Ringtone magazine evolved from a year long exploration of music genres, design elements and ideas. The center of my senior thesis became music because of its never ending influence in my life. The goal was to combine music and design to make expressive visuals. Being already familiar with, I focused on the Punk, Electro-Pop and Indie Rock music spaces.
After attentively listening to the distinction in each genre’s sounds, I extracted and curated aesthetics befitting for each. I interpreted the sonic components of the chosen genres as so: Punk is loud and swift with wacky riffs and chords. Electro Pop is bubbly and energetic, and Indie Rock has a more alternating offbeat sound.
The development of each magazine’s look came from continuous observation of varying music artists and their songs. Using the different moods I picked up from song lyrics, album art, photo shoots and interviews of artists I began assembling graphics with experimental visuals for the 3 genres.
Process included considering how more typography and imagery could be inserted into these visuals and spread design was the preferred direction. This project is so meaningful as music has taught me to be more confident and more true to myself.
Ringtone Issue 11 flip through.
Music: King For a Day (Instrumental) by Green Day.
With its extreme layering and fast paced melodies Punk’s sound gave me a lot of creative ideas for visuals. It inspired my look for the genre to be grounded in collages, distortion, textures, and doodles with an emphasis on contrast.
Decorative fonts complimented the warped grunge appearance. Punk’s design was the one that was most demanding but it was also the most rewarding to come up with.
Ringtone Issue 12 flip through.
Music: Taxi (Instrumental) by Charli XCX.
The sound of Electro Pop inspired a soft and party aesthetic combined with a bubblegum-esque feel for the color palette. The energetic beats of the genre were bluntly rhythmic, this persuaded me to emphasize patterns in my design.
The genre’s sound is one you’d find at a booming house party or dance club. The imagery of hyperactive bodies moving in all directions inspired a busy look with a lot of layering, use of organic shapes, arches, spheres and circles. I utilized big bubbly decorative typography to push the vibe as well.
Ringtone Issue 13 flip through.
Music: Loser (Instrumental) by Beck.
Indie Rock’s sound was interpreted as an elaborate variation of the rock genre. Considering my chosen artist was Beck, a music and audio engineering wizard, my interpretation of his music was more intellectual and subjective. Beck is known for successfully toying with traditional sounds and transforming them into his own creations.
His music was more atmospheric to me. Negative space, perspective, rectangles and squares influenced Indie Rock's design. The Indie Rock issue was made stronger with sans-serif and geometric fonts.