I have recently gotten commissioned to create a design for ‘‘West Baby’’. It’s the newest hot single by Mrisi, an emerging music artist based in Brighton.

What appealed to me the most about the brief was the narrative behind the single.

As told to Complex.com:

This track is a juxtaposition of the protagonist's identity — partly from the West, partly an outsider hailing from lands the West colonised. The song explores the idea that the West still holds false moral superiority to the rest of the world. Using the words Amandla (Power) and Hamba (Depart/Move) I have included words from one of my South African languages, 'Shangaan Tsonga' to signify the duality of my identity.

The artwork itself needed to be versatile and adaptable to fit into profile and cover photos on social media, as well as a number of different streaming services like Spotify, Soundcloud and Amazon Music.

The initial brief included an illustration with the horse; drawing inspiration from the single’s music video.

Early explorations of the brief

However, in coordination with the producer, I developed a different idea: a portrait of the artist and hands holding objects that show Mrisi’s heritage.

The typeface reflects a more urban vibe - referring to the West - as a juxtaposition to traditional items that the hands hold.

In terms of colour, I suggested a couple of different design solutions using red, green and black which are the colours of Mrisi’s tribe. I was really keen on the one above as the illustration is clearly visible, while the green and red are used to enhance the name and title.

The client, however, preferred the illustration with the bold red background and that one ended up being the official artwork and adapted for different platforms.

Pairing the illustration, type and colours together created a complete story for Mrisi’s new single.

Let’s hope the corona pandemic will soon get better and new gigs will be on their way!
In the meantime, enjoy the music: