We recently had the opportunity to work with Kenton Dunson on his debut CD, The Kenton Dunson Progressions. Kenton’s music is very fresh, with unique beats and intriguing lyrics. His style of music blends R&B, with a side of hip hop and a taste of jazz. When you hear his music you can instantly tell that he has a plethora of influences to create the unique sound that is his own. For his CD, we agreed that a clean, straight forward design was the best approach, where his personality and character could really shine through.
Our first consultation with Kenton was at the Sound Garden, Baltimore’s best new and used CD store. CD designs are very visual, so we both thought it was best to go somewhere where we could walk the isles and get a sense for the types of designs that he liked. Kenton had a vision of how he wanted his CD to look, and we were happy about that. After that meeting we got to work on producing a CD design for The Kenton Dunson Progressions.
A professional photographer was hired to visually capture his style. Then we cropped those dynamic images in a way that would be most impactful. Our favorite part of this CD is when you open the case (pictured below) and you see the smooth warm colors of the guitar mixed with the disposition of cool grays and blues in the wall, complimented by a high contrast, weathered wood background on the opposing panel and a minimalist CD label design in jet black. It was poetic. When we presented the final design to Kenton, he was blown away.
Kenton also wanted to spread the word about his new CD and his unique style of music. When you are a new anything (artist, business, etc) breaking into a new scene or industry, it’s important to get that first impression just right. We thought it was also important to make people look twice at Kenton Dunson and inquire more about what he does. So, we immediately asked him to give us his signature. We scanned it in, and created a business card that makes you instantly say “oh wow, what’s that?” Keep it clean. Keep it simple. Keep it classy, and then see what develops.
Kenton Dunson will be performing at the 8×10 in Baltimore (Federal Hill) on June 3rd for his release party. You can learn more about Kenton Dunson and listen to his CD by visiting his website, http://www.kentondunson.com. You might also be wondering about the amazing photography used throughout this project. The photos were taken by photographer Sean Scheidt, and you can check out his work here: http://www.seanscheidt.com.
Jess Watson is the CEO & Creative Director of Points North Studio. She's the co-organizer of Baltimore Womxn in Tech, a big believer in Baltimore city, and a pioneer of working remotely while traveling the globe.