Visualidade e cultura de fã: uma análise do design gráfico nos produtos do álbum Chromatica de Lady Gaga

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between visuality and fan culture as mediated by graphic design within the contemporary pop music industry. It analyzes how the visual communication of Lady Gaga’s album Chromatica translates musical concepts into promotional products and fosters a sense of belonging and identification within the fan community. The research is qualitative and analytical in nature, developed through bibliographic and documentary procedures, with the application of semiotic analysis from a design perspective, focusing on the syntactic and semantic dimensions of visual communication. The corpus analyzed consists of a selected set of graphic products related to the album, including the physical album cover, the central symbol and the tribe symbols, a promotional poster, graphic pieces from the fanzine attached to the album, and a garment. of graphic products related to the album, including the physical album cover, the central symbol and the tribe symbols, a promotional poster, graphic pieces from the fanzine attached to the album, and a garment. The results indicate that the visuality of Chromatica is structured around a consistent graphic grammar, capable of articulating colors, shapes, symbols, and materials across different media, thus sustaining a visual narrative integrated with the musical project. The analyses show that these productions go beyond aesthetic or promotional functions and come to operate as symbolic mediators, organizing shared meanings and enabling the appropriation of visual signs by fans. It is concluded that graphic design plays a fundamental role in consolidating the album’s symbolic universe, functioning as a common language between artist, work, and audience, and directly contributing to the strengthening of identity bonds and the sense of belonging that characterize the fan community associated with the Chromatica project.