THINGS I LEARNED AT HOME
Visual Design, Illustration
Special release variant album covers for ‘Things I Learned At Home’ (TILAH) EP by Kwési.
The Symbol: Sankofa.
Sankofa is a word in the Twi language of Ghana that translates to "Go back and get it" (san - to return; ko - to go; fa - to fetch, to seek and take) and also refers to an Asante Adinkra symbol, represented either with a stylized heart shape or by a bird with its head turned backwards, while its feet face forward, carrying a precious egg in its mouth.
Sankofa is often associated with the proverb, “Se wo were fi na wosankofa a yenkyi", which translates to: "It is not wrong to go back to that which you have forgotten." The Sankofa dates back several hundred years.
The musician– Kwési, is a person who exists at the intersection of multiple cultures, having migrated from Ghana to Canada. A multi-faceted individual; software engineering leader by day, and music producer… probably during the day as well.
He was very particular about the use of this symbol on his album cover to highlight the strong connection between Sankofa and the nostalgic themes of the stories told in Things I Learned At Home. The E.P is an exploration of the past revisited, physically, mentally as well as emotionally.
The custom typography is meant to evoke the idea of fragmentation and intersection, pieces coming together to form a whole, and the client had insisted on this specific type treatment after he saw similar styling on my branding work for Rhyse Co. The colours red, black and gold are representative of the artist’s homeland, Ghana.
