Reimagining a K-pop track as a retro visual concept
Cover Art, Merch
2025 Passion Project
Slide to Me is a song derived from the K-pop group ATEEZ’s latest album Golden Hour: Part.3 ‘In Your Fantasy Edition’. This project reimagines the song as a single album released under Yunho, a fan concept design inspired by 70s retro elements.
Setting the mood
The cover art draws from the classic elegance of some 1970s album design as seen in artists like Fleetwood Mac and Michael Jackson. Also inspired by the music video’s vintage hotel setting, the design leans into understated luxury while embracing the imperfections we see and hear from retro music.
Retro elegance
Dark intensity was what guided the overall colour direction of the album. The song’s slow-burn energy is reflected through reds, while black and beige act as grounding neutrals that soften the palette and balances out the red. Also, I wanted to maintain the colours of the original album that leaned heavily on red and black, allowing the design to feel more like a reinterpretation rather than a departure. A calligraphy type was chosen to reflect the sophisticated side of the design.
Early design concepts
I explored multiple compositions using stills captured directly from the music video. Overall, I felt option #3 aligned most closely with the my intended vision for the cover but the design felt unfinished. Returning to the moodboard, vintage swirl frames commonly found in 1970s vinyl album art struck me as a way I could further refine the design, whichw as also found in option #1. Hence, I decided to combine certain elements from the two concepts to reach the final cover art.
Final Outcome
The final design remains minimal, with subtle retro cues introduced through the threshold effect applied to the central portrait. Decorative swirls reinforce the project’s sense of elegance, echoing the sleek mood of the song and its music video, both visually and sonically.
