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. My goal was to combine music and design to make expressive visuals. My project focused on the Punk, Electro-pop and Indie rock genres, extracting from each an aesthetic after attentively listening to the distinction in their sounds. My approach began with me exploring the sonic components of my chosen genres. 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 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 posters with experimental visuals for the 3 genres. Process included considering how more typography and imagery could be inserted into these visuals — spread design was the preferred direction. This project meant a lot 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.
Punk’s sound gave me a lot of creative freedom for aesthetics since it is mostly extreme layering and fast paced melodies. 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 fun to make.
Ringtone Issue 12 flip through.
Music: Taxi (Instrumental) by Charli XCX.
The sound of Electro Pop inspired a soft and floaty aesthetic combined with a bubblegum-esque feel for the color palette. I understood the energetic beats of the genre to be repetitive with variation, 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.