Jack Stauber’s Micropop: Music Packaging
Challenge
Create a rigid box package design.
Process
This design is for a slipcase set of books inspired by the decline of CDs—instead of a CD, each book (theoretically) has a digital download code for the music, but also expands on the CD lyric booklet by including art, photos, behind-the-scenes bonus content, and of course, lyrics. Buying music is still the best way to support musicians, as streaming services alone provide little income. This allows the customer to support their favorite artists, and own their own copy of the music as well as a physical object they can enjoy, without the wasteful plastic of a CD they don’t have many opportunities to use.
Process
The design is based on the work of Jack Stauber, a prolific independent artist and musician, active 2013 to present. His multimedia work takes inspiration from outdated but nostalgic aesthetics and mediums, such as VHS tapes, and the late 80s/early 90s aesthetics of the VHS tape era. The exterior rigid box is the exact size and shape of a VHS tape, and its design is inspired by the trends often seen on those 80s/90s tapes. The slipcase includes three books, each based on a collection of music published under Jack’s secondary artist name: Jack Stauber’s Micropop. Altogether, the books consist of the entire Micropop discography to date.
Most micropop songs were originally short animations published on Jack’s YouTube channel (JackStauber) over several years. The design’s graphics are all taken from or inspired by these videos and his other published work. The videos also usually include text, which was the inspiration for the type.
Results
The final result of the project is a product and package design that not only accurately reflects and celebrates Jack Stauber’s art style, but also solves a real-world problem with our current methods of buying music.
