This was a project I was passionate about working on, purely because the subject matter is also something I'm interested in which always helps! I've been a fan of Ivan Ave for some years now so this was an enjoyable project to work on.

Using one of my illustrations for the D&AD New Blood Awards, I created a completely new set of print materials for the album 'Helping Hands' by Ivan Ave. This particular release had very little or no print materials, so I took the information and developed an entirely new concept using my own artwork.

The main illustration was largely dictated by the brief set by D&AD but upon further research into the album’s subject matter, lyrics and ideology, I found that the two briefs had similar objectives.

Therefore, I decided to use the same artwork, slightly tweaked, as the base for this album which centres largely around self discovery and expression. I had to tweak the layout slightly to fit the format of CDs and Vinyl sleeves but this was minor task.

In terms of the look and feel, I was inspired by the dusty and retro feel of vintage halftone prints of the 20th century and felt this aesthetic was a nice nod to the space race illustrations and tied in nicely with the essence of discovery and adventure.

We then decided on developing artwork for both a Vinyl and CD sleeve, then potentially some merchandise to sell at shows and events. The original format of the illustration lends itself well to being spread across a front a back so it was convenient to have it wrap around the spine of the sleeve.

It was also necessary to make sure the design, layout and illustration allowed space for the tracklist on the reverse side and any other regulatory logos.

Due to time constraints, we couldn't explore the full range of deliverables for this project but overall, the client and and I were very happy with the outcome. I was personally very satisfied with the end result and know that with some more time, we could have pushed it even further!