What is music artist branding?
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Music artist branding helps the artist to establish the message they're conveying through their music and how to communicate that visually. It allows the artist to create their own world/culture, online as well as in the real world.
If every social media post, promo poster, album cover and stage outfit is thoroughly thought out in order to successfully portray the correct message that's authentic and encapsulates the artist, it is easier to connect with fans and therefore increase the fanbase, inviting a sense of community. This includes all aspects of graphic design, from consistent logo to website to album artwork, social media guidance and content creation, as well defining their overall aesthetic and 'vibe', complete with consistent visual elements that appear throughout their work. It's incredibly important that the artist has clarity in regards to their entire visual brand or 'online world' and that it's authentic and consistent throughout. This isn't about trying to be strictly on trend but more to successfully represent how the artist wishes to be portrayed by both fans and the outside world. It's important to be aware of the changing trends within the industry, but in my opinion, it shouldn't be the driving force. Each artist/band is different and I treat them as so, but generally speaking, I usually include a nod to current trends or genre trends whilst including completely unique visual elements that will ensure the artist stands out in a crowd. |
I offer the following music artist branding packages:
IMPROVEMENT PACKAGE
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INDIVIDUAL PACKAGE
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COMPLETE PACKAGE
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For artists who have already established their overall aesthetic
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These services are for artists who want a helping hand in implementing their new aesthetic.
These offer a range of solutions to help you and are the step in between going it alone and having a full time creative director on board. |
1 hour Skype chat
INVESTMENT: $60 This is for those of you who simply need a push in the right direction and some inspiration to get you going. I will throw lots of suggestions and tips your way for how you can implement your new aesthetic! |
Photo shoot theme board
INVESTMENT: $170+ This is for those of you who specifically want help implementing your aesthetic for your next photo shoot. I provide ideas for location, props and outfits. You can order more than one theme if you desire, with every additional one costing $150. |
Social media plan and chat
INVESTMENT $200 This is for those who want to focus specifically on social media and want help knowing which types of content suit your brand, how you can incorporate your aesthetic whilst creating regular content and need a schedule of when and what to post, whilst increasing organic reach to the max! |
For artists who need direction and structure
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This is for artists who need ongoing or longer term guidance in regards to having some structure in their progression and help with defining their brand, strategy and goal setting. Through these regular calls, I'll help you dig deep into your brand identity, who your audience is, what you want to achieve with your music and break down a longer term plan into simple smaller steps that you can start working on and implementing right away.
These calls will be completely tailored to you and be veered to whichever topics you desire most help with. Topics include branding, goal setting, mindset, organisation and marketing. |
INVESTMENT: $100
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INVESTMENT: $450
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INVESTMENT: $925
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Previous work
KARA PENEGUYKara is a singer songwriter and came to me with a really good eye and a fabulous foundation for her visual branding but she wanted help channeling it and putting a fresh twist on the retro seventies vibes. Her music is soulful, heartfelt but with dashes of hiphop so the mixture of vintage and current was an important factor to consider.
She already had a hand scrawled logo which I loved; it felt really genuine and authentic, both of which are important aspects of her brand. I worked with her to define some consistent visual elements which developed the aesthetic and made it feel more cohesive. Candid shots, clashing prints, organic black space and use of text (on books, clothing, in background details etc) became factors that would repeat throughout her visuals. Coming back to authenticity, the use of real, old childhood photos of Kara's will also repeat throughout, giving her audience a glimpse of her journey, progression and influences since youth. Kara had used some seventies style prints previously so I created some fresh new takes on old patterns. Using a colour palette that screamed 'seventies' whilst maintaining hints of contemporary, I produced some retro inspired yet current prints that can be used throughout. |
aesthetic
logo
colour palette
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pattern 1
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pattern 2
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pattern 3
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BILJANA HEIGHTSBiljana is a singer songwriter and also works as an actress, which has resulted in a heavy influence from film and photography in her work. Her music has been featured in the upcoming season of The Rain on Netflix as well as in other films and TV series, so there's an intertwining of both these worlds for her.
Her songs are powerful and atmospheric so it was important for me to incorporate this feel within her visuals. Some of Biljana's key words include STRIKING, CINEMATIC and EMOTIONAL. There are also influences from art and vintage imagery. I brought all these elements together through strong poses that are enhanced by the use of darkness, fragments of sunlight, block colours with a contrast between warm and cold, along with vintage inspired art direction. For the logo I used a retro inspired font with 'curls' which I then manipulated to make the letters touch together in different places, whilst changing the size of some of the letters. These changes helped create a vintage inspired, yet fresh feel while capturing some softness to contrast the strength and power within the aesthetic.
website
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aesthetic
colour palette
social media header
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AOMAMEaomame are an exciting new lo-fi duo who came to me with some ideas of their vision but with no visual profile at all. I worked with them to build and define an aesthetic that not only stayed true to current lo-fi trends but also captured the essence of them in a completely unique way.
I used a combination of vintage Japanese style art and 'blurred' photography (using the blur for the object and achieved with a low shutter speed), and blended them together by sticking to a simple block colour palette and the use of nature elements. Their key words included lazy, hazy, down to earth, melancholic, nostalgic, edgy and playful and these were captured in dusky colours, blur, a hand drawn logo and an edgy yet cute cat icon logo. 
Instagram story covers
handwritten font
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initial aesthetic moodboard
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merchandise (one off embroideries)
aesthetic mood board
logo options
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instagram grid
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SILAS HOLST & THE FLAMINGO ORCHESTRA
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Silas Holst & The Flamingo Orchestra had a really clear idea of their brand and aesthetic and had incorporated fabulous stage design to make their live shows come to life. I worked from this to create a logo, website and stage backdrop to take their branding one step further and to transform their online presence into their own pink universe!
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More previous work
These artists already had a logo, a good foundation and an idea of where they were heading, so I helped them define their aesthetic to create a more consistent theme, gave them set colours and fonts to work with and gave them some guidelines for their future videos and photo shoots, as well as social media profiles. I also suggested some tweaks across their current profiles to bring it all together and look all the more professional.
These decisions were based on the environment they wanted to create with their music/ live shows, who their target audience is and the story/message they have to share with the world.
These decisions were based on the environment they wanted to create with their music/ live shows, who their target audience is and the story/message they have to share with the world.
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Danish singer songwriter Stig Skovlind
Stig's consistent visual elements include street art from around the world, a mix of different cultures and a bright colour palette that suggests childlike imagination. These capture the clash of cultures within his artistry and the fun environment that his live shows create. |
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Soulful singer Yaszmine Foucha
Some of Yaszmine's key words are sweet, spicy, soulful, feeler and healer. I took the sweet and spicy theme further with her aesthetic; using a strong colour palette of honey, golden shades and deep oranges alongside consistent visual elements of warmth, sunsets and smooth textures. |
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London based industrial rock band Autorotation
The consistent visual elements for Autorotation incorporate the use of architecture, the contrast of soft and harsh textures, translucent layering and use of smoke and light. Together they create a futuristic style with dashes of softness and beauty. |
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New York based DJ Cava
The environment Dj Cava creates is atmospheric and conceptual and the use of light is really important here. Slow shutter speed and different types of lighting create a contrast with stark black and white travel shots. |
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HAYZE (mock example 1)
website
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ZEBRAHEAD (mock example 2)
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Effi Summers: Music industry creative director offering music artist branding, concept development, art direction, styling and graphic design.
Specialising in dramatic and exaggerated visual concepts and building artists' very own niche universe.
Specialising in dramatic and exaggerated visual concepts and building artists' very own niche universe.