Trevor Steer’s album, Use Your Inside Voice, marks his debut not only as a solo artist but also as a singer and lyricist. Four years in the making, the album explores the intersection of emotion and heartbreak with a search for spirituality, meaning, and inner peace. With no prior designs at hand, Trevor commisioned me to design his brand from scratch. I proposed a comprehensive art direction Project that includes a wide array of visual elements like icons, illustrations, textures and photography.

This is a deeply personal album. In my conversations with Trevor, I aimed to find visual elements that could represent trevor’s journey developing the album. I found Kora, Trevor’s unconditional companionship. I also discovered the seven-step ladder of growth and learning, with a door leading beyond pain. Finally, there is the lotus floating in water, drawing nourishment from the calm pond. I designed the logo using modern blackletter shapes, combining a contemporary geometric approach with the essence of classical texts.

 Grain and texture are a way to represent the passage of time and experience. I used a palette with three types of texture for use depending on the medium, and a vibrant color palette that contrasts with black and white and photographic grain.

CASLON PRO ITALIC

SWITZER LIGHT & EXTRALIGHT

Trevor spent four years crafting this album, and I wanted the illustrated images to feel varied in style, as if created at different moments and even by different artists throughout the process. The styles ranged from minimal vector illustrations and typography to detailed drawings. Conceptually, the images serve as metaphors for growth through overcoming obstacles and a spiritual quest.  

FACE THE SUN

LIGHT THE WAY

SHUT MY MOUTH

BACK TO THE START

REACH OUT

LOVE WILL FIND THE WAY

OUR WINTER IS OVER

AURORA

ALBUM VINYL JACKET & SLEEVE

During my research, I was captivated by an old tree I saw in an antique painting by Paulus Potter. In the painting the tree was just there as part of the composition. I reimagined that old tree now as the main subject, alone, splitting it into two pieces. The tree became a representation of nature's endurance, showing how even a broken tree can still thrive and grow—a metaphor for the human resilience and growth through hardship that Trevor conveys in his album.

I created templates for various types of social media posts, aiming to show how to utilize the different graphic elements and styles I designed for his brand. My idea was to demonstrate how these elements can be mixed and applied across a wide range of deliverables, including digital communication, print materials, and merchandise.