FSOLdigital presents Mind Maps 3

June 2022

CD album artwork and screen printed merchandise designs for part three of The Future Sound of London mix albums for Touched Music.

Having established the design concept and art direction with the first Mind Maps, then refining the design language and expanding the custom typography for Mind Maps 2, volume three was really about listening to the mix, digging deeper into the vast satellite image library of United States Geological Survey and giving Mind Maps 3 it's own visual identity in the series.

Mind Maps 3 case front cover
Mind Maps 3 case back cover

The imagery and design choices are heavily influenced by listening to the mix as I worked, making it a bit more colourful and detailed than MM2. I designed a new circular Mind Maps graphic to replace the brain image from Mind Maps 2 on the third panel — and, being circular, naturally rotates the design on to the vertical axis of the inner panels which feature the artists (the first time on a Mind Maps album).

Packshot
Matt finish eight panel digipak
Angled view
Inside panels
FSOLdigital panel close-up
CD tray panel close-up
Inside panels
A more colourful and vibrant design reflects the feel of the music
Inside panel close-up
This circular Mind Maps typography idea evolved from the thin text under the CD tray
Inside panels

The inside panels read vertically to integrate the artist names into the design — the previous two albums only showed the various The Future Sound of London remix aliases. 

Under CD panel
Thin "MIND MAPS" typography is stretched around the spindle
As before, the backgrounds seamlessly merge over every panel — a continuous journey, just like the mix
CD
The geometric shapes of irrigation fields in the Sahara feature repeatedly in the artwork
3 covers
Mind Maps, Mind Maps 2 and Mind Maps 3
Spines

I also designed a two colour t-shirt using the circular Mind Maps typography from the inner panel. They were hand screen printed in a range of bright colours to compliment the album artwork.

T-shirt 1
T-shirt 2
T-shirt 3
Mind Maps 1—4

The album was sold exclusively by Touched Music and FSOLdigital with all proceeds going to Macmillan Cancer Support. See my artwork for Mind Maps, Mind Maps 2 and Mind Maps 4.