Description:

The pandemic made it difficult to extract joy from the last couple years. I wanted to create something distinctively joyful to spark imagination, creativity and resilience, that's needed more than ever in shaping a better future.

Cosmic Pet Centre was born from my desire to capture the joyous magic of gazing at an album’s art, and visualising the music coming to life. As music moves further into the digital age, pocket-sized album artwork has become more compressed and soulless, additionally streaming has created a disconnect between artist and listener. Research reveals there's a growing resurgence in LP collections, driven by Generation Z's appreciation for the visual and epistemic aspects of music. Vinyl's growing resurgence gives opportunity for new visual exploration with an album’s design.

This project involved collaborating on the creation of a LP jacket for the esteemed Wellington Artist “ DJ Pet Centre” and his upcoming LP “Universe”. The jacket’s cover art serves as the gateway to the "Cosmic Pet Centre", where listeners are immersed in an imagined space unified with the music.

It combined the physical and digital realms with a combination of print media, (jacket covers, inner sleeves, labels, and inserts) and digital media (Augmented reality animations).The print media establishes a cohesive visual identity that communicates the music on the LP while unifying the graphics with the music. The digital media breathes life into the printed artwork, creating an immersive experience that seamlessly blends the visual and auditory realms, enabling a multisensory exploration for the listeners.

By engaging the audience in this multisensory experience, complemented by real-time responsiveness to DJ Pet Centre's music, my aim was to enhance the listening journey of the album, foster a connection between the artist and the audience, and cultivate a sense of community.