Project Goal: Display the culmination of Melanie Martinez’s music through the transitional packaging.
Audience: Melanie Martinez fans.
Photography, Typography, Package Design, Prototyping, and Photo Retouching
AIGA Baltimore Flux Finalist | 2024
Experimental Vinyl Packaging
Overgrown
The transition shows the lighter, pastel “Crybaby” era, through K-12, into the creepy, other-worldly side of “the Creature”. The back-and-forth play created between the two sides not only references her change in music but also the attitudes of her current audience and fanbase.
The title of the album, Overgrown, was chosen due to the connective implications from all three albums. In a literal sense, the new era is overtaking the Cry Baby era. Figuratively, the title also stems from the visual and emotional journeys of Martinez and her persona.
The Back
The Unboxing Experience
The goal of the packaging is to create a physical way for the viewer to dive into the push-pull of Martinez’ style. The external cover does so more visibly, with each album’s song highlights getting their own “font”. The lyric sheet reflects this transitionally through the progression of the booklet, including hidden messages in the icing.
Side A
Side B
Lyric Sheet
Social Media Campaign
DESIGN PROCESS
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DESIGN PROCESS ~
Physical Creation
Physical Typography
Front Album Closeup
A large part of the brief for this project involved the integration of physical typography. Because the process involved iterations, I chose to hand-make the letters myself using fake food and plants. This helped stay clean and alive for easy adjustments.
For the superficial side, I used polymer clay and spackle mixed with paint to create the confections. For the natural side, I used dried moss, sticks, and fake flowers. The name is made with painted hot glue.
For the back of the cover and the lyric sheet, I used hard icing letters, glitter glue, and icing. The transition from very superficial to hand-written emphasizes the transitions between albums. The lyric sheet used the icing texture and has words hidden in the icing throughout the spreads if you look closely!
Photography
