Kardashev is an atmospheric death metal band out of Arizona. I’ve had the pleasure of doing graphic design, illustration, UI and UX design for this band over the years.

Having been around for nearly a decade by 2016, Kardashev came to me to create a basic landing page for them. This landing page was a Linktree before Linktree even existed. It was simple but effective in helping them get signed to Subliminal Groove Records.

Over the years I introduced them to platforms like Patreon but things started to pick up when I suggested building their own online shop. Previously, they were using Bandcamp but were having issues as far as control and flexibility. Building out their own shop, we were able to integrate print on demand products, digital downloads, and membership subscriptions.

The membership allows fans to hear early demos of music as it progresses, as well as ideas that may never make it into the album. They also receive benefits on Discord and Twitch, with more social benefits on the way. All this was pivotal in them being signed to Metal Blade Records after the release of The Baring of Shadows.

Our current goal is giving more power to subscribers by turning their account page into a dashboard that gives them capabilities beyond purchasing.

For our first print on demand test, we wanted to some something with an astronaut.

I sketched this in Photoshop in about 30 minutes referencing a NASA photograph. This quickly became the top selling shirt for the band.

Liminal Rite

For the band’s debut album with Metal Blade Records, Liminal Rite, the band went to Canada to film a music video. Unfortunately, their bassist was unable to go with and a stand-in was required. This presented a problem for promotional photography that – due to miscommunication between the band and label – the band ended up needing resolved 24 hours before Metal Blade began promoting the album.

Here are the stages that I went through.

With a few hours to spare, I also did a passable head-swap for a full line-up as well as something goofy for their subscribers.