Reflect: A Dynamic Design Generation System by Afeef Zubaer Zaman

Unveiling an Innovative Approach to Brand Identity through Generative Design

Music, chaotic yet personal, transcends barriers and evolves constantly. Each moment and place adds a new shade to this cavalcade of cascading tunes, telling a different tale every time. Reflect explores this ethos of music by capturing these self-reflective momentary tales and representing them in design motifs inspired by the form of Rorschach blots.

What sets Reflect apart is its generative tool that produces unique design motifs by merging the artist's identity with the spatial and temporal dimensions of their musical journey. These motifs serve as the fundamental design elements for the artist's brand identity. By algorithmically mixing various seed inputs such as images of the artist, locations that are musically relevant to them, the time of generation, and tracks from their new album, the system can iterate unlimited generations of curated design motifs, each unique to the case.

The system was developed using OFX, a C++ toolkit for creative coding. It functions with four seed inputs: location name, artist’s image, the system clock's time and date, and an audio track. The final step superimposes the two meshes, uses perlin noise and kaleidoscopic emulation filters to create a real-time animation, and captures vibes from it.

Reflect's design motifs have been used in various physical promotional materials, including posters, vinyl covers, CDs, envelopes, letterheads, business cards, and brochures. The tool fuses images of the artist and the locations that are musically relevant to them, organizing them into "aural impressions" based on various parameters, including date and time. These "momentary musical glimpses" then "listen" to the music from the artist's album and translate themselves into unlimited, constantly evolving unique organic "Rorschach blot" shaped vibes that reflect the mood and texture of the music.

The development of Reflect started in September 2014 and finished in December 2014 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The printing and circulation of promotional materials were done in the respective cities where the album was launched. The generative tool, which will be used for every brand communication for/after the album launch of Dj Sarhi, is a core element of his new long-term brand identity.

Reflect was awarded the Golden A' Generative, Algorithmic, Parametric and AI-Assisted Design Award in 2015. This award is granted to marvelous, outstanding, and trendsetting creations that reflect the designer's prodigy and wisdom. They are venerated products and bright ideas that advance art, science, design, and technology, embodying extraordinary excellence and significantly impacting the world with their desirable characteristics.