Music and design, a harmonious combination

From tones, composition and semantics to construction and intentionality, the world of music and design have many points in common. But beyond the technical issues, the latter has a lot to contribute to the music industry, especially when it comes to marketing and building a brand.

Music and branding

Just as new artists seek to find that fresh sound that identifies them, to create their brand – as a band or soloist – it is also important to find their image. And by this we mean much more than how they look on stage, but what their album covers look like, their logos, the fonts they use, and basically any kind of visual aspect.

Aesthetic elements are essential to the “branding” of a band, and it is necessary to establish them from the beginning of their career. This is there where the role of design becomes crucial.

Defining the basics

What comes to your mind when I ask you to visualize a hand making a horn gesture, with the index and little fingers raised? Tough people with long hair, chains, lightning bolts, strobe lights come to mind, basically a heavy metal concert, right? 

What if I showed you some big afros? Images from the 70’s and “funk” music would be playing in your head, right?

In the same way that each musical style has a characteristic sound, they are also identified by visual styles. Normally, each genre uses certain color palettes, fonts and designs. These help make them recognizable at a glance, and even without knowing what a band is about, potential consumers know what to expect. That is precisely the job of designers, the same folks who have been shaping each genre over the years.

One of the most iconic examples is the AC/DC logo, created by designer Gerard Huerta and art director Bob Defrin. The tips, the details of the serifs, added to the lightning bolt that separates both syllables and the colors they used, perfectly summarize the sound style of the legendary band.

The process by which a band’s “brand” is created is similar to any other product you want to promote. Follow these similar steps in particular:

• Analyze what you bring to the table: start by asking yourself what makes you unique, what sets you apart from the rest.

• Analyze the competition: surely you have your references in the music world, so pay close attention to how they communicate and what kind of images, colors and messages they use.

• Analyze consumers: ask yourself what type of content your potential fans consume, what codes they use when writing, what formats they share on their networks, etc. A secret about this step is that you are surely already a consumer, so think about yourself first, about your own behaviors.

Today, a good brand identity is essential for the success of any musician – knowing about music also helps a lot, and although autotune works magic, it doesn’t do miracles – since among other things, you will be constantly competing for attention on social media. These are just some examples, and there are many more that you can find in these articles.

Areas for designers

As we said before, having a presence on social networks is one of the most important issues for a band. However, designers can contribute much more than posts that will be trending. Let’s start by naming just a few of these areas:

Visual identity and merchandising

As we already mentioned, a good job in terms of designing brand identity is essential for your band to stand out. Logos, fonts, colors, everything related to the brand manual will be a graphic designer’s responsibility.

Everything related to the products that can be sold with images of your band usually comes out of this work: sweatshirts, prints, album covers and everything you can think of.

Web design

Having a website is one of the best ways to be able to share the dates that the band is going to play, as well as provide information about new releases and even sell merchandise. In this case, it is not only important to have a good web designer for the coding, but they are also relied on for their aesthetic expertise to spread the spirit of the band in each image. Even working with sites like WordPress, the web designer will be able to give you that magic touch that makes it a hit.

Posters

Whether digital or printed, posters are one of the most symbolic elements in the world of music and are vital so that your fans – which you surely already have, and if not, we will be the first – to find out about everything related to your band. That is why they must be impressive, eye-catching and designed in detail.

The world of music and graphic design have a lot in common and when there is a synergy between them, great projects are born. To help you develop them, we offer you our best collections where you will find everything to take your designs to the top of the charts.