VESSEL CONCEPT ALBUM
VESSEL is a conceptual album I created for one of my favorite indie artists, Yeek. It explores themes of self-discovery and the search for peace of mind. Over a short period of time, I’ve been growing a lot as a person, and that growth can feel a bit intimidating this project serves, in many ways, as a personal diary.
Enjoy thanks for taking a look!
SCOPE: Art Direction, Album Artwork, Poster Design, Merchandise Design.
The paper crane serves as the main motif of VESSEL. I chose this symbol because both the act of folding a paper crane and its cultural meaning mirror the emotional journey within the album. VESSEL explores themes of self-discovery and the kind of healing that transforms both the mind and body. It draws inspiration from the Japanese tradition of senbazuru (千羽鶴), which holds that folding 1,000 paper cranes can grant a wish, bring good fortune, and offer healing and peace.
The image of the crane worn as a crown is open to interpretation, inviting each viewer to reflect on its personal meaning.
TYPE TREATMENT
With the main motif of the album being a paper crane, I wanted to experiment with the cover headline and tie the two together to really emphasize the themes of the album. Oragami can be both calming and meditative, something I’ve come to appreciate firsthand. As I continued developing my process, I chose not to scan the characters directly and instead opted for a less rigid, more organic look.
Shown below are the digital instructions I reconstructed from an old origami website.
Feel free to follow them and create the VESSEL headline yourself!
Work Cited:
Shingu, Fumiaki. Origami Club. 2002. https://en.origami-club.com/
I originally planned to use a treated origami typeface as the primary typography for the project. However, I found that the treatment risked losing its intended meaning when overused. I wanted to be more mindful with how the typography was handled and avoid watering down its impact. In the end, I opted for a pairing of two sans-serif typefaces, Druk Wide Bold, and Neue Haas Grotesk to create a more balanced and intentional typographic system.
COLOR DIRECTION
I wanted the colors to represent how I was feeling at the time of this project. Passionate, playful, and a bit melancholy. These qualities naturally translated into the color identity and I am very happy with how they all work together and live within the same space.