USING ILLUSTRATIONS FOR BAND ART
How Ochi got a stand-out visual identity that gets their music noticed.
THE BAND.
Ochi is a young and upcoming band that recently started out. They’ve put in a huge effort to write and record their music, so they wanted to nail their debut release. For Ochi it wasn't just about releasing the music - it was about presenting it in the best way possible. As with any demo band, the first goals were obvious: get noticed, find a record label, book shows, sell merch.
The only missing piece was a clear art direction to pull everything together.
THE CHALLENGE.
The band sounds like a blend of sharp riffage, greasy bass lines, and ripping choruses. The emotions fused in their music bounce between fear, resistance, decay, and acceptance. Ochi wanted band art aligned with the sound and vibe of their music.
The tricky part was embedding those emotions in their visual identity as a whole. Bands are also brands. If the music stands out - so should all visuals such as album covers, merch, stickers, pins, posters, Instagram posts, etc.
BAND LOGO AND VISUAL IDENTITY.
Resembling Ochi's music, we used a punchy, heavy, and bold typeface. As the name “Ochi” has only 4 letters, we created a wordmark that follows all key practices of good design. It's readable, flexible, stackable, and functional in every way.
The letter “O” works well as the symbol in a bunch of different deliverables. The picked font had little “horned” serifs - a perfect fit for the grunge/stoner style of their music.
ILLUSTRATED BAND ART AND MORE.
Typical never stands out. When creating artwork for Ochi, we wanted to tell the story behind the music and mold that vibe into a visual shape.
We went with a simple two-tone palette and spiced it up with almost gritty linework. We combined their vision, as well as our impressions of their music to deliver a fitting image.
Simple at first glance, but loaded with vigorous details that draw you in.
MERCH DESIGN.
As designers, our work gets tested when you apply it to real products. This project included a bunch of deliverables (stickers, posters, custom graphics, and merch). As the merch budget was tight, we wanted to make the most of every merch piece. The end result was an affordable merch bundle; die-cut stickers, pins, and black t-shirts.
It’s been well over a year since we’ve worked with Ochi. In the meantime, the band had its debut EP titled Tremor published via Geenger Records. So far, they’ve played around 10 shows (one of them being on the biggest Croatian festival - INmusic) and did a short tour. All their merch stocks have been sold out. Currently, the band is recording their first album. We’ve linked their music below. Feel free to have a listen or follow the band on social media.
