Our anticipation for the Music Legacy Project’s EP release is at an all-time high. The EP, which has been titled simply Legacy ATX, is due May 19, 2016. It will be available for pre-order as well as digital download. One hundred physical copies are making their way to us as we speak. Pictured in the header is a glimpse of the stunning cover art. This post is dedicated to the talented student who collaborated with professional designers to produce a real-life product – and an impressive one, at that.
Litzy ReaValdez in a conference with professional graphic designers at McGarrah Jessee
Meet Litzy ReaValdez. Litzy is a freshman at Manor High School and has been involved with E4 Youth since February 2016. She is skilled in many creative arts, including photography and graphic design. Take a look at some of her previous projects here. Her graphic design skills are what captured the interest of Carl Settles, founder of E4 Youth. Litzy possesses the necessary experience with design programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign, so she became the perfect fit for the job. Settles offered her the opportunity to work with professional graphic designers at McGarrah Jessee, a successful advertising agency and long-time partner of E4 Youth. McGarrah Jessee has worked with companies such as YETI, Frost Bank, and Whataburger, and played an important role in making these businesses some of the most easily recognized brands in the state. Litzy excitedly accepted, incredibly grateful to be given the chance to work with professionals on a real-life product. Again, E4 Youth delivers on its motto to “bridge the gap” – giving students opportunities that most twenty-somethings work for years to grasp. The Music Legacy Project has now served as a channel for not only musical artists to connect with professionals, but for graphic artists as well.
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tzy ReaValdez made the trip to McGarrah Jessee on Monday, May 2, 2016. She was connected with Avery Graham and her team of fellow designers and integrators: Carlton Wilcoxson, Jenny Powell, Marcellina Kampa and David Kampa. They all sat down for a brief and conference concerning the CD cover art as well as the design for the CD itself. It was shortly after this conference that Litzy was gifted a Microsoft Surface Pro 5, courtesy of Carl Settles and E4 Youth. This was an invaluable tool in creating the album design for the next two weeks. Litzy expressed that this tablet will advance her graphic design skills to even greater lengths by increasing the flexibility and maturity of her work. Programs such as Adobe Creative Suite, Illustrator and Photoshop were downloaded for the production of the art.
In a short interview, Litzy ReaValdez described her inspiring experience at McGarrah Jesse:
“I worked closely with Jenny Powell over the course of two weeks. We sat at her desk and discussed ideas for the CD Cover. She gave me many tips and advice in selecting and adjusting images for the cover. To start, we created a Pinterest board and selected images for inspiration. We looked at collages and geometric patterns and decided on giving the CD a Contemporary Crystallized effect. The CD cover was comprised of several historical and current pictures of the artists and songwriters in different shapes that came together to make a cohesive piece. There was contrast between the black background and the colorful images and textures in the geometric shapes on the cover that Carlton had scanned and provided. We decided on shortening the title of ‘Music Legacy Project’ to ‘Legacy’. David Kampa made the important design decision of making the typography on the cover gold with an old font, which fit perfectly with our ‘Legacy’ theme. Since I did not have much experience with typography, Jenny and David worked on the back of the CD and adjusted the type, information and the E4Youth logo. They worked on the CD layout as well since I was not used to round templates. They took my artwork and fit it on the CD layout. Everything came together over the course of two weeks to produce a great product. I enjoyed my time at the office and working with these amazing, creative individuals.”
Hear the sounds of Legacy ATX at the E4 Youth Awards on May 19, 2016 on the rooftop of McGarrah Jessee. Our student musicians will be performing live with members of our favorite Grammy-award winning band, Grupo Fantasma. Along with the Music Legacy Project, select schools will be presenting their students’ creative projects and progress. The evening will be dedicated to honoring all of the hard work done by students in E4 Youth. This event is free and open to the public. RSVP now!
