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Melodies Made Tangible While studying visual communication design, she set her sights on working in this field, and eventually landed an internship with Jheng-Han Li at Spread Design Studio. With Li%u2019s expertise in handcrafted packaging and Yu%u2019s fluency in digital tools, the two approached design from different angles. They developed a rhythm of back-and-forth dialogue through design, each shaping the visual form in turn.When The Chairman approached Li to design Pakelang, they mentioned plans to submit the album to the Grammys. Without hesitation, Li said yes. The band wasn%u2019t just his senior peers in the music scene; they were his idols. Collaborating with them felt like a dream come true. %u201cYou don%u2019t get many chances in life to do something like this,%u201d he said with a laugh. %u201cIf we mess it up, so be it.%u201d But despite the casual tone, he treated it as a career-defining project and promptly brought Wei Yu on board.The band titled the album after their lead single %u201cPakelang,%u201d a song that captures the humor and optimism of the Amis people while helping bring the Falangao Singing Group to the international stage. When it came to the concept for the album%u2019s packaging, Jheng-Han Li wanted the design to reflect not only the song%u2019s spirit but also to %u201clet the world hear Taiwan.%u201d Drawing inspiration from Taiwan%u2019s land, he used layers of paper to sculpt the contours of its east coast: its mountains and shoreline, forming the die-line for the lyric booklet. He handed the die-line to Wei Yu with a simple instruction: %u201cThink natural terrain, starry skies, Indigenous imagery; something abstract.%u201dThat direction was transformed in Wei Yu%u2019s mind into digital motion imagery, which she then rendered into a series of graphic prints. She carefully laid each one against the dieline template, comparing and refining until she found the visual that fit best. Li recalls with a laugh, %u201cWhen I saw her artwork, I immediately turned to the printer and said, %u2018Working with the right person just makes it easy.%u2019%u201d They exchanged few words, setting no expectations for what the other should produce, just a pure back-and-forth of design ideas. That has since become their unspoken rhythm: regardless of who leads a project, the other offers strong support, building up a final product that meets both their standards.Give Everyone a Reason to Hold On to a Physical AlbumTo showcase the impact of packaging design, Jheng-Han Li puts careful effort into producing The album%u2019s design concept draws inspiration from Taiwan%u2019s landscape, using layered paper to recreate the contours of the eastern coastline and mountain ranges. (Image courtesy of Spread Design Studio)036037