Artist: Yancy Jairo | Song: All I See – Yancy Jairo
CONCEPT AND DESIGN:
The general concept behind my design was inspired by the individual elements and composition of the song. I was particularly drawn to the dynamics and elements of the song – how the sounds and instruments would layer in and out throughout.
Within the illustration, a figure grows from the bottom right and wraps around a central “orb” shape. Numerous curved elements like tentacles extend from the figure reaching toward this orb. These tentacles serve to interconnect the various parts and components within the composition. The song has a quality of its separate elements trying to build upon one another. However, the overall mood created by the sounds gives a sense of separation as well. I wanted to capture this tension between connection and separation through the imagery of wrapping around a central form. This evokes emotions for me akin to my initial response hearing the song.
Gestalt Theory and Figure-Ground Relationship
My design aims to explore the Gestalt principles of similarity and proximity-
Regarding similarity, I deliberately used consistent curving forms and tentacles within multiple subjects and elements to imply the different pieces belong together and are reaching to connect. Dissimilarity is also purposely applied through an element with contrasting attributes to set apart certain areas.
Proximity is employed by clustering shape groups to establish larger architectural forms within the composition. This clustering achieves the intended aesthetics.
Influence of One Black Square
The activity influenced the overall direction of the visual style I imagined for my design. In that assignment, I experimented with curving lines-directing me towards my approach in the sound visualization project. The focus on simplicity and negative space translation in One Black Square also informed elements of this design.
PROCESS:
First, I closely listened to the song multiple times, taking note of standout elements like the vocals, guitar, and layered sounds. I paid attention to the flow, rhythm, dynamics, and occasional piano tones. By listening again, I tried to identify descriptive adjectives, emotions and figures conveyed by these various elements. These can be seen in the illustration below:
FIGURE 1: BRAINSTORMING
I then gave the song another listen and made a preliminary sketch to capture whatever figures or “vibes” came to mind, incorporating my notes from prior listenings. This is when the concept of a central subject wrapping around a precious object started to take form, seeking to represent the tension between connection and separation I perceived in the song’s composition and shifting moods.
Next, I did a separate pencil drawing to refine and add more details to the initial idea. I focused on visualizing the musical elements and transferring their emotive qualities, such as the growing complexity. I was aware letters would be required to create the figures, however, I did not incorporate them yet to avoid limiting my imagination at this stage. This made it easier to further visualize and put into fruition the imagination I had in mind. The result can be seen in the illustration below.
FIGURE 2: BRAINSTORMING (2) – PROPER VISUALIZATION
As mentioned in the Concept and Design section, the core concept involved wrapping around something to protect it. The growing elements were intended to represent the increasing and decreasing dynamics unfolding within the song. Small blob-like shapes aimed to illustrate the occasional piano passages heard. Curving tentacles and lines were employed to depict the wavy nature of the vocals and rhythm of the guitar. The centralized subject served as the primary element being isolated. Additionally, a root-like structural form was utilized to integrate the various components together into a cohesive whole.
I then brought this design into Adobe Illustrator to experiment with a digital interpretation and see how the aesthetic might change forms across different mediums.
FIGURE 3: DRAFT 1
The third major step was tackling the biggest challenge of this assignment—creating the design using only symbols and letters. The nature of my composition was very freeform, which didn’t transition smoothly to something as rigid as symbols and letters. Therefore, I had to find a way to properly transform these elements to fit the vision I had in mind. To address this, I generated multiple letter elements by typing the alphabet, numbers, and symbols in various capitalized and non-capitalized forms. I then duplicated these elements and applied a different font to each duplication. The formatted letter elements were laid out against each other as I selected certain fonts to integrate and manipulate to fit the design. Overall, compared to the initial sketch, this process resulted in the final design having more textural depth and a “grittier” feel. This was largely due to a font with a blot-like texture around the letters. Additionally, using different fonts meant the edges within the design were somewhat sharper than originally intended. However, these changes imbued the design with a fresh interpretation of the song diverging from my initial vision in a welcomed way.
FIGURE 4: FINAL DRAFT WORKPLACE (FONT SHOWCASE)
For different elements, particularly the subject in the bottom right of the composition, I had to approach it differently to make the letters fit appropriately. In the original design, there was more use of negative space, giving it a more complete or unified appearance. However, in the final design, to mimic this “whole” effect while adhering to the letter constraint, I employed proximity by arranging elements close together. This was to imply a sense of belonging and connection. This ending up creating increased contrast within the design, resulting in a different impact than initially planned. Nevertheless, this unforeseen effect was a welcomed outcome.
During mid-critique, the overall design was supported with suggestions to populate the top and bottom borders using letters as directed, influencing new element placement in these areas.
CONCLUSION: Improvements
If I had more time, I would definitely try to replicate the dimensions of the first draft of the Adobe illustration design. I prefer the proportions of the big “C” in the earlier interaction than the final design, it made the whole structure look more stable and less balanced. I would also like to clean up the project a bit looking back at my earlier iteration, making less use of the texture provided by the fonts. I appreciated the simplicity and cleanliness of the design. The texture created in the final iteration gave it a grittier feel, which I feel contrasts the feeling the elements of the song gave me, not being aligned.
FINAL PROJECT:
