7×4
Artist Book
Reinterpreting Music Videos
Book/Packaging design
This project reinterprets music videos through glitched visuals using generative code. Over the course of a month, it explores how our emotions interact with daily media and music consumption.
The final outcome is a collage of pixelated frames extracted from music videos, each transformed into a coloured artwork and assigned to a specific date on a calendar.
Packaging Concept:
Artist Book
Reinterpreting Music Videos
Book/Packaging design
This project reinterprets music videos through glitched visuals using generative code. Over the course of a month, it explores how our emotions interact with daily media and music consumption.
The final outcome is a collage of pixelated frames extracted from music videos, each transformed into a coloured artwork and assigned to a specific date on a calendar.
Packaging Concept:
To reflect the idea of mobile media consumption, Afiq designed a compact, compartmentalised packaging inspired by the look and feel of a smartphone box. This approach draws attention to our growing habit of consuming digital media solely at our convenience. Opening the book is meant to evoke the familiar and satisfying experience of unboxing a brand-new phone — a nod to our everyday relationship with screens.
From the start, Afiq wanted to create a publication that gave readers the freedom to interact, interpret, and engage on their own terms. This led to the concept of postcard prints — a format that encourages playful exploration, allowing each reader to discover their own meaning within the collection.
Each postcard features a pixelated visual from a music video watched on a specific date, printed on the front. On the back, the corresponding date and an emotion felt that day are included, turning each card into a snapshot of a personal media moment.
Developing the packaging concept was a hands-on process — Afiq went through multiple test prints to understand how the final design would look and feel. This step was essential in learning the structure and construction of a packaging diecut, as well as how it interacts with the publication itself.
While the prototype was enjoyable to build, Afiq felt it still lacked the satisfying familiarity of unboxing a brand-new smartphone — the very experience he hoped to evoke.
One design easter egg that Afiq insisted on keeping was a subtle smartphone collage printed on the inside of the packaging. At first glance, it appears to be just another pixelated pattern, echoing the visuals of the music videos. But look closer — it’s actually a scan of smartphones belonging to Afiq and his peers, abstracted and transformed into part of the design.
This prototype was by far the most exciting for Afiq to work on — not only did he design it from scratch, but he also built it by hand. He began by studying a range of packaging designs, carefully analyzing their construction before adapting those insights into his own concept.
This version required even more groundwork. Afiq test-printed multiple iterations to perfect the measurements and refine the structure. The material choice was also a key consideration — it had to be sturdy yet foldable, without creasing when assembled.
Though the crafting process was meticulous and time-consuming, Afiq found it incredibly rewarding. It allowed him to sharpen his hands-on skills and deepen his understanding of materiality and form — a valuable takeaway in his growth as a designer.
Final outcome: