Background:
This bilingual publication is a biography of the Latin artist J Balvin, showcasing key moments throughout his career.
It is meant to highlight and bring attention to how J Balvin has broken language barriers for the Latin community, by becoming a global superstar. I created this publication as an overall celebration of Latin culture around the world.
Brief:
My intention for this publication was to reach not only Spanish speakers and pre-existing fans but to spark interest in
the joy and energy that comes with the experience of Latin music. J Balvin’s philosophy is that music has the power to transcend language barriers through universal energy and rhythm that everybody can connect to. My goal was to accomplish the same vision by mirroring the energy and rhythm of his music, directly into the design of this publication.
Book Cover:
The lightning bolt is a symbol that J Balvin has used throughout his career representing the electric energy of his music. The title text is a bold display typeface to represent J Balvin’s bold stage presence as a global star. The subheading is his full name set in a Latin script font to represent his roots and true identity as a human being aside from the fame. This lightning bolt symbolism and type palette can be seen consistently implemented in the publication from the cover to each section within the book.
End Pages:
Being the first thing you see when you open the cover of the book, I wanted to make sure the end-pages were bold, striking, and would draw the viewer in by setting the tone for the rest of the publication. The name "BALVIN" extends across the spread completely unrestricted by any bounding box. The goal of the end pages is to be engaging and give the audience a taste of what’s to come.
Solution:
This publication was meant to feel bold and energetic so my editorial strategy heavily took inspiration from magazine-style spreads containing colorful full-bleed imagery that feels alive and jumps off of the pages. The image-treatment is often uncontained and freely interacting with the content on the spread.
Results:
The process of making this 150-page publication was very tedious but also incredibly rewarding. Through the production of this project, I learned how to create and use underlying grid structures systematically, how to create variation in spread layouts while working under one grid structure, the importance of giving different kinds of content a respective stylization and typographic treatment, and most importantly how to maintain your Indesign file organized and avoid clutter for a more efficient workflow.
Production:
I also learned about all the labor that takes place to physically produce a hardcover book, from carefully choosing the desired paper, setting up your file for printing, precisely trimming the pages to scale, perfect binding the text block, making a hard-cover, and finally attaching your final text block into the assembled cover. All of this hard work only made the final product that much more valuable and rewarding for me.
