R+P Post 12: Artists/bands that have influenced my ideas

In order to create our fictional artist I drew inspiration from some artist/bands and other celebrities that have influential qualities.


Visual motif

Daft punk are known for their helmets

One of my very first ideas about our fictional artist is that he/she should stand out on a visual level. I found this influential as it immediately makes the artist memorable, before you've even heard a track. Artists such as Ed Sheeran and Sia have signature looks. Sheeran is known for his ginger hair, Sia is know for her blonde wig and Daft Punk are known for their helmets . These reoccurring elements are known as "Virtual motifs". This really interested me as it almost turns the artist into a brand logo and is synergistic in the way it appears across all of that artists media. This has influenced my ideas as it has opened up the possibility of my artist having a visual motif such as big afro hair or braids.

Sias visual motif of a blonde wig is seen across numerous music videos and album covers

Ed sheerans visual motif for his ginger hair

This visual motif was then used for his debut album as it has an orange colour scheme

Activism

I really admire when an artist is more than the music and aim to spread awareness on certain issues. However this doesn't necessarily apply to artists only, as many celebrities are activists and fight for certain causes. For example Emma Watson, best known for playing Hermoine Granger in the extremely successful Harry Potter series, is a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador who fights for women's rights. This is inspirational as she has made herself more than the globally-known character. 

Emma Watsons twitter page clearly shows she fights fir big issues

Beyonce is very similar in the fact she is mainly known for her music, however she is also known to be an activist for many different causes such as #BooksBuildLives and Gender Equality. 

Beyonces page clearly shows the multiple causes she fights for

Activism allows our artist to be more than the music and helps people to get a better feel for them as a person and helps spread awareness for real issues in the world. Thus it has influenced me to make my fictional artist and activist.