a designer
a filmmaker
a wayfinder“our resident art historian”
based in Los Angeles and Oakland, California.
[about]
He is currently studying at
UCLA
pursuing a B.A. in Design | Media Arts & Art History and typed this text in the third person. This site is constantly under construction.
© 2025 Calvin McClure - All Rights Reserved
‘JULES FRANCIS’SUMMER 2025
PROLOGUE
European IDs (1) Carte d'identité de la République Française and (1) Ukrainian Passport Card, Miniature JF1 Sticker.
‘Jules Francis,’ his self-titled debut album, was written, composed, produced, arranged, and born in his childhood Altadena home. Though it and many others surrounding it were burned in the Eaton fire, Altadena’s heart exists the same as it always has— peacocks, mountains, and a great sandwich at Unincorporated Coffee.
I was honored to design the visual world surrounding the project, allowing its sonic landscape to evolve into a more holistic experience. More than that, it was a chance to get to know and serve a new place, its soul, and history– an experience I’m really thankful for.
Listen here.
STARTING POINT
Jules reached out to me to lead the visual direction for his debut album, ‘Jules Francis.’ After listening to the unreleased masters, I was on board.
Pictured is the single cover Jules made for the album’s lead single, ‘Given The Time’
“It’s a song I made in a space, under circumstances, and with equipment that no longer exists. The vocals were recorded on a WA-87 in our Altadena home studio, which was lost in the Eaton Fire. The rest of this record (which you’ll hear soon!) was also made in that same space — a space that’s now long gone.”
I took the core elements of sans-serif typeface, red, black, and white palette, and a photo of a sticker he found in Sweden, and expanded on them to begin the worldbuilding of the album’s visual identity— honoring the piece of himself the album presented.
FINAL COVER
I vectorized and transformed an illustration of a beetle by Sonny Gagnier into a marble-like, carved material, reflecting a similar whispery ephemerality as the Beatles’ White Album.
The red triangle motif took center-stage in the single cover, but in the full album it its real estate is significantly smaller– almost as if the single has been shrunk down to join the album.
Still a bold and important insignia, but leaving space for the rest of the composition to shine as well.
I designed the cover with a vinyl press in mind, featuring only the ‘Selected Compositions Text’ printed on a white sleeve that would then be embossed with the beetle carving.
The red sticker would be included in the package to be placed wherever the consumer pleases, creating an interactive consumer experience that makes each vinyl a unique and engaging experience.
Album announcement displayed as a seamless Instagram carousel
CLEAR SOUNDS
Posters for our album release show, headlined by Olswel, are consistent with the album cover’s beetle and red triangle motif while differentiating itself for a broader attending audience. Here, a translucent glass material replaces the album’s marble-engraved theme while remaining faithful to the Jules Francis brand.
Beyond simply looking cool, the material’s corporeality calls back to Clear Sounds’ title– a name that pays homage to an internet radio Jules used to run under the same moniker.