The brand vision of the “Record Ranger” began in my graduate letterpress class. The concept was to create posters that would boil down our thesis topic to its simplest form.

The concept of the “Record Ranger” is a deputized figure tasked with seeking, collecting, and preserving West Texas Country Music on phonograph records for archival and academic purposes. The “Record Ranger” is based on the noble and heroic Gene Autry and Roy Rogers cowboy archetype from Hollywood Western films.

Buckboard Pro

Buckboard Pro, a Western-style slab serif font, lends itself to being an effective, attention-grabbing font and immediately communicates an appropriate visual style for the “Record Ranger” branding.

Roboto Slab Bold

Roboto Slab Bold, like Buckboard Pro, is an approachable Western-style slab serif font that is easy-to-read as secondary copy.

Avenir Book

Avenir Book is a modern and complimentary font to the slab serif typefaces used in the “Record Ranger” branding, which allows for body copy to be easily read.

Color and texture are important elements in creating an effective design capable of appropriately communicating brand vision and personality.

The researcher analyzed the mood board created to visualize apparent color schemes that would effectively work for the “Record Ranger” brand. Many of the colors that stood out were warm reds, oranges, and purples, and complimentary tones of blues, greens, and yellows.

The deciding factors for the selected color palette emanated from vintage printed cowboy ephemera and posters, western cowboy clothing, and Country Music album artwork from the 1950s. Bold and subdued colors were selected to be incorporated into the exhibition design. These design elements were highly regarded in keeping the brand of the “Record Ranger” true and authentic to perspective preservation participants.

Creating the Record Ranger Field Guide: West Texas Edition was essential to show West Texas Country Music’s history and help generate visual excitement and familiarity for participants while seeking out these recordings to preserve. Also included in the field guide are brief biographies of pioneering Texas Honky-Tonk artists to give the reader some historical context to the genre. A record label gallery serves as a visual cross-reference guide for Record Rangers seeking phonograph records. Additionally, the field guide contains detailed information on properly handling, cleaning, and storing records once they have been obtained. The 76-page field guide measures approximately 7 x 7 inches, the same size as a 45-rpm phonograph record.

A traveling modular exhibition unit was designed to travel within Texas to bring public awareness of the research problem, promote the design solution, and serve as a recruiting tool for additional Record Ranger volunteers, funding, and phonograph record donations. The modular exhibition is comprised of two separate units measuring 84” x 60” x 36”. Each unit has two doors that swing out from the main center section, showcasing the design solution of historical information, infographic artwork, and an interactive jukebox previewing audio samples of the artist’s music. The outside of the modular display unit is designed to look like a distressed and used equipment road case, while the inside of the case features items and information pertaining to the featured artists and recordings.

An interactive jukebox app was designed to allow visitors to sample select recordings by featured artists and labels from the traveling exhibition. Users will scan QR codes within the exhibition with a smartphone or tablet. The app will immediately launch an animated jukebox, prompting the user to select a recording from the provided list. Upon selection, the animated app will replicate authentic jukebox operation sound effects, as well as the sounds of ‘pops and clicks’ of a vinyl record being played. Jukeboxes were how many people first heard these recordings in the 1950s. The app is designed to digitally recreate the experience of selecting and hearing these recordings on a jukebox.

As part of the design-centric solution, a retail component consists of exclusive merchandise with all proceeds supporting further research and archive practices. Initial merchandise offerings include t-shirts, posters, buttons, stickers, coffee mugs, patches, badges, and postcards.

Posters were designed as part of the exhibition design promotion. Typography posters sample various lyrics from Honky-Tonk songs using colors and textures from the field guide, and a mix of Western-style slab serif type, representing the themes of heartbreak, drunkenness, loneliness, work, and adultery. Call-to-action posters were also created as part of the promotional campaign.

The “Record Ranger” branding lends itself to additional merchandising possibilities as funding and operating capital increase.