By Kat Townsend

Kirsten Hawkes is a recent graduate and student financial services counselor here at Lindenwood University. She graduated with her Bachelor’s in 2020 majoring in music business and minoring in Philosophy. During her time in the Music Business department, Hawkes had the amazing opportunity to participate in a special project offered in the music business program, which she believes exemplifies Lindenwood’s passion for Real Experience, Real Success. This project led her to begin exciting marketing and design work with local bands of Saint Louis.

Hawkes says that the music business program is typically divided into two categories: production and business. “I was a part of the business side of the process which is where we learn and apply skills such as content design, branding, website design, etc.,” she recalls.  Her first step was to engage with a local band, Amethyst, and become acquainted with the members and their stylistic vision. Their goal was to begin creating an electronic press kit (EPK) and produce an extended play record (EP) tailored to their band’s distinctive style. Amethyst, a self-described “groovy, contemporary funk-rock trio” with a slew of musical inspirations is bringing something unique to the Saint Louis music scene, so their image needed to reflect that. Hawkes was up for the challenge.

Amethyst is unique not only in their sound, but also as an exceptionally talented band. They’re an unusual trio: fronted by their drummer, Logan Cozart, and fellow members Vic McClintok on guitar and bassist Everett Remstedt (both self-taught musicians). As Hawkes began working with her team and getting to know the members, she was able to begin shaping their brand. The band, named for the idea of representing clarity, healing, and balance in the music they play, showcase these ideals in their sound as they seek to play music that is “old, yet new”. Hawkes fashioned their brand well, styling their promotional material to include a color palette of gold, yellow, and violet hues—all reminiscent of the balance Amethyst is all about. She introduced these colors to their band logos. The most distinctive logo stands out as a violet crystal evocative of the band’s namesake with the word “Amethyst” overlapping in golden-yellow lettering. Hawkes asserts that the design work was her favorite part, and that “It felt like a great accomplishment to create something the band was happy with and develop each of their personal styles into one cohesive look for marketing materials.”

Her project has since wrapped up, and Hawkes continues to excel in her work. Since finishing her project and graduating, Hawkes has also been accepted into the MA program in Digital and Web Design at Lindenwood and even begun working with another local band, The Howl Twins, who reached out to her after seeing her work with Amethyst. She is now working on their logo, rebrand, EPK, marketing plan, and has even started creating a website for them. She credits her professors at Lindenwood University for preparing her by allowing her to practice her skills in example situations before working her way up to real world clients, as well as the support of her work that she received from professors and peers. Her advice for other students is to receive critiques with grace and use it to improve your craft. “As cheesy as it sounds,” she says, “teamwork does make the dream work.”