I was given the task to creatively design the vinyl set for Daphne Oram’s album Electronic Sound Patterns that would be accompanied by a promotional poster. The objective was to bring the vision of her sound experimentations to life in the tangible. While keeping her unconventional methods in mind, creating a captivating experience from start to finish reflects her eccentric nature.
Daphne Oram is a British composer and experimental electronic musician. Known for Oramics machine, she was one of the first women to independently open a studio that catered to electronic music. From her time at BBC Radiophonic Workshop to her scoring work, she was an acclaimed figure in the UK electro scene.
I thought about keeping the standard dimension of a vinyl casing to focus on graphic elements, but I felt like this project could be pushed further. Daphne’s music is experimental and technical and I wanted the design of the set to reflect those similarities. One of my concepts was to place everything in a box with molds for the vinyl and other nifty trinkets. Another was to have the posters and vinyl held together by a thin metal band.
I later ended up combining concepts to arrive at the file folder system which fit the compartmentalized concept of the album.
Daphne is often surrounded by large-clunky machines. That led me to the filing system concept. A homage to ‘there’s a method to the madness’ if you will. At first glance, it looks like an office folder, but once opened, there are individual informative sheets, posters and the vinyl.