Secret7 - Research and Ideas

I have decided to Secret Seven as another small brief for responsive. I have been finding it really hard to stay motivated with this module recently so I thought that choosing a brief with the deadline so close might kickstart me into action again. This may seem like an odd approach to take but I know I work harder and more efficiently when I'm under a bit of pressure (not too much though!). I know the research for my main brief (Fever Tree) is very fact based so I wanted to take a totally different approach to my research method for this brief and use the sound of the track and the lyrics to produce a body of visuals to work with. I consciously chose not to research into the backgrounds or lives of the actual artists because I want the image to represent the track and the track only, I think this is most appropriate for the way Secret Seven works. 

My aims for this brief:

• Produce some abstract outcomes, something that is out of my comfort zone and very different to my normal working style. To do this I think I need to be more free with my visuals and let my mind and hand do the work rather than thinking too consciously about it. 
• Make the three record sleeves work as a set, this will provide an extra element of challenge making three songs with differing genres work together. 

Research started off by listening to the music a few times on repeat and taking certain lines from the song that I felt were particularly important or I made a connection with. This then stemmed into markmaking with ink while listening to music, thinking of certain visual symbols or marks that I thought were relevant. By the end of this process I had a body of visual material which I felt I could then play around with in terms of layout. I produced twelve roughs for each track thinking about how I could use layout and composition to get across the concepts from my research material. 

I feel the next stage for me is to scan the material I have so far into photoshop and see how it looks when it is arranged in some of these layouts. I am thinking that after this process of digital play I might need to draw some new elements or draw them in a different way if the ones I already have are not appropriate but I will have to see how this goes. I am trying hard to keep this abstract because I know what I'm like when it comes to refining things too much and they lose their charm. Then again, I don't want the designs to look careless and unconsidered, its just about trying to find the balance.

I am pleased with what I have achieved today and feel that I have a direction for each of my album covers, I just need to work to make then fit together in some way which I am not seeing clearly right now. One thing I could play on is the mention of blue in 'Clearest Blue' and the sky in 'Imagine' so maybe colour could be the thing that ties them together. I need to keep the momentum going with this brief to get it finished as soon as possible due to work commitments I have before the actual deadline.  

Next Steps:

• Play around on photoshop with colour and layout. 
• Make any alternative ink shapes and drawings or with an alternative media if that is more appropriate. 
• Read over the competition submission requirements to make sure my work aligns with them.