Brain Beats is a 4 album compilation of instrumental songs intended for teachers to play in their classrooms.
I designed a set of 4 album covers to accompany the digital downloads. The intent here was to blend imagery representing sound or music and education.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fffd81e801aed6e87a42353a527debc5/8c22def29f5da0b06a3b87bb8c42a339909460fd390e7c70b58f13169d2238e13bc21b62fb02ec2c_rw_1920.png?h=44b61e2c88647e809a9385b3d05bc5b8)
Process
I photographed 3 different concepts.
Number 2 pencils are a direct reminder of education. This option puts pencils into the context of drum sticks.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fffd81e801aed6e87a42353a527debc5/44ce030ad66d8f040f23cb84a9db28292c6e01ef7536aa78ffa6c978947828268e618f9dff080e04_rw_1200.jpg?h=0ac5c5baf081aab9ecd2382869cee5a4)
I shot a drum stick with a pencil on a drum to show a more literal application. I chose a pencil color closer to that of the drum stick.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fffd81e801aed6e87a42353a527debc5/d9a49f06ed864974de2719c6cfa516ae27258f65b6c9c81fc679a91c2b575bbf5b959d2b6e6a826d_rw_1200.jpg?h=56aeabc9dc38f8afdd1dd8b4efa77536)
I photographed pencils arranged to represent a graphic equalizer, with the erasers representing the red lights at the top of the board. This one is a departure from the instrument relation. I tested two types of pencils.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fffd81e801aed6e87a42353a527debc5/81bfe52c3948db16493b1924ada72ef12ffa0f396ccd93e5ad984989fefb6f0dbab225af5c371b3c_rw_1200.jpg?h=adaa884e8542ab0882c834971b629885)
The more literal direction was the clear choice, so I reshot. This time I went with the classic yellow number 2 pencils to mimic worn in drum sticks.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fffd81e801aed6e87a42353a527debc5/f392e3d2d0c4ef0a7917cf9f1cbfc12eb876af64a81a0d9f1a7da218f680bdb381fd4bbae37c6dd3_rw_1200.jpg?h=6f325e7979e92daeb251ab8f9428ffe4)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fffd81e801aed6e87a42353a527debc5/60938ee9725862a41734fcb0e49728725e17a3fe63ba6269ebc73dfc71189ec0da5ce65867ef59a8_rw_1920.png?h=d90e58ea870b5c5fe531ef24d98009f7)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fffd81e801aed6e87a42353a527debc5/79d0e8092ca2016660947b30a9f398bac67aab3500e23456996d3d93ea936c800d283287d1321737_rw_1200.jpg?h=1cb4d889cb974023c263a98c51bab2a9)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fffd81e801aed6e87a42353a527debc5/415977b27b1eb9b790239d5e6982966573f61b7515e01986eaf79dd5e12dfa77173690a86a84dace_rw_1200.jpg?h=e790634311bc3ae8b949c2eb90179cd6)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fffd81e801aed6e87a42353a527debc5/f9bce7cd761db81f9840251936ef7a1c4d243990a780646717348e4db4d740596fcf3c753e208544_rw_1200.jpg?h=75f13f7981f5f8fa70598e23e5b21777)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fffd81e801aed6e87a42353a527debc5/c75c917b83b40957cd5bed177bc77a131a00ec24ca3c8c5afc59ec685f5014bb488838605d7611cd_rw_1200.jpg?h=77e753c6c6630c903f8498b856d5a457)