Feminine Myth: A Tori Amos CD Anthology

Graphic design, packaging For Tori Amos
What I did:
  • Content strategy
  • Graphic design
  • Packaging
A CD anthology encompassing 20 years of Tori Amos's career, focusing on her interest in feminine archetypes. This project was eventually found by Tori memorabilia collectors on Facebook. I sold the box to one of them, and it's been making the rounds in that group ever since!
Cigar box with burned-in details, titled Tori Amos, Feminine Myth, a 3-CD biographical anthology.
A customized cigar box acted as the container for the set.

Introduction

Having once been a teenaged female, Tori Amos was a very influential part of my developing years. Among her numerous album compilations throughout her 20-year career, I was surprised that there was nothing to commemorate her fascination with various feminine archetypes in numerous myths and religions.

For this project I aimed to design a collector’s edition CD anthology targeted at the Tori fans who would follow her on tours, having listened to her music since their formative years. This would be special and personal, just for them.

What I did

Content strategy

The most maligned feminine concept that frankly needed some empowering is the myth of Pandora’s box.

In my historical research, I found that Pandora was originally associated with the earth (and presumably non-godly things) which turned off the poet who wrote how she screws over mankind. I sought to shift the common perception of Pandora and give some integrity back to her story.

Visual design

Within this new version of Pandora’s box would be hope instead of despair, in the “winged” (i.e., vellum-covered) form of Tori’s music. Throughout the designs, I reflected on the idea of earthly cycles and its power, driven by the imagery of Tori in concert as well as the music itself.

Final design

Open box and CD set, showing a pomogranate label on the CD.
The wing-like vellum pages and the CD holders hinged to resemble book pages.
Informational CD label that displayed a summary of the theme and song order of each CD.
The CD label attached to the bottom of the cigar box.
A CD booklet containing an image of a pinecone alongside an image of a pine tree.
Exterior of the 'Mary' CD booklet, featuring the theme of growth.
A CD booklet featuring a biography of Tori describing her journey of being a singer-songwriter.
Interior of the 'Mary' CD booklet, with whimsical images featuring the theme of youth and playfulness.
A CD booklet contains images of fire alongside an image of a tiny plant emerging from a burnt forest floor.
Exterior of the 'Pele' CD booklet, featuring the theme of destruction and rebirth.
A CD booklet containing bolder, more provocative images of Tori.
Interior of the 'Pele' CD booklet.
Labels for all CDs
Waves for 'Mary', solidifying lava for 'Pele', and the inside of a pomogranate for 'Demeter.'
All 3 CDs presented inside the box.
The 'Demeter' CD booklet features a flower alongside a pomogranate, with lyrics from Pandora's aquarium on the inside of the lid.

Make one yourself!

Due to the unexpected popularity of the one-off set in Tori memorabilia groups on Facebook, I put the designs on Dropbox. If you are crafty, you could make it yourself! (It even includes detailed instructions, of course.)