Six months to launch
The complete visual identity and campaign for the official soundtrack album to Irvine Welsh's highly anticipated Trainspotting sequel.
When you collaborate with someone on music, you think you know their skillset. But the Men in Love project demanded something far beyond just an album. It was a world that needed to be built from the ground up—the visual identity, the campaign, the physical artifacts, the entire digital presence.
What became immediately apparent was that Scott wasn't just the musician I was working with. He was the architect we needed. He possessed this entire other skillset that proved fundamental to the project's success, and he stepped up to orchestrate the whole creative strategy with a rare and impressive vision.
He has a hybrid mind: part musician, part storyteller, part world-builder. He doesn’t just see the big picture; he has the technical and artistic skill to build every single component of it. He was an essential partner in bringing that entire world to life.
Zero to launch in 6 months
Penguin announces Trainspotting sequel launch for 24th July 2025 — soundtrack album must launch same day
No singers, artwork, socials, website, merch, label or distribution in place
Vinyl pressing requires months lead-time — clock is ticking
Complete ecosystem in parallel
Bridge literary heritage with disco energy through flexible visual identity
Design 5 product variants, poster series, label branding, merch and in-store materials
Build e-commerce site and content engine with animations, videos and social strategy
Cultural moment achieved
Orange vinyl sold out before release, UK charts across three categories
330k+ social reach, sold-out tour shows, exceeded merch expectations
Successfully bridged novel and album into unified cultural experience
Design system
A logo language that feels vinyl‑era, future‑facing and distinctive.
Primary Logo
Standalone mark for social, digital and print applications
Joint Lockup
Combines Irvine Welsh for this unique collaboration album
Both versions maintain clear contrast and legibility across digital and print applications. Tap the theme icons to explore light and dark variations.
How it holds together
The identity system connects typography, colour and motion so every touchpoint feels part of the same world.
Title typography
A 70s-inspired bubble font used sparingly to deliver maximum visual impact, bridging Trainspotting's literary grit with the album's soulful, disco energy.
Header typography
Rounded headers in burnt orange create instant credibility with Welsh's fanbase while signalling the album's distinct musical celebration.
Phasellus sodales, pede dapibus rhoncus dignissim, nunc nisl aliquet lorem. Sed vitae nisl eget nisl aliquam—copy that reads crisply online and in print.
Body copy
Monospaced body text grounds the exuberant bubble typography, ensuring legibility whilst maintaining literary authenticity.
Minimal palette
Off‑white, black and burnt orange evoke vintage sleeves; a lift of yellow keeps it playful. Artwork gets to sing; the UI stays quiet.
Working from Penguin's existing cover design as the starting point, I needed to establish a visual bridge between book and album whilst creating space to develop a distinct identity.
Taking inspiration from the colour palette, I transformed rave photography into psychedelic bursts of light—giving the album a more artistic, disco‑inspired feel that pushed beyond what the book established.
From the full album to singles and remixes, the artwork flexes across formats while retaining its core identity.
Each cover reinterprets the photography in new textures and colour variants, suggesting otherworldly motion, time travel and an endless party.
The Hero Piece: A Collector's Item
To give fans a tangible piece of the Trainspotting world, I crafted this premium collector's edition. The iconic orange wax and an annotated inner sleeve were designed as narrative layers, making the album a must-have artifact. The strategy worked, with all 1,000 units selling out before launch.
A Product for Every Fan
To maximise commercial reach, I designed a full suite of products that catered to different fan budgets, from the standard edition vinyl to exclusive signed CDs for major retailers like Amazon.
Classic Black Vinyl - Standard Edition
Orange Wax Trainspotting Edition - SOLD OUT
CD Digipack - Premium Edition
In-Store Retail Display
Extending the World
A successful brand identity extends beyond its core product, creating tangible ways for fans to connect with the world you've built.
Don't Diss the Disco! Tees
A bold slogan became a wearable piece of the campaign's identity. Produced in the core colour palette, the "Don't Diss the Disco!" tee gave fans a badge of honour and a way to carry the brand's spirit with them.
Port Sunshine Recordings
A bespoke record label created for the campaign. Named after a bar from Trainspotting, the logo merges retro maritime imagery with disco warmth—establishing a premium ecosystem for future releases.
The Hook: An Animated World
The Challenge
The campaign's first challenge was to overcome "sequel fatigue." I designed this animated trailer to do exactly that, using abstracted silhouettes and a disco-era visual language to create a cinematic tease that felt both familiar and excitingly new.
The Result
Its success provided the launchpad for a series of character posters. I reimagined the iconic "Choose Life" mantra for the album's world, creating highly shareable content that deepened the audience's connection.
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The "Choose" Campaign
Each character got their own spin on the iconic "Choose Life" mantra.
Choose Life - Renton
Choose Disco - Sick Boy
Choose Love - Begbie
Choose Soul - Spud
Each poster gave characters individual personality through colour and typography treatment.
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Expanding the Narrative: A New Voice
When Irvine Welsh wrote half the album from a woman's perspective, I saw a strategic opportunity to broaden the campaign's appeal beyond its traditionally male fanbase. I designed this lyric video to be a bold statement piece, fusing retro disco glamour with modern, fashion-forward visuals to celebrate female empowerment. This wasn't about the Trainspotting boys anymore; it was about lifting a new voice off the page and proving the campaign could connect with a whole new audience.
Campaign Command Centre
The campaign needed a single command centre to convert widespread interest into sales. I designed the website as a conversion engine that balanced immersive storytelling with clear purchase pathways. By seamlessly integrating character content and videos with prominent pre-order CTAs for all formats—vinyl, CD, and book—the site became the crucial tool that drove the campaign's strong pre-order performance.
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