The Landscape the Tropics Never Had: A Unique Blend of Art and Music

Qingyu Wu's Award-Winning Design for Chui Wan's New Album

The inspiration for this design came from the album cover photography, "Desserts" by artist Li Gang. In his work, hair is randomly swept up and mixed with plaster, creating anonymous construction materials. Wu was inspired by this mix of materials and used both western and eastern typefaces that mirrored the structure of the sculpture in the background photography. The tenuous Chinese fonts represent the hair in the sculpture and the odic atmosphere of the music.

Chui Wan, an experimental psychedelic rock band, approached Wu to create artwork for their new album. The resulting bilingual visual identity draws upon the soft tones of photography and the unique mix of calligraphic and typographic form to represent the tracks' ambiguous, poetic, and textural melodies. Wu created artwork for the CD, cassette tape, t-shirts, posters, banners, and the 12-inch record, which was included with a limited edition press of the vinyl.

The design was realized using a combination of traditional sketching and digital processing. Wu started with pencil sketches, which were then transformed into digital files using a scanner, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Indesign. These sketches served as a reference point for the final work, with Wu constantly experimenting and testing different ideas that related to the music and the meaning of the song lyrics.

The technical specifications of the design vary based on the medium. For instance, the vinyl measures 304.8 mm in width, depth, and height, while the CD digipack measures 139 mm in width, 7.112 mm in depth, and 126 mm in height. The cassette measures 65.024 mm in width, 12.7 mm in depth, and 101.6 mm in height. The posters measure 594 mm in width and 841 mm in height.

One of the main challenges Wu faced during the design process was figuring out the concept, strategy, content, and flow. The hardest part was not the typesetting, correct colors, or visual refinement, but rather testing concepts and doing the whole thing over again. Despite these challenges, Wu was able to create a design that is not only visually appealing but also reflects the band's music and inner world.

In conclusion, Qingyu Wu's design for Chui Wan's new album, "The Landscape the Tropics Never Had", is a testament to the power of blending art and music. It showcases Wu's ability to draw inspiration from various sources and transform them into a unique visual identity that resonates with the band's music. The design was awarded the Golden A' Design Award in 2018, highlighting its uniqueness and impact in the world of design.