By Beyond’s monochrome artwork for Cleo Valentine’s single mirrors the artist’s tender lyricism

For the release of her single ‘Thinking About It,’ emerging singer-songwriter Cleo Valentine commissioned Buenos Aires-based creative studio By Beyond for the record’s identity, material and album design. The result is a delicate and assured aesthetic; the editorial tone of which mirrors the refined and tender lyricism of Valentine herself, with the studio opting for Commercial Type’s Canela and its innately graceful construction alongside Neue Haas Grotesk to ground the graphic language in a firmly contemporary context. “Our plan in the future is to make these two fonts work together on a bigger scale,” By Beyond tell us, “so we can give the identity a bit more of variety,” they add, thriving in the reliant simplicity of the record’s initial design – even down to the equally refined monochromatic colour palette.

Originally intended to implement an abstract painting into the single’s design, By Beyond began working purely in black and white as not to overcomplicate the design. After deciding not to pursue that route and instead rely on a concoction of typography and Valentine’s own photography, they explain “we felt black and white was a good way to go since we were working with images that weren’t all taken in the same light,” using the limited colours to create a level playing field for the graphic elements to play upon.

The identity and record have an unavoidable intimacy and personality that comes as a result of the typographic arrangement’s relationship with the photography, mirroring the humanity and candour of Calena through visceral and affectionate imagery. “We used a lot of close-ups from some of her archives,” By Beyond recall, “which we loved.”

Currently working on Valentine’s next release, which is due to incorporate colour and further expand her graphic language, By Beyond note “for the time being, it’s an ongoing identity which we feel can transform based on the single she’s releasing,” concluding, “we do want there to be a change, because we feel every song has a different universe, but all within the same system.”

By Beyond