Deftones, B-Sides & Rarities
Deliverables
Vinyl packaging
dvd packaging
Client
University project
date
2025
For this project my aim was to redesign the packaging for Deftones' compilation album B-Sides & Rarities. This meant producing a new vinyl album cover including an outer sleeve (front and back designs), considered inner sleeves, and two physical vinyl records. The redesign took on a new aesthetic compared to the original release, which intended to represent the album's content and genre more accurately whilst adding to the users' experience with the product from start to finish.
The official original release provided buyers with a DVD containing various new and existing music videos for Deftones' music. To fully grasp the album experience and expand my own design experience, I chose to also redesign the DVD packaging. This included a new unique case, front and back cover designs, inside cover designs, the physical disk design, and a lyric booklet which doubled as the front inside and outside cover.
Process
Research
Since my design aimed to better represent the genre and sound of Deftones' album, I extensively researched existing Nu Metal album covers and imagery. Alongside this I explored the music of the album itself in more depth to gain an understanding of the relationship between the sound and the visuals. I came to the conclusion that my visual designs should capture the experimental nature of the music, the depth of sounds, the emotional turmoil portrayed, the layered audio, and ultimately its raw feel and brooding themes.
Development
I explored multiple design concepts, but ultimately decided on featuring various facial features displayed in an abstract layout with an eye being the standout focal point. I experimented with many compositions and a few different colour palettes to try to best capture the feeling of listening to the album. Texture was added throughout the different designs to mimic the depth of the band's music.
Outcome
Vinyl Packaging
The B-Sides & Rarities redesign effectively represented the album's themes, aesthetic and genre. Creating a deep, textured composition mimicked Deftones' unique sound. The yellow colour scheme, although fitting in tone, differs from usual Nu Metal album artworks which are typically deep reds, highlighting Deftones' distinctive take on the genre. The journey of understanding the imagery feels representative of listening to the album with cover versions and remastered versions of previously released songs. Eyes and mouths are included as the parts of the face that show emotion but they are distorted and harder to notice at first, representing emotional turmoil. Overlapping and layering of faces matches the style of music with layered vocals and instrumentals.
DVD Packaging
The DVD packaging design aimed to follow the same aesthetic as the vinyl packaging, meaning they worked well as a set, but could be seen as a product individually. The physical opening of the DVD case allowed for a different user experience so to emphasise this I added a red colour scheme to elements like the disk itself and the interior pages of the lyric booklet. As well as adding to the visual experience, this also helped define the DVD as an individual product as well as part of the set.
Southport
Merseyside
United Kingdom
2026
Instagram: @jackswaindesign