FIREWORKS. BACKDRAFT

Category
Package Design
Client
Diverse System(デバ市消防組合)
Year
2026

Diverse System’s compilation album series FIREWORKS., themed around background music for working under pressure, returned with its second release, “FIREWORKS. BACKDRAFT.” I collaborated with Minami Fujii of CARAVAN on the CD and package design. Inspired by a fire extinguisher, the package features a physical opening mechanism that requires the listener to actually pull a safety pin before the package can be opened.

DESIGN

The CD artwork is based on a fire hose wound around a reel. The circular composition follows the shape of the disc, so when the CD rotates inside the case, the reel appears to spin as well. The metallic hose coupling is left partially transparent, allowing the silver surface of the CD itself to show through and become part of the graphic.

Front view of the FIREWORKS. BACKDRAFT CD and package
FIREWORKS. BACKDRAFT CD package
Back view of the FIREWORKS. BACKDRAFT CD package with the track list printed on a silver label
Back view of FIREWORKS. BACKDRAFT CD package
3DCG (Cinema 4D) rendering of the fire hose and reel used for the CD artwork
3DCG (Cinema 4D) rendering of the fire hose and reel

PULL THIS PIN

We designed the opening experience around the idea of pulling an emergency safety pin when a project has reached a critical dead end. To recreate that action, we created a card shaped like a fire-extinguisher safety pin and secured it with a perforated seal. A download code is printed on the back of the pin, meaning that whether listening from the CD or by download, the listener must pull the pin at least once before accessing the music. The mechanism is intentionally irreversible. We repeatedly tested the paper strength of the pin and the perforation of the seal so that breaking the seal would feel satisfying and deliberate.

Pulling the safety pin (download card) to open
FIREWORKS. BACKDRAFT safety-pin download card secured by a perforated seal
Back side of the FIREWORKS. BACKDRAFT CD package

Project Info

Client
Diverse System
Producer
YsK439
Designer
Minami Fujii(CARAVAN)
Designer
Richard Falcema