Album & Editorial Design
These liner notes accompany Roy Blair’s 2017 album, Cat Heaven, where he takes listeners through a tumultuous journey full of adolescent anxieties and self-discovery. His introspective take on coming of age directly influenced my design choices, particularly the use of heavy photo manipulation. Through square “chunking” and rearranging, I aimed to symbolize the distortion of self-identity and the unease that comes with growing into adulthood.
TOOLS
Photoshop, Indesign, Illustrator
REIMAGINING THROUGH A PERSONAL LENSE
The imagery throughout the booklet blends nostalgic visuals from my own childhood with contemplative, introspective shots of Roy, representing his forward-looking perspective. I also focused on liminal spaces—both literal and metaphorical—to capture the feeling of being in transition, mixing these with familiar objects and nostalgic elements. For the typography, I chose bold, assertive headlines to reflect the raw, unapologetic energy of Roy’s music, contrasted by a delicate typeface for the pull quotes, which capture intimate confessions from his interviews.
A flexible grid system was crucial for use across the booklet. An identical grid is used for every spread of the liner notes, from the artist bio, and table of contents, to the lyric pages. A common grid unifies the book as the content changes throughout the course of the book
Cat Heaven’s original album cover