Poe) with a preference for a black and white color palette to portray a sophisticated and classic look.
Thought Process & Concept Sketches
I was immediately inspired when Jermaine listed off the elements he wanted to incorporate into his artist brand identity. Once I understood his vision, I began ideating on various concepts that I thought would represent himself and his artistry. Images of palm trees set to black and white, a Raven icon that resembled the classic American Eagle and hip-hop aesthetic all came to mind. I sketched out the initial raven icon and placed it onto a crest design which Jermaine wanted to feature an Edgar Allan Poe quote on. I found some locations that I thought were “Floridian” enough to showcase Jermaine in which had elements of his references of solitude and nature in them to take the photos featured in the designs.
Color Palette & Typography
Although the simple black and grayscale color palettes are not something original, they do give this campaign a bold statement that is cohesive and unique to the artist. Setting the correct mood and feeling for Jermaine’s references in the designs was a challenge during the first phases of the project because I wanted to maintain a cohesive feel for each component of the project but did not want all the designs to be too similar. The message is tied to Jermaine and his upbringing in South Florida where he speaks on social issues and activisim in his music, portrayed amongst the simple and mysterious designs. There are visual references that are consistent in each design such as the raven or palm trees, which help maintain this cohesiveness in the project without each design feeling too similar.
Outcome
The concept behind Jermaine’s artist launch was to create a narrative around the identity of the artist called Jermaine Davila. The references found in the designs (poetry, Edgar Allan Poe, old school, lyrical hip-hop and his hometown of Miami) inform this narrative, curate his vision and tell his story. This resulted in clean and minimal designs that showcase various unique aspects of Jermaine’s identity, such as the raven icon logo or the solitude portrayed in the visuals. Principles and elements of design such as balance, hierarchy, rhythm, imagery and color were all utilized to craft a cohesive visual campaign that give a glimpse into Jermaine Davila.
