Project Overview
I designed a set of four stamps showcasing three American singers from the 1960s, in which Othman Ouzayane’s painting on Behance inspired the design style.
Design Process
I took Ouzayane’s idea of repeated lines and geometric shapes to build the faces and features of the singers. On the eyes and lips, I added a smoother touch to capture the sharpness, subtlety, and beauty of each face. The choice of each stamp’s background colour was based on their album covers and musical aura.
Design Choices
Ricky Nelson, known for his iconic country and rock and roll hits, sings with a smooth, clean-cut, and melodic voice, bringing warmth and comfort to his music. Nelson’s earthy undertones evoke thoughts and feelings of the American West Coast, with its sunny days and positive vibes. Equally, orange promotes happiness and represents sunshine, making it ideal to use for Nelson’s stamp.
Kitty Kallen, renowned for her sweet romantic music following WWII, has a voice of perfect sentimental delivery. Contrary to Nelson, while still giving off a warm, soft, feminine undertone, her music is reminiscent of the past, evoking nostalgia.
I was inspired by her classic blues song “It’s Been A Long, Long Time,” which depicts this sentimental quality of her voice. In the 1960s, the blues was sung in the context of the past for white audiences, and Kallen sang in this vein for a brief period, up until 1963. I used a shade of indigo to reflect this past romantic and wistful era of Kallen’s, as blue connects with the blues music genre.
Dion DiMucci, famous for being a teen idol and Bronx swagger, hit it off with the Belmonds and a solo career featuring old-school rock and roll and doo-wop in the ’60s. His songs give the urban street feel, with a certain level of coolness and deep emotion. This idea of mixing deep warm emotions with a cool, gritty feel gives reason to choose purple as the background colour, as purple is a balance between red, a warm colour, and blue, a cool colour.
Illustration Process
