Music identities

Since 2020, over twenty identities for underground rap, electronic and hyperpop artists, signed to labels or independent with their own structures. Each time a commission around a release: a single, an EP, an album.

Turning a sound into an image, and doing it fast. A release leaves little time, the scene is saturated with visuals, and the identity has to work everywhere at once: the cover, the back, the merch, ticketing, press, sometimes the stage.

It always starts with the record, on repeat. Then the brief and a discussion of references with the artist, then wide-ranging research. I always present two radically different directions, so the choice is about a direction, not a detail.

Almost always a logotype or lettering, drawn by hand, never taken from a font. Around it, a cover, a back, a tracklist, then the roll-outs: merch, press, social, ticketing. All of it thought of first as a physical object, CD or vinyl, before being an image on a screen.

Sound at the centre. The artist's themes, sounds and world guide the drawing; a music identity isn't only read, it's heard.

Drawn lettering. Each title is a unique form, made for that release and no other.

Object first. Embossing, die-cuts, material: the sleeve is designed for the hand before it becomes a thumbnail on a platform.

Sleeves actually printed with embossing and die-cuts, merch sold at concerts, and live stage visuals, notably at the Gaîté Lyrique, made in TouchDesigner.

An archive of identities shown here without names or titles: only the forms speak. The commissions continue, at the pace of releases.