I’m always excited to go through K-pop album packaging despite not actually listening to much K-pop. It’s a nice learning experience to see how designers and creative directors curate and put together albums for artists. This time around, I critiqued WayV’s Take Over the Moon mini album. To be clear they are a mando-pop group that is owned by the Korean entertainment company, SM Entertainment who manages many K-pop idol groups.
Music wise, this was their second mini album and I think it was a good development from Take Off. Their newest full album, Awaken the World, in which I will critique at another time, really set the tone and established their name as a newer group.
This was a fun experience because I absolutely loved the album design of Take Over the Moon. Through my translation of the Chinese graphics in this album, I hope people can have a better understanding of the thought the creative had put into it.
For the album design, I love it. I like the way they interpreted space travel. This is an album that’s been thought out and well curated. It’s split into multiple sections, each representing a part in a journey. The photography also evolves through the album. They were bold with color and graphin design. It’s not necessarily the most elegantly designed album, but I applaud the graphic designer for having fun with typography.
The album packaging also offers a multitude of textures. You start off with the gold foil soft soft which automatically makes it feel premium. The edges of the pages are also foiled. Inside, at each chapter page, you have a sheet of printed translucent paper that layers over the chapter cover underneath.
It’s a shame WayV doesn’t come out with album designs of this quality anymore (not their fault) so it makes me appreciate the ‘Take Over The Moon’ design much more.
For the music, I’ve always been a fan of WayV music. In this album my favorites are Moonwalk and Face to Face.
MISOE MUSIC HOUSE 