Giju John, a very talented singer, song-writer, and producer based in San Francisco, approached me to create a CD cover for his new album, “Bachata Indu”. I was both thrilled for the opportunity and curious for how I would go about it. Curious because the songs were going to be in Spanish language, and composed for the Bachata dance form, both new to me; and, thrilled because he was making a fusion album, with the Indian classical instrument, Santoor, which I love immensely, and coincidentally, my husband plays it too. Giju himself being a detail-oriented and a sensitive creative, had a very clear vision for the cover. He wanted to have an illustrative fusion of this vibrant dance-form with his head-shot, along with the Spanish & Indian instruments portrayed on it.

While designing it, I focused mainly on the illustrative style to bring the desired dynamic effect. After trying line-work, I tried a new style by blending colors in oil-painting style, and immediately Batchata’s vibrance and rawness started coming forth with just a few strokes. I decided to stick to this style and began composing other elements around it. Thanks to the huge collection of ps oil brushes available online, the application, mixing, smudging, and blending felt very real, and gave a fantastic finesse to the painting.

Later, I worked on the lettering for Bachata Indu and added gradients to it to enhance the overall style. The front and back covers and the inside of the cover jacket were completed in similar style. Giju was so happy with the final results, that he further involved me in creating posters, teasers, and launch ads for Bachata Indu.