Music Re-Imagined: Stray Kids- Case 143
- Madison W
- Aug 15
- 6 min read
Now we have all seen the immense expectations die-hard fans have regarding their favourite artist's new music releases right? Recently, there seems to be an increase in both constructive and non-constructive criticism for the design and marketing teams for multiple Kpop groups. X is a good place to find the opinions of netizens and they for sure do not sugar coat things.
From this perspective, I have decided to take on a new challenge. I want to re-imagine some promotional content for these music artists. My first artist of choice is actually my personal favourite group: Stray Kids. I have been a longtime fan of theirs (since 2019!) and I have never had any issues with their album designs. I believe each to be unique and showcases the diverse and unique music that Stay Kids' self produce.
When I decided to take on this project, I did a lot of thinking regarding which music video I wanted to change the perspective of, while still maintaining the core vibes that Stray Kids has. I ultimately decided to go with their 2022 release, "Case 143" from the mini-album titled "Maxident". "Case 143" has a very unique concept. Stray Kids exist within a multiverse and this music video sure displays that multiverse well. The original concept of the video is that the 8-member boy group are hunting down some large heart shaped monsters. The leader monster being named Heart-tung (or Pipi by netizens). Notably, as part of the multi-verse, there are two different groups of Stray Kids; the originals and their clones. One set are dressed in casual modern pink and blue clothes or black modern clothing. The other set are dressed as police officers.
In addition, a short history lesson is needed. The title of this song contains a numerical code that was common in the 90s. This is before the era of cellphones. In the 90s there was a different form of communication that people would use, pagers. Pagers were only capable of sending numbers, no letters. With this limitation, people quickly found ways to use numbers to communicate rather than words. And yep you guessed it, 143 has a meaning. 143 means I love you.
From this particular fact I chose to redesign "Case 143" into a 90s themed comeback. Adding in the I love you meaning, I decided to create posters that look as if they are part of a teen's scrapbook. This was a common hobby for young fans in the 90s. They would cut out various sections of magazines and glue them together as a form of personalized appreciation for their heartthrob artists. My mother and her friends would do this for the Backstreet Boys, Boys II Men, and New Kids on the Block! Also seen in my designed posters, are small doodles that would have been drawn by the teen creating these scrapbook pages. Finally, I redesigned the Case 143 logo to be one made of magazine letter cutouts. Additionally, each logo has Heart-tung located differently within it. Everything seen on the pages has some sort of relation to the Stray Kids member shown. While I could go into detail for all 8 designs, I will only focus on my top 3 favourites for this blog post.
The first design I will go into further detail on is the leader of Stray Kids, Bang Chan. Bang Chan is seen as someone who is good at basically everything. Here I decided to focus on his sport ability through the Mahagrid collaborative photoshoot they did. This photoshoot also showcases some 90s-esque fashion and thus was an excellent option! I pulled the orange colouring in the short to be the primary colour of this poster. In the case of the doodles presented on his page, the small snake looking creature with a crown is actually his own drawing. In the earlier days of his career, they did not have specially designed characters like they do now (take a peek at Wolf Chan in his name typography to the right), Chan would often draw this little dino. Two star doodles can be seen on the page to reflect Chan's star power. He was tasked by his entertainment agency, JYP Entertainment, to design Stray Kids himself. This is extremely rare in Kpop. Chan is often referred to as the best leader and a one-of-a-kind idol in the industry. The heart cut out beside the lower image reflects the fan's appreciation fro him as well as his love for his job. The flower doodle on the left side beside the newly designed Case 143 logo, represents his love for the outdoors. Chan grew up in Australia and has a deep connection to nature becasue of his roots. Finally, the stay cool note is reflective of both the fandom name--stay--and is a nod to a previous song Chan wrote "Get Cool".
The second poster I will discuss is Lee Know's. Lee Know's poster is by far my favourite of the designs. For this, I chose his Givenchy photoshoot. Givenchy is a very old fashion brand and was very present in the 90s. In this shoot, he is posting with an old film camera as well as some bubblegum to reflect his cheeky personality. His hair was dyed purple at this point in time, so I took that colour to be the base of his poster. Lee Know is a self-proclaimed cat-dad to two cats he adopted in his teen years and one he adopted after becoming an idol. He is a huge lover of cats. In many vlogs or other filmed media he is seen searching out for local or stray cats to feed. Like Chan, Lee Know also has a doodle that he frequently draws. This is of a man he named Jerumi. Jerumi is so loved by Lee Know that he has even appeared in Stray Kids official merch. Beside the middle image is a sketch of three lines. These lines are often drawn to provide emphasis or to display loudness. Lee Know is known as the loudest member of Stray Kids. Finally, there are two hearts above Lee Know's name which reflect Lee Know's loves, Stay and dance.
The final poster I will analyze is Felix's. The photoshoot I chose to use is Felix's collaboration with Beauty+. Here he wore brightly coloured clothing that were very reflective of 90s fashion. Felix is pictured with sweet foods reflecting his sweet and bright personality. Felix is a frequent donator to large non-profit organizations such as Unicef, and is widely respected for his generosity. I pulled the green and blue colouring from his clothing to use as the colour scheme for this poster. The first doodle seen at the top of the page is of a cookie. Felix loves to bake and often bakes cookies or brownies for his fellow Stray Kids members or for any staff, not just JYPE staff, he may meet during his daily work schedule. The next trio of doodles is a smiling sun and two clouds. Felix is referred to as Stray Kids sunshine. This statement has even been put into the lyrics of "Fam". Felix always tries his best to make everyday fun and bright for those around him. Above the left image of him is a crown. This reflects the captivating power Felix has on stage. Despite his gentle looks, he has a extremely deep voice which makes new listeners focus in on him. He also is a fantastic dancer and has incredible stage presence. People new to Stray Kids often focus on him first. Additionally, many people in the Kpop world may not know the names of other members of Stray Kids, but they definitely know who Felix is. He is pictured with heart doodles that reflect his love for his job, his fans, and can also reflect the emotions held by the mysterious teen developing these scrapbook pages. Felix is pictured with a flower doodle similarly to Chan. He also grew up in Australia and holds a high regard for the flora and fauna of his home country. He and Chan co-wrote a song to express their love and support for Australia during the horrific forest fires in 2023.
There is so much more that can be said about these designs. Feel free to leave comments asking about these three posters or any of the other 5 I have uploaded here in the portfolio tab! If you had the opportunity to redesign promotional content for a music artist, what would you choose?
Which poster is your favourite?
Bang Chan
Lee Know
Felix
One of the others!
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