Wrong Crowd

Branding - Packaging Design

Role: designer

Tom Odell’s second studio album redesign inspired by topics of changing emotions, hope, and going through life’s ups and downs present on the tracks.

Why redesign Wrong Crowd?

This album is very dear to me personally. By redesigning it I want the visual branding to stand up to the music’s level and the themes talked in the tracks’ lyrics. The original design falls short in my opinion both next to the music, as well as other artistic materials related to the album such as promotional photography, and the music videos’ videography. There is a disconnect between front, back, and centre of the album which I thought could have been improved on to provide a more cohesive experience.

Original design of the vinyl record

Inspiration

Song analysis

In order to have a deep understanding of the album's content, I analysed the songs from 3 different angles: lyrical content, instruments used and abstract associations I made with the sounds. I then combined my findings into a mind map.

Artist's vision

In the interviews promoting the album Odell talked about his artistic interpretation of the tracks as well as about music videos accompanying 7 out of 15 songs. In a lot of interviews the themes of memories and a non-linear narrative were mentioned which striked my interest.

The videos show this non-linearity in a very dream-like manner. They are all snippets of one person's life, but the layers are intertwined with each other differing in tone. I thought that this would be a great visual and synaesthetic tool to bring to my album design.

Screen captures from music videos showing a lot of ephemeral qualities and textures

Visual Language

In the visual system for this project I focused on imagery related to layers and intertwining, inspired by Tom Odell's vision. To contrast the organic visuals, I incorporated a silhouette of a paper crane. With its rigid lines and fragile construction it represents memories that can be as easily skewed and altered.

Design

I imagined this redesign as a re-release of the 2016 album. It would be an extended version with all 15 tracks, which would be combined with a tour, a promotional campaign and a social activism aspect to it.

Album

The new cover design ties to the ideas of a non-linear narrative and different memories interwining by using three separate motifs: plain black, concrete texture, and a flluid mix of colours and creating an illusion of layers and openwork throughout all the planes of the album. The motifs were chosen to create a sense of contrast both in visual properties and in sensory association. Additionally I researched opportunities and technologies related to vinyl disc production and designed a disc that would be an extension to the design itself.

Promotional materials

To expand the visual system beyond the album itself, I created a number of collateral graphics mainly tackling promotion for the release. These included a tour poster, a streaming service banner, and a now playing stop motion animation that tie together with the branding.

Social activism

When doing research on Odell both as an artist and a public figure, I found that he often gets involved with social good campaigns and advocates on a number of different social justice topics. Seeing him play on a train station in Romania, where Ukrainain refugees fled to after the Russian invasion as a sign of solidarity with their situation gave me an idea of incorporating this social issue into the campaign. I thought that if an album was being released at this time, Odell could have been vocal about the war on his social media and spreading awareness about the conflict still happening in autumn of 2022.