Ave Maria CD Packaging
the problem
Ian Power's 2023 'Ave Maria' is a contemporary deconstruction of Italian composer Giacinto Scelsi's 1972 interpretation of the same name. The composition explores concepts of performer agency and religious devotion through 'obsessive meditation' and repetition. As this was Power's third album he wanted to distribute the physical work in a way that was memorable and cost-effective in a digital streaming landscape.
The Project
Working with Power, I used a laser cutter to prototype different concepts for a limited run of bespoke packaging. The final product is a hand-assembled 10-panel digipack laser-cutfrom a single sheet of cardstock. The front panel evokes a Catholic confessional screen teasing the front cover of the CD booklet inset in the second panel. The subsequent panelsrepeat this motif through laser-cut typography, visually mimicking the Catholic devotional that forms the central musical concept in Powers' arrangement.
Responsibilities
- Familiarized myself with the composition to understand the mood and experience of the music
- Researched typography options that compliment the mood, meaning, and period of the music
- Researched material and prototyped fabrication options with the client
- Designed the booklet typography and digital assets
- Facilitated printing and production of the final package, booklet, and CD
The Solution
All instances of ‘Ave Maria’ and headings are set in Eurostile, designed by Italian typography Aldo Novarese, as a reference to the austere modernity of Scelsi's time. It closely emulates the Planned Parenthood logo, the site of the photo taken by Power that graces the CD. The body copy is set in PT Sans, a humanist sans-serif designed by Alexandra Korolkovo as a civic departure from the traditional blackletter scripts of the Russian church. Liner notes are set on the diagonal grid of the confessional screen, creating moments of point and counterpoint, unison and dissolution, repetition and aberration.
the results
The package design was met favorably on social media and was selected for a 2023 award from GDUSA.