FRANK 151: "Let's Be Frank"
Double Vinyl Album Promotional Vehicle
Double Vinyl Album Promotional Vehicle
LET'S BE FRANK
The whole idea was to create something that would correctly represent Frank 151 and the services it provides for its current and future clients. Ideally, create something to be left behind that would visually grab and inspire a client to keep picking it up. The "Let's Be Frank" title is a pun on a common phrase, used in this way to illustrate a shoot from the hip attitude, straight to the point, "what you see is what you get" attidude that Frank 151 and its mainstream urban community is known for around the world.
The whole idea was to create something that would correctly represent Frank 151 and the services it provides for its current and future clients. Ideally, create something to be left behind that would visually grab and inspire a client to keep picking it up. The "Let's Be Frank" title is a pun on a common phrase, used in this way to illustrate a shoot from the hip attitude, straight to the point, "what you see is what you get" attidude that Frank 151 and its mainstream urban community is known for around the world.
For my approach I focused on the following: ol' Ben is featured on the U.S. $100 dollar bill; Ben was on the first official U.S. postage stamp (1847); and myth has Ben performing electrical experiments with lightning using a key and a kite. Given the fact that Ben was the first US stamp, I naturally started designing my own stamp art based on that history, modernizing it to fit with an urban demographic. Along the way, I began throwing in little icons in the art, subtleties that would only be noticed on the second or third glance. For instance, the front and back cover have an old fashioned key (referencing the electricity experiments) with surrounding lightning bolts, the key actually being the F in the Frank 151 official logo. This idea eventually was used for a larger representation on the inside spread.
Regarding the inside spread, my approach was to make it look like a piece of currency, but not so much. I focused on creating cultural iconic images and seals that would best represent Frank 151 and the variety of services it offered to its clients. Most notably, I went with an Art Deco style for the main seals featured in the spread. Reutilizing the key and lightening bolts seen on the outside, I wanted to illustrate the various mediums that Frank 151 had to offer (music, internet, broadband, etc.); and the radio tower standing above the earth and the Frank icon, was to communicate the far reach that Frank 151 has across the globe. The secondary seals, surrounding the main seals, are detailed representations of the methods used to communicate to the consumer (publications, radio, music, retail and street advertising). Other elements were derived from studying and loosely mimicking the etching patterns seen in stamps and currency from various countries, and finding creative, yet not too obvious ways to work in the Frank 151 name and logo. From the beginning, the intent was to create something visual which would boldly stand out.
The final task was to find a way to incorporate the current client list into the whole package. In other words, how to showcase what Frank 151 has already done? This was a two part question... how to highlight case studies and how to package them into the overall project? Simple... double vinyl album cover. This gives Frank 151 the flexibility to switch out case studies, personalizing an individual package to a specific client. In affect, each case study was designed and customized to fit overall theme of the album cover.
For background colors and textures, I created an urban collage of rust, stains and grime.
From concepts to final production, the project took me roughly 3 months to accomplish.
The final task was to find a way to incorporate the current client list into the whole package. In other words, how to showcase what Frank 151 has already done? This was a two part question... how to highlight case studies and how to package them into the overall project? Simple... double vinyl album cover. This gives Frank 151 the flexibility to switch out case studies, personalizing an individual package to a specific client. In affect, each case study was designed and customized to fit overall theme of the album cover.
For background colors and textures, I created an urban collage of rust, stains and grime.
From concepts to final production, the project took me roughly 3 months to accomplish.
