EXPANSE: The Essential EXO Collection

Released 2025 / Album & Packaging Design

The K-Pop industry should really get into compilation/greatest hits albums. Especially on anniversaries/right before disbandment, those things would basically PRINT money

This is a box design for a theoretical 'greatest hits' compilation for EXO, styled in EXO's typical hexagonal fashion. Funnily enough I designed this with a lot more confidence than I did designing for Estelle a few years prior. The front of the box has a special logo/cover design while the back has a more standard EXO logo for those who prefer the classics. The front design utilizes many elements and concepts from the group's past, the entire design coming together as a gateway of sorts to EXO PLANET, part of the group's unique lore.

A part of the design that gave me a particular amount of trouble was the gold gradient and the lights. I originally wanted each light to be a different color to represent a different member, but it ultimately ended up just looking messy. That combined with the fact that not all the members have unique colors (Red Velvet could never), just made it feel unnecessary. Getting the lights to actually glow and not just look like fluorescent blue strips was another adventure in itself. Anyway, only hot people listen to EXO so, you might wanna get on that.

You know if I had a nickel for every time I designed an album cover for EXO I'd have two nickels...