ATHENA RECORDS
A Classic Rock Label for a Modern Age
At the moment rock is hitting a lull in its cultural relevance but that makes it a perfect time for a resurgence.
my team decided to light that charge, attempting to reignite the fire by creating a new record label for the modern rockers and an office lighting system to embody it.
ATHENA RECORDS
The first task at hand was to find a name so I immediately went to the main characteristics of our role as a talent agency. As a talent agency our purpose is to seek out new and electrifying sounds, bring them in and give them the tools to thrive. I found this reminiscent of the owl, an animal that can hear and locate the slightest sound in the forest from miles away.
Next I keyed in on one of the main characteristics of rock music, its power. Rock is a genre that has taken many forms but one constant is its dynamic sound. It will “rock you, it is powerful and this truth and the prior connection to the owl brought me to the goddess Athena. The Greek Goddess of wisdom and war strategy and is famously associated with her sacred animal the owl.
With these two things in mind it became clear to me that the perfect name for this record label was Athena Records, because what is more powerful than a goddess.
Creating the brand
When creating the brand I first researched the owl and particularly it’s symbolism in Greek Mythology. As I had noted earlier the owl has been deeply connected to the Greek goddess Athena even being regarded as her sacred animal.
This is where I started finding traditional greek artistry showing the “Athenian Owl.” Upon noticing that most of the depictions are mostly clean and very ornate I felt it more fitting to switch the style to a more sharp and ragged feel matching the gritty and wild nature of rock music. In the eyes I placed depictions of gold records to symbolize the owl’s most iconic feature its striking eyes.
Finishing off the logo with a dynamic sharp font reminiscent of older greek typography the truly brand came to life.
Lighting temperature
Moving onto the lighting element of our project we wanted to use a temperature range between 1500 and 3000 Kelvin and some added neon elements.
This was to build a casual atmosphere that exemplifies the swagger of rock persona and is easy to get comfortable in with splashes of colored light to add dynamics and to get parties started. The use of neon would act as not only a style element but would be exemplary of rock culture.
INITIAL RENDERING
Upon picking our lighting temperature we began picturing the lighting scenes within the building such as this hand rendering. This scene shows the front desk, stripped down to showcase the lighting effects.
The lighting is quite warm meant to create a welcoming and almost vintage feeling, one that any traditional musician would gravitate towards. There is a huge neon sign of the logo without the name to make a statement. You came to Athena Records, you know who we are, we know who you are, lets have a good time and get to work.
Also in the scene are neon sculpted lamps to add more dynamic elements to the entrance. This scene is meant to capture the dynamism of rock music and blend it with the classic smooth persona of the musicians that make it.
FLOOR PLANS AND RCP DEVELOPMENT
Once we had found the lighting profile that we had wanted and experimented with scene renders and lighting applications it came time to produce a floorplan and reflective ceiling plan for the office’s lighting installations. These would be used in the taking of inventory of the necessary appliances, as well as the exact locations of these fixtures throughout the office.
Floorplan w/ Callouts
Reflective Ceiling Plan w/ Callouts
ZONING
Following the creation of our floorplan and reflective ceiling plan we then needed to create zones for the individual lighting areas within our grander system. This is the purpose for coordination, lights that would be affected and adjusted separately from each other so as to open up for versatility in creating individual scenes within the office space.
Floorplan Zoning
Reflective Ceiling Plan Zoning
SCENES
After determining the zoning inside the office space it came time to designate the different scenes to create different atmospheres depending on the occasion or mood in at a particular time. Making use of the fixtures detailed on our floorplan and reflected ceiling plan we created scenes for our main ballroom area. In this area the occasion could range from a more relaxed
Elevations
After creating the scenes we then created elevations to showcase two of these scenes. The first being the front desk elevation showing how the lighting would interact with the space during the first entrance of any prospective rockstar that is walking into our agency for the first time.
The second of these scenes shows the main ballroom during its “entertainment” setting. This portrays the energy and dynamic lighting atmosphere that would be used whenever there was an artist showcase performance.
Front Desk Elevation
Ballroom Elevation