Daily Practice: Songboards
What is it?
For a project in one of my graphic design classes, I challenged myself to create something new every day for 14 days. Knowing the consistency this required, I wanted to choose a concept that would stay engaging and prevent burnout as the days went on. I also had to be realistic about the time I could dedicate to each piece, balancing creativity with a manageable daily commitment. After exploring and refining several ideas, I ultimately landed on a direction that genuinely excited me: designing snowboards.
My prompt
Rather than just making snowboards, I want to make designs based off of songs, which would be given to me by my fellow peers. The complete prompt I gave myself is as follows: For my daily practice I will create a snowboard cover based off of a new song given to me by a classmate. Each board will include my favorite verse from each song, and will incorporate colors and elements from the album cover. I will listen to the song, and spend no more than an hour on each board. The first two boards I made are inspired by the songs “The Gloaming” by Radiohead, and “Last Time” from the Sinners soundtrack.
Challenges
The biggest challenge I faced was limiting each snowboard design to its album cover. This worked initially, but when I reached “Happiness Is a Warm Gun” from The Beatles (White Album), I realized it would result in a completely blank board. To solve this, I expanded my prompt to include the song’s lyrics and overall mood. This shift gave me more creative freedom while still keeping a clear and consistent direction.
