Role
Team
Tools
Timeline
Project Summary
For this project, I designed a complete LP cover, front, back, and spine, for an original album concept called Headspace, shooting and directing all original photography rather than relying on stock imagery. The goal was to translate an abstract, introspective mood into a cohesive physical product: something that could sit on a shelf next to real vinyl and hold its own.
Phase 01
Concept & Direction
I wanted the cover to feel private and a little uneasy, someone turned away from the viewer, partially obscured, caught mid-thought rather than posing. Album art from artists like Juice WRLD and Powfu informed the tone I was chasing: minimal color, heavy reliance on silhouette and body language, and typography that stays out of the way of the image. I leaned on cool blues and soft, overcast lighting to reinforce the "headspace" idea, a mind that's foggy, closed-off, somewhere else.
Moodboard
I wanted the cover to feel private and a little uneasy, someone turned away from the viewer, partially obscured, caught mid-thought rather than posing. Album art from artists like Juice WRLD and Powfu informed the tone I was chasing: minimal color, heavy reliance on silhouette and body language, and typography that stays out of the way of the image. I leaned on cool blues and soft, overcast lighting to reinforce the "headspace" idea, a mind that's foggy, closed-off, somewhere else.
Phase 02
Process Photos and Video
I served as photographer, art director, and designer for the shoot. Working with natural window light, I directed a series of portraits built entirely around posture and concealment, hood up, face turned, hands covering, to communicate withdrawal without needing a visible expression. I shot dozens of variations to find the exact angle and light balance that read as contemplative rather than staged, then brought the strongest frames into the final layout, building out track listing typography, spine text, and parental advisory placement to match real commercial LP conventions.
Storyboard
I served as photographer, art director, and designer for the shoot. Working with natural window light, I directed a series of portraits built entirely around posture and concealment, hood up, face turned, hands covering, to communicate withdrawal without needing a visible expression. I shot dozens of variations to find the exact angle and light balance that read as contemplative rather than staged, then brought the strongest frames into the final layout, building out track listing typography, spine text, and parental advisory placement to match real commercial LP conventions.
Phase 03
Editing
The editing process was the most interesting part of this project. I had my concepts, photo direction, and audio consideration but how should Headspace feel emotionally? I took my photos and edited them in Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, and Canva Pro and iterated on several ideas before landing on this color palette and a sort of empty emotion creating the album look and feel. The stark contrast of my blonde and black hair with my light blue hoodie almost symbolized a filling gauge to me and all that was left was my head creating the title of the album. The emotion that derived from my iterations was exactly what I was looking for and I was very pleased with how this turned out.
Audio Consideration
I wanted the cover to feel private and a little uneasy, someone turned away from the viewer, partially obscured, caught mid-thought rather than posing. Album art from artists like Juice WRLD and Powfu informed the tone I was chasing: minimal color, heavy reliance on silhouette and body language, and typography that stays out of the way of the image. I leaned on cool blues and soft, overcast lighting to reinforce the "headspace" idea, a mind that's foggy, closed-off, somewhere else.
Audio Credit: Prod. Riddiman - Reflejos Perdidos
Phase 04
Final Deliverable & Reflection
This project pushed me past designing around photography and into directing it. Every earlier project in this portfolio uses someone else's imagery as a starting point, here, the photography itself was the design decision. I learned how much a subject's posture alone can carry emotional weight, and how restraint (turning away from the camera, hiding the face) can be a stronger storytelling choice than showing more.
Next Steps
Headspace was one of my biggest photography projects and
