ALBUM ART — MUSIC & DESIGN
The music industry and graphic design have gone hand-in-hand ever since the 1930s when Columbia Records’ Art Director Alex Steinweiss kicked off the trend to make cover artwork for records. These records were physically bought and added to beautifully, individually curated collections. A visual representation of people’s taste and personality.
The ability of graphic design to create a unique identity or bring a certain level of recognition, fame or stardom is a necessity for survival for industries in the public eye. Graphic design helps forge a connection between the artist and the public. I do however, fear album artwork will never carry as much weight as it did in a pre-digital world. “Today, with instant access to images and videos it is easy to forget an era when the album cover was the only connection between band and fan. Little glimpses of strange landscapes. The world of Storm Thorgerson.”(BBC News at Six, BBC1, 2013) At a certain point in time, album artwork was the only connection between a band and their fans. A tangible representation of the artist’s identity, their brand and any message they wanted to get across to their fans. “For fans, a key part of that total experience was the album cover — created by one of the most cutting-edge design teams around. Hipgnosis was run by Aubrey Powell and Storm Thorgerson.” (When Pop Went Epic, BBC4, 2018) I personally feel this distance amplified the public’s wonder at the rock star lifestyle, the musician mystique and the fantasy element of any stage performances.
Many iconic album covers of the past have shared the name Storm Thorgerson behind their creation. His process consisted of receiving the music as a single or demo with some lyrics and trying to chat to the band to find out what was going on in their minds. What preoccupied them, lost opportunities, lost love, difficulties — collecting a “soup of information” to create a design from. Clearly the process was to convey as much of the band’s personality as possible to provide an authentic identity in the artwork. A school friend of Roger Waters, Storm Thorgerson worked with Pink Floyd on many occasions. As a music lover he viewed music as big and atmospheric therefore inspiring him to create landscape themed imagery. (Liz Kershaw, BBC6 Music, 2014)
Regarding the cover for ‘Dark Side of the Moon’, Thorgerson stated the artwork graphic related to Pink Floyd’s light show and was also a response to keyboard player, the late Rick Wright, who said “Let’s not have one of your pictures, Storm,” and he added, “Why not some cool graphic? “ Luckily Thorgerson had recently seen a textbook drawing which was very straightforward, much like this but only in black and white and he thought “Oh, that’s quite nice.” (Liz Kershaw, BBC6 Music, 2014)
The graphic designer is responsible for creating or changing a visual and tangible connection between the fans and the artist. graphic design clearly feeds off the music and the musicians. Designs are so much more than just aesthetically pleasing pieces, some are so iconic because they have depth of meaning, carrying the musicians personalities, struggles, message — visually communicating the band to the fans. An example of the expert use of graphic design to create and change an artist’s identity and branding is Peter Saville. After meeting journalist and broadcaster Tony Wilson he became a partner in Manchester-based independent label Factory Records for which he designed many an album sleeve. Most notably his famous design work with Joy Division and New Order. “the Joy Division work is very monochrome and that suited that sensibility and Ian Curtis, when Ian died and Bernard, Steven and Peter….had to reinvent themselves as something else, something other than Joy Division, colour came with that” (Only Artists, BBC Radio4, 2019) Naturally after the band’s tragic loss of front man Ian Curtis, their sound changed, they had changed. They couldn’t carry on along the same path, musically or visually. Joy Division’s message, tone and manor suited a stark monochromatic theme. Once they became New Order, this was contrasted by Saville’s use of colour and new methodical colour-code technique.
Often creatives have complimentary artistic outlets within other areas of the arts industries. Music producer Tycho is a prime example of this. He has complete control over his brand as he writes and produces mostly down-tempo electronic music and also designs his own album and EP artwork using his extensive experience as a graphic designer. “Those worlds are now finally coming together…. crafting not only the music but the visual aspects as well, from album covers to concert posters.”(Designer Music: How Tycho blends Art and Sound, 2014) Tycho, also known as Scott Hansen who also identifies as ISO50 — when using his graphic design moniker — is a great example that creativity inspires more creativity and that side hobbies that spark from a fun interest can evolve into a sustainable career path. It doesn’t seem like work when it’s so much fun. “For me it was always this fun side hobby. The technology was what I was interested in, that was a gateway for me…As the song starts to develop, I start to see visuals…Then I started to realize that there was a big connection between the two in terms of the idea that I was trying to express. I realized that they were basically one and the same. So now, I see Tycho as an audio-visual project.” (Designer Music: How Tycho blends Art and Sound, 2014)
REFERENCES
BBC News at Six, 18:00 19/04/2013, BBC1 London, 30 mins. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/030593A9?bcast=95713312 (Accessed 08 Oct 2019)
Liz Kershaw, 13:00 08/11/2014, BBC 6 Music, 120 mins. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/07F94651?bcast=114478094 (Accessed 17 Mar 2020)
Only Artists, Marek Reichman meets Peter Saville., 21:30 03/07/2019, BBC Radio 4, 30 mins. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/13E6C648?bcast=129627686 (Accessed 08 Oct 2019)
The Verge. (2019). Designer music: how Tycho blends art and sound. [online] Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2014/2/25/5419816/tycho-interview [Accessed 10 Oct. 2019].
When Pop Went Epic: The Crazy World of the Concept Album, 23:00 08/06/2018, BBC4, 60 mins. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/0C7BAAD3?bcast=126860914 (Accessed 08 Oct 2019)
