After signing a major record deal with Interscope, Mineral broke-up in 1997 while making their second album. But their songs would go on to influence an entire music scene and bands like My Chemical Romance, Frank Turner, Dashboard Confessional, Say Anything, and The 1975.
To celebrate their 25th anniversary, Mineral announced a tour and the release of a book with rare photos, memorabilia, and interviews, along with their first new songs in 20 years. But after two decades of not releasing any new material while the world, music, pop culture, and technology continued to change, different generations of fans have expectations that are not always the same.
I was asked to bring Mineral’s story to life visually
Mineral's music made a genuine connection. No record label was supporting any promotion and without even playing together, their popularity grew. Other successful bands cited Mineral's influence over the years and there became a longing for more. “Let's be real, the world could do with a lot more Mineral right now.” Punknews.org, January 8, 2019.
Meaningful engagement
The band was in their early 20s while making those two albums and while each member had continued their music careers through other projects, they were now confronting the question, what would Mineral sound like now? Their loyal Gen-X fanbase was not able to experience a gradual evolution like bands typically go through and a new Millennial audience was mostly experiencing the music for the first time. Mineral would have to tap into what they once were, while staying true to who they all are now.
Resonates with our desire to be honest
I was interested in emulating the direct way their music communicates emotion to the audience. There is a raw, and at times, confessional nature to the lyrics. The design and packaging needed to become a tactile experience with a visual rhythm that made the viewer want to turn each page.
The cover presents two opposing interpretations: the vibrant color being overtaken by black or emerging from it. I smashed lump charcoal with a hammer, creating smaller multi-faceted shards. The material properties of charcoal: a carbon residue, and black: the absence or complete absorption of visible light, fit the music conceptually. The charcoal pieces form a black with shimmering contrast, a complexity to the darkness.
The band had gathered a variety of photographs, images of gig posters and ads, handwritten lyrics, and even some pictures of merch they had designed. I decided to combine these digital files with handmade collages of found paper and pen and ink strokes. These became more like illustrated journal entries, a personal diary to be discovered by the fans.
“Kenneth worked tirelessly to understand and bring out a vision that connected our past with the present. From a mountain of images and artifacts he helped carve out a cohesive arc and statement about who we are and what we are about. No designer I’ve ever worked with has come to the table with as many ideas as Kenneth. He is a joy to work with.”
The text compiled by writer Mischa Pearlman, includes interviews with Mineral revisiting their break-up while fellow musicians took the opportunity to share what it was about the band's sound that moves them. The color, density, and lighting varied in the photographs which gave lead to keeping the text neutral. I paired the open manner of the dialogue with open space on the page so the size and placement of text, images, and graphics balance and create a visceral rhythm from page to page.
“With his beautiful, thoughtful and stylish design, Kenneth helped bring to life the story of Mineral in a way more than just my words alone could have done. What he did was make a book about the band’s history become part of their history, one that contains as much depth, soul and heart as the band’s music, and, as a result, I’m even more honored to be a part of it than I already was.”
Abstract shapes formed from brush strokes and paint smears create expressions of the sonic experience. Combined with simple line drawings, fabric patterns, and charcoal fragments, they leave the material residue of a retrospective gaze.