CULTURE
• Graphic design
• Motion design
• Print
2026
ART DIRECTION FOR A JAZZ ALBUM COVER
Spirit of 3
by CHRISTOPHE DAL SASSO & SHEKINAH RODZ
Creating a connection
Regarded as one of the most distinctive arrangers on the French scene, Christophe Dal Sasso is a composer whose writing moves between jazz and the classical repertoire, from big bands to symphonic orchestrations. For Spirit of 3, he brings together eight musicians from world music,
jazz and Latin American repertoires, in a project at the crossroads of Mediterranean, African and Indian rhythms.
Alongside him is Shekinah Rodz, a Puerto Rican American singer and multi-instrumentalist trained in classical saxophone, jazz and gospel. After a career built between Puerto Rico, Atlanta and a tour with Grammy winners, she settled in Europe to perform at jazz festivals across the continent.
source: La Londe Jazz Festival
A starting point: listening
Before creating anything, I listened to the whole album. Christophe Dal Sasso’s brief was simple: propose something personal, born from feeling. The art direction of the cover is not illustrative, it is sensory.
The triangle as a common thread
The Spirit of 3 project carries strong symbolism. I chose the triangle as the central figure, a tension between stability and movement.
This logic then runs through all the materials: three graphic interpretations, three typefaces and three carefully chosen colours to convey both the intimacy of jazz and the energy of the concert stage.
Typography in three voices
The first typeface, thin and slender, evokes lightness and precision.
The second, rounder and more assertive, brings grounding and warmth.
The third is used as an accent to bring out certain text elements.
Each typographic choice reflects one of the album’s musical worlds.
Applications: motion design and print
Beyond the art direction of the jazz album cover, I also created the album’s 3D motion design animations, as well as the print materials: digipak and poster.
Spirit of 3 shows what album cover art direction can bring when it is shaped by the music itself, rather than by the market’s visual codes.
Thank you to Christophe Dal Sasso, Camille Dal’Zovo and Justine Blanc for their
trust throughout this project.