A lot of thought went into creating the album cover art. Shalika and Raman Talwar, my childhood friends who are Hong Kong based designers by profession, were very excited when I discussed my album project with them. I totally suspect they were totally unsuspecting of the effort it would take, and gladly signed up to help me out.
Over the next few weeks, they tried to extract inspirational ‘juice’ by listening to uncut version of the songs. Juggling their professional priorities with a personal commitment to an old friend, they came up with the Infinity theme and several delightful color palate options that would adorn the album cover and wrap the music. That was one difficult choice for me to make, and I went with the easiest option – all of the above!
Multi-color option was decided for the physical CD, and the black/gold option for online downloads. Silver and pink were two other options that are slated for future CD duplication. To make me look legendary, the oil painting affect was added on a picture clicked by my wife Rikti earlier this year – from a morning pre-office commute photoshoot outside our Woodinville home. And to make me look younger, my traitor of a hairline was strategically and conveniently cropped out. After six iterations on the design and endless communication over WhatsApp, Gmail, Facebook, Facetime and the VOIP avatar of the good old landline, the cover was in its final shape, ready to roll!
I can’t thank my friends enough for their invaluable and more importantly loving contribution to my album. Nevertheless, here goes – Raman and Shalika, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!
PS: For fun’s sake, my creative friends have also agreed to share their commentary on the design thought process, and it will be posted on the site at their convenience.
Cover design by Shalika and Raman Talwar
All of the above – the only right option in this ‘case’