Chopin Residue Funcție principală: Coperta unui album muzical by Mariusz Szypura is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award de Bronz in Design de Ambalaje Competition Category.
BronzAmbalaje· 2026
Chopin Residue Funcție principală: Coperta unui album muzical
Client: Black Element Label
A' Design Award de Bronz Winner in Ambalaje Category
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- Verified Award Winner
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The Design
About Chopin Residue Funcție principală: Coperta unui album muzical
Text carte: Lucrările de artă prezentate în inserturile albumului documentează o serie de piese de mari dimensiuni create din deșeurile de fir produse în timpul procesului de tăiere a vinilului la strung, negativul fizic al șanțului. Designul tratează ambalajul ca pe o extensie a muzicii, unind sunetul, materialul și procesul într-un singur obiect fizic. Albumul reinterpretează operele lui Fryderyk Chopin alături de artiști asociați cu Portishead, Sonic Youth, Battles, Beck, David Bowie și Tortoise.
The Recognition
About the A' Design Award de Bronz
Chopin Residue Funcție principală: Coperta unui album muzical a câștigat A' Design Award de Bronz, o recunoaștere extrem de prestigioasă acordată designurilor remarcabile care se disting prin creativitate, ingeniozitate și istețime. Câștigătorii Bronzului sunt artefacte din plin pricepute și izbitor de creative, care atestă experiența vastă, imaginația și resursele designerilor lor. Se așteaptă ca Chopin Residue Funcție principală: Coperta unui album muzical să fie un obiect foarte apreciat, admirat și prețuit, remarcabil de profesionist și inovator. Acest design câștigător al A' Design Award de Bronz încorporează cele mai bune practici din artă, știință, design și tehnologie și este excelent prin atenția la detalii. Chopin Residue Funcție principală: Coperta unui album muzical satisface splendid nevoile, atinge dorințele, vrăjește sentimentele și stârnește curiozitatea.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- The cover of Chopin Residue is generated from the album’s core idea: residue as what remains after deconstruction. Created through the same lathe-cut process that produces the sound, the artwork uses vinyl waste as its visual material. Reinterpreting the music of Fryderyk Chopin with artists linked to projects such as Portishead, Sonic Youth, Battles, Beck, David Bowie, and Tortoise, the package becomes a physical extension of the composition, uniting sound, material, and process.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Physical formats include: Vinyl LP sleeve approx. 315 x 315 x 5 mm; CD digipack approx. 142 x 125 x 10 mm; cassette case approx. 110 x 70 x 17 mm. All formats were designed as tactile objects, with dimensions following industry standards to emphasize material presence and consistency across editions.
- Tags
- residue concept, album packaging design, lathe-cut vinyl, material-driven design, experimental music artwork, process-based design, sound as material, physical music object
- Production Technology
- The design was developed through a process-based methodology, treating sound recording as a material practice. Vinyl shavings produced during the lathe-cut process were collected, preserved, and used to create physical artworks. These works were then photographed and translated into the album packaging. The production emphasized minimal intervention, tactile materials, and small-batch manufacturing, allowing process and material to define the visual language.
- Design Challenge
- The main challenge was translating an abstract musical concept into a physical object without illustration or decoration. Internally, this required rethinking historical album design and treating sound production as material practice. Externally, limitations included small-scale manufacturing, legal constraints of physical formats, and the unpredictability of lathe-cut processes. Balancing conceptual clarity with technical constraints required continuous testing and adaptation.
- Research
- Type of Research: practice-based artistic research.
Research Objectives: to translate musical deconstruction into physical form.
Methodology: sound recording treated as a material process.
Data & Tools: lathe-cut vinyl recording, material observation, photography.
Participants: the artist and collaborating musicians.
Results: vinyl residue became visual material.
Insights & Impact: the research links sound, object, and design, showing how production traces can shape meaning in music packaging and contemporary design. - Inspiration
- The project was inspired by the idea of residue as a creative outcome - what remains after a process of reduction and transformation. The design emerged from research into lathe-cut vinyl as a physical recording method, treating sound production as material practice. The motivation was to translate an abstract musical concept into a tangible object, where recording, waste, and form become a unified design language.
- Project Duration
- The project was developed between 2023 and 2025. Music recording and vinyl cutting were carried out during this period, followed by the creation of the visual artworks and packaging design. The album and its physical editions were completed and released in November 2025, accompanied by exhibitions in NY and Osaka and presentations of the related artworks.
- Operation Flow
- The object is experienced by opening, holding, and listening. The package reveals the music while visually showing traces of how it was made. Images and materials guide the user from sound to its physical remains. Interaction is slow and tactile, encouraging attention and reflection. By connecting listening with touch and sight, the object creates a deeper, more memorable experience than a standard album cover.
- Patents
- Copyrights belong to Mariusz Szypura, 2025
- Image Credits
- Image #1: Photo by TAKT, Chopin Residue, 2025.
Image #2: Photo by TAKT, Chopin Residue, 2025.
Image #3: Photo by TAKT, Chopin Residue, 2025.
Image #4: Photo by TAKT, Chopin Residue, 2025.
Image #5: Photo by TAKT, Chopin Residue, 2025.
Video Credits: Concept, Direction, Music, and Visuals by Mariusz Szypura, 2025.
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