Universal Music Production
THE CHALLENGE
Design a music visualizer, album cover to attract a younger audience and encourage the use of the Universal Production Music library
THE DELIVERABLES
MUSIC VISUALIZER ALBUM COVER DESIGN
THE RESEARCH
After the research on music preferences among young generations, I found that energetic genres such as techno and pop are popular, while classical and calm music are less frequently listened. Therefore I decided to focus on promoting a quieter, simpler track to introduce it to this audience and broaden their musical exposure.
SHEEP, SHEEP, SHEEP, SHEEP and some more SHEEEEEEEEEEEP!
SPRING IS HERE! - MUSIC VISUALIZER
Design, Animation
Spring has arrived and the flowers are spreading their seeds across the island…!
MUSIC VISUALIZER
PRE PRODUCTION
SKETCHES / IDEA
After the initial brief, I began my ideation process by brainstorming everything I perceived, thought, and felt from the music. I explored elements like temperature, season, color, taste, and scenery—anything that came to mind to broaden my perspective before narrowing down to a specific concept.
CONCEPT DIRECTIONS
DESIGN
PRODUCTION
Texture
I added subtle details like an offset in the face, flapping ears, and wiggly legs. These small movements helped convey a playful and lively character, adding personality to the animation.
I used null objects to create the wobble effect, which helped smooth out the transformation from flower to sheep.
One element I believed would truly enhance this piece was texture. To achieve an organic feel the music holds, I created multiple textures using pencil, watercolor, and Photoshop. This allowed me to craft a unique look that complements the overall aesthetic of the project.
ANIMATION
Expressive Animation that captures the sense of music…!
The bouncy rhythm and lively instruments are visually represented through a playful transformation, where flowers morph into sheep. The transformed sheep then hop around, embodying the happy and wholesome feel of the music.
01 - Spring is Here (chosen direction)
ANIMATIC
Inspired by the word 'wonder,' I envisioned a child’s imagination where a ladybird suddenly transforms into a grand castle that can take you anywhere, reflecting the playful spirit of the music. Each spot on the ladybird becomes part of a machine, moving in sync with the melody.
02- IMAGINE…!
The sense of 'new beginnings' conveyed by the music is represented by a girl with a suitcase boarding a bus. The bus moves in sync with the tempo of the music, while the buildings in the background shift with the instruments, showing how music can offer a renewed perspective on the world.
03- New Beginning
To clearly convey the vision and demonstrate how the movement aligns with the track, I've decided to create an animatic that is more detailed than a conventional one. This will allow for a stronger connection between the visual elements and the music.
DELIVERABLE 01
Fruits bouncing around being harvested symbolizes the joyful essence of the music, with each fruit representing a different instrument.
04- Fruits, Fruits, Fruits!
One note I received was to incorporate a unique shape that captures the specific character of the sheep, rather than relying solely on geometric forms, to add more visual interest. After observing the sheep closely, I decided to give the face and ears a more pointy design to emphasize its distinct features, and change the texture to a more sheep like fluffy pattern.
Shape Language
Additional Elements
with Detail
After creating the overall style frame, I decided to incorporate a secondary frame to emphasize the sheep, which visually represent the subtle marimba sound that complements the main element. By isolating them within a different frame, these smaller elements gained greater prominence in the shot, and created more visual interest.
Framing
Blocking
ALBUM COVER
DELIVERABLE 02
OTHER ITERATIONS
After completing the music visualizer, I worked on creating an album cover that not only conveyed the mood of the music but also felt consistent with the visualizer. Out of the various design directions, I chose one with ample negative space to reflect the simplicity of the sound, while incorporating a subtle grid structure that echoed elements from the visualizer. This approach helped maintain a cohesive visual language across both the visualizer and the album cover.
RESULTS
Overall I think I was able to create a music visualizer that conveys the mood of of the music through minimal but tasteful visuals and animation!