The Challenge
How do you create one visual world for music that spans a century — from Copland's prairies to abstract contemporary compositions to Australian myths — without falling into the usual patriotic or folk clichés of "American classical music"?
The Concept
We built the entire design around a single continuous landscape — a river that flows through time while the land remains. Folklore is partially real, partially dream-like, myths and legends passing down generations. We used painterly surrealism inspired by O'Keeffe's landscapes and Dalí's dream logic to create a world where guns, churches, cowboy boots, and serpents coexist — profoundly American, yet universally human.
The Challenge
How do you create one visual world for music that spans a century — from Copland's prairies to abstract contemporary compositions to Australian myths — without falling into the usual patriotic or folk clichés of "American classical music"?
The Concept
We built the entire design around a single continuous landscape — a river that flows through time while the land remains. Folklore is partially real, partially dream-like, myths and legends passing down generations. We used painterly surrealism inspired by O'Keeffe's landscapes and Dalí's dream logic to create a world where guns, churches, cowboy boots, and serpents coexist — profoundly American, yet universally human.
The Execution
One continuous illustration spans the entire booklet as a scroll, so there is no separation between tracks or eras — the listener travels through the landscape as they flip through pages. We co-created with AI to develop the density of detail within a one-month turnaround, then finalized all color and texture treatments by hand to preserve the analog, folkloric quality. Handwritten text and a contemporary classical typeface balance the old and the new.
American Folklore: a collection of American orchestral works
Commissioned by Nimbus Records and Yale Symphony Orchestra to design the album identity for a collection of American orchestral works spanning 1939 to 2021. We built the entire visual world around a single continuous landscape — a river flowing through time, where folklore, myth, and memory coexist in one painterly surrealist scroll. From commission to international release in one month. Now available on Spotify, Apple Music, and reviewed by BBC Music.
Year
2025
Year
2025
Client
Nimbus Records and Yale Symphony Orchestra
Client
Nimbus Records and Yale Symphony Orchestra
Timeline
8 weeks
Timeline
8 weeks
American Folklore: a collection of American orchestral works
Commissioned by Nimbus Records and Yale Symphony Orchestra to design the album identity for a collection of American orchestral works spanning 1939 to 2021. We built the entire visual world around a single continuous landscape — a river flowing through time, where folklore, myth, and memory coexist in one painterly surrealist scroll. From commission to international release in one month. Now available on Spotify, Apple Music, and reviewed by BBC Music.
Year
2025
Client
Nimbus Records and Yale Symphony Orchestra
Timeline
8 weeks