ART 448 / Week 7

22 thoughts on “ART 448 / Week 7”

1. https://fontsinuse.com/uses/61707/inner-wave-apoptosis-album-art
   The musical artist for this cover is “Inner Wave,” an indie rock band that is from California. MacAndrew Martin and Collin Fletcher designed the cover for the album which came out in 2021. It appears to have been released on Vinyl (which appears in the images listed) and was likely played on a record player. The album cover features a photograph inside of a circular window with the title of the album in an arch at the top of the photographic window. I enjoy how this creates an engagement between the title and the photograph. The secondary “border” type thing around the circle in the middle fills a space that would otherwise seem empty and at the bottom, that border breaks to have the music group’s name. This looks like something I might experiment with if I find music that goes with a photograph. Although I would not choose the style of text since it is a bit hard to read, I like the way it appears to melt.

   https://fontsinuse.com/uses/26240/wizzard-see-my-baby-jive-hungarian-single-cov
   This album cover immediately caught my eye when I saw it. The artist is a band called Wizzard and they are a “glam rock” band which I have not heard of personally. The designer’s name is János Flohr, from what appears to be Hungary. This album artwork was made in 1973, and the images show a vinyl record as the format. The visual elements that I noticed right away are the thick letters with varying levels I would think to call them. Some of the pieces of the letters appear to protrude farther than the rest of the letter and it makes it even more three dimensional. The bright colors in the text against the green background call attention to the cover and although the text is not the most legible, if you look at it for a few seconds you can easily distinguish the letters. The thing that intrigued me the most about this was the letters forming to the corners of the album cover instead of just going straight across or straight up and down like you see most of the time.

   1. Hi Aniston! I really like the second option, the use of text is unique and blocky. I agree both of the choices the font is not very legible. I also like the simpleness on the first one with the image in the middle.

   2. These examples are great! I love the vivid color schemes, bold fonts, and overall retro design. I have never heard of this band, so I would love to explore their music! The visuals are definitely eye-catching! Thanks for sharing!

2. https://jasonandersonartist.com/products/golden

   The first album art that I chose was GOLDEN which was used for the cover of Billie Eilish’s Everything I Wanted. The genre of the song is leaning towards Alternative. The painting was created by Jason Anderson back in 2019. Some prominent visual elements are the geometric abstract shapes used to create a simple but interesting composition. One of the things that I found interesting about this cover is that it’s an abstract painting of the Golden Gate Bridge which is mentioned in the song. I also love the color palette used in this piece, the mix of pastels and muted tones while using darker tones to add dimension and shadows. The painting evokes a calm feeling despite what the actual song is about.

   https://store.hiatuskaiyote.com/products/tawk-tomahawk-deluxe-lp-version

   The second album art that I chose is for the album Tawk Tomahawk by Hiatus Kaiyote. This album is in the R&B/Soul genre. The album artwork was designed by James Laneous Lane in 2012. Some prominent visual elements are the graphic style of the wolf/fox-like animal dead center with two little paper cranes surrounding it. My favorite element from this cover is the old color of the red ribbon that wraps around the animal and paper cranes. I also like the font used for the band and album name and the way they tie in the colors of the animal. The overall design of the cover is eye-catching and energetic.

   STUDIO:
   https://uncg-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/r/personal/r_riley_uncg_edu/Documents/_Rachele%20Riley/teaching/S25/ART%20448/Danielle%20Scott/Week7_ScottD/I%20caught%20myself.pdf?csf=1&web=1&e=3IV6Vc

   1. Hi Danielle, I really like the first album art, without text it looks like a painting and the colors are really nice. I also like that you pointed out the image references the song and the feelings relating to it.

   2. I really love the golden artwork used for Billie’s album, the different types of shapes and color usage is really beautiful and soft feeling. Great choice!

3. My first choice is “Blurryface” by TwentyOnePilots, a two-person alternative band with singer/songwriter/bassist/pianist Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun. The cover art for this album was done by Brandon Rike, produced in March 2015. This CD is from my personal collection. I have been a fan of this band for many years, so I am aware of the multitude of visual systems including merchandise, social media content, concert visuals, and the overall branding of the band. Each album represents a different era, as the band remains cryptic in their content output. This particular album embodied a color scheme of bold black, red, and white. The main cover depicts 9 circles, each with a different pattern. The title is on the bottom, and the band name is at the top, both the same font size. “Blurryface” is striked out. There are many different graphics used based on starkly contrasting lines, patterns, and shapes. The design is overall sleek and modern. The typography expands upon the use of flat colors and shapes, as the font used is Futura light- which creates an angular, futuristic, bold visual. I have always adored this album for its unique, dark design that connects with the deep, emotional themes. My second choice is “Vessel” by TwentyOnePilots. This album comes before “Blurryface” and depicts a completely different theme for a different era. The cover art is photographic, captured by Reel Bear Media at the guidance of the art director Virgilio Tzaj: released in 2013. This example is also in CD format and from my personal collection. “Vessel” is made up of cool blue, grey, and white tones. The cover depicts Tyler and Josh’s grandfathers, standing side by side, dressed in semi-formal clothing. The title is small and on the far right of the image. The font used is Courier New, which shares a similar modern feel to “Blurryface”, only lighter. This album has always been pleasant to look at for me, as the light color scheme stands out, the proportionality of the image is perfectly centered, and the subjects are warm and inviting.

   Album Images:
   https://uncg-my.sharepoint.com/personal/r_riley_uncg_edu/_layouts/15/onedrive.aspx?csf=1&web=1&e=ljVtOh&CID=292cea03%2Df909%2D467e%2Db9d2%2D9cfb0bfcca65&id=%2Fpersonal%2Fr%5Friley%5Funcg%5Fedu%2FDocuments%2F%5FRachele%20Riley%2Fteaching%2FS25%2FART%20448%2FKayla%20Stiles%2FWeek%207%2FDiscussion&FolderCTID=0x0120005F6136034E7C2C4EB4818F10597156FA&view=0

   1. Hello Kayla!

      Ouu, I love Twentyone Pilots; it’s a great choice. I love the interesting patterns and depictions in both CD cover arts. The meaning behind each one is intricate and connects to the overall color schemes. Great work this week!

   2. Hi Kayla! I also love this album cover, there are a lot of different textures in the 9 circles on the front and the strikethrough text that is present in a lot of Twenty One Pilots album covers is very prominent here. The limited color palette also makes it easy to look at, where if they were to have added a lot of colors it might have been too overwhelming.

4. Michael Jackson’s Thriller (1982) is one of the most famous pop albums ever. The album cover was designed by photographer Dick Zimmerman, and it was released as a vinyl LP, cassette, and later CD. The cover shows Michael wearing a sharp white suit, leaning back against a dark background. The lighting makes him glow, giving him a superstar look. There’s a fancy cursive font for the title, which makes it feel stylish. What’s cool about this cover is how simple it is but still so powerful. It doesn’t need wild colors or crazy designs-just Michael, looking confident. The inside gatefold even had a picture of him with a tiger cub. It became a huge part of his image,\ and even today, that white suit look is legendary.
   https://pure-music.co.uk/thriller-album-cover/

   Madonna’s True Blue (1986) is another pop classic. The cover was shot by famous photographer Herb Ritts and designed by Jeri Heiden. It was released on vinyl, cassette, and CD. The artwork is all shades of blue, with Madonna’s head tilted back, and her short platinum hair making her look like a movie star from the 50s. Her skin is smooth and pale, with red lips standing out. There’s very little text- just her name in a bold font and “true blue” written in a soft script. The cover was bold for its time because it was so clean and artistic, not flashy. It made Madonna seem like a true icon, not just a pop singer. This cover is so timeless that it still looks cool today. The way it captures her confidence and style makes it one of the best album covers ever.
   https://pure-music.co.uk/true-blue-album-cover/

   1. Such an iconic photograph and album cover art. I agree that even though the album cover is just him in a nice suit, the color white really does help him glow as the background is empty and dark. How they wrote Thriller on here like if it were a signature makes it unique and makes it feel premium in my opinion.

   2. Hello Clint!

      Oh my goodness! I love how you chose such iconic album covers of legends from the past like Michael Jackson and Madonna. Such icons. Different mediums like photography, compared to painting or design, are an interesting use of a cover. Great work this week, by the way!

   3. I think that the 80’s have some of the best graphic design examples ever! They are always so bold, experimental, and unique compared to any other decade. I think your analysis of these two examples are spot on. I’m looking forward to seeing what you create!

5. The first album I chose is by Sammy Rae & the Friends album The Good Life. The musical genre is probably rocky indie with hip vibes. The cover art was designed by her team and it was produced in 2018. With their style of music vinal just works right and it is a square, so the format fits best for a vinal cover. The visual elements are the main photo which has curved edges, the background green color, and the title. I like that both the text in this, the artist name and the album title, both have a gradient to them and the colors work well with the main green in the back. What intrigues me about this is that this looks like something we could make in this class, from what I have learned so far I could make the title and the image with the background would be easy to make. It doesn’t have a lot of difficulty, but I still think the cover art looks really nice. https://i.discogs.com/r0qO_GUi0yIfUdF2m2ZHndVZRw9HD2zNjE7QoVJPVDQ/rs:fit/g:sm/q:40/h:300/w:300/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTI1OTQx/MTMwLTE2NzUxMjM4/MjAtODUzMy5qcGVn.jpeg

   The second album I chose is Sunburn by Dominic Fike. His genre is labeled an alternative hip-hop. A member of his team made the cover art but does not list a specific name. It was produced in 2023. The selection I chose for this one is a CD cover art since the cover art is in a square format and the vibe of his music and the art feels like it would be on a CD you put on in the car. The visual elements have a collage type vibe with different squares of images at the top with the main focus being on a girl. The title of the album is at the bottom in blocky text with some graphics around it. I am intrigued by it because of all the different elements together and I really like the square rows of images at the top with a nice coherent color scheme. https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81s1zCQgQfL._UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg

   1. Hi Skye! I was looking at the album covers you chose and I really enjoyed Sunburn, the layered photographs make it seem collage-like along with what look to be paper cutouts of the album name and small sun image. The high contrast in the images also really stands out. I think it would be cool to experiment with something similar in your work.

   2. I love the second album cover, you’re right about the collage aspect of the album. It to me also gives me a summer vibe, similar to a coming of age movie. I also love the music on this album too.

6. Who is the musical artist? What is the musical genre?

   1. Nct Dream (K-pop)
   The Neo Culture Technology(NCT), is a boy band from South Korea created by SM Entertainment, known for having an unlimited number of members and subunits. These units interact with each other and adapt based on skills, many languages(like Taiwanese,Japanese,Mandarin/Cantonese,English,etc.), and including the more known main units like NCT 127, Nct U, and WayV.
   NCT Dream’s first song was in 2016, called “Chewing Gum,” which showed them in a light of youthfulness and adolescence. This group is different compared to NCT127 and WayV because the group had a graduation system that required members to leave when they turned 20, but this was later changed as the group evolved. NCT Dream has seven members: Mark, Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Chenle, and Jisung.
   Over the years, NCT Dream has completely transformed their musical style, moving from the cheerful vibe of “Chewing Gum” to the more mature sounds of “Boom,” “Ridin,” and “Glitch Mode.” Their themes revolve around youth, hope, and self-expression. NCT Dream has gained immense popularity in South Korea and beyond, thanks to their vocals, impressive choreography, and a blend of teenage and adult themes.
   They (nct dream) have many album covers that I find intriguing but one I saw that caught my eye is called Broken Melodies (JVKE Remix) Remix. This cover is actually based off of a single rather than an album, but the art style is closer to what I’m interested in.

   2. NCT 127(kpop)
   This is the main subunit that is known. The members that it consists of are Mark, Johnny, Taeyoung, Doyoung, Haechan, Jaehyun, Yuta, Winwin, and Jungwoo.

   Who designed the album art, and when was it produced?

   1.NCT DREAM
   I couldn’t find the direct creator of the cover art, but it was produced in 2023. This song in particular is not on the album, but the original song was on the album “ISTJ”. (https://a.co/d/7HqyAXA). (https://smtown-nctzens.fandom.com/wiki/Broken_Melodies_(JVKE_Remix) )

   2.NCT 127
   Created in 2018, and was designed in MMBP & Associates.

   https://fontsinuse.com/uses/45647/nct-127-andnbsp-regular-irregular-album-art
   https://kshopina.com/products/nctnct127-1st-album-regular-irregular-random

   Honorable mention (STICKER album and Empathy ).

   What is the format of your selection (Vinyl LP, Cassette, CD) and how does it relate to a larger visual system (if possible to know)?

   BOTH formatted to be a form of a CD.

   What are the prominent visual elements (photography, drawing, typography, etc.)?
   Nct dream consists of typography where NCT 127 forces on typography and photography.

   What intrigues you about it?
   Include links to the design works so others can see your choices.

   1. NCT DREAM
   I like it because it is similar to stamp/printmaking art.
   2. NCT 127
   The multiple overlays with the building but it still looks cohesive all together.

7. link: https://birkajazz.se/
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   The musical artist is Santana, and the album track is called ‘Abraxas.’ This primary musical genre is blues rock, jazz fusion, psychedelic rock, pop, Latin rock, classical, and progressive art. This particular artwork was painted by Mati Klarwein. This artwork was produced in 1970. The format of my selection is vinyl LP. There is little information regarding this painting, but assumptions could be made. For example, this painting has surreal significance that seems to relate to black beauty and excellence, a goddess of some nature. With the depiction of an angel that the goddess gazes upon. With other visual elements such as objects like a mirror/frame, table, blankets, fabric, instruments, nature elements like the sky and green lands with flowers. There is a greater significance to this artwork that feels very dear to the artist.

   Visually through the lens of painting, this is clear and cut and has millions of identifiable, smooth, rough, plentiful textures. There is no use of text throughout this depiction of a vinyl, but the shapes represented remind me of the typography elements we are learning about now through ART 448. The central concept or visual aspect that drew my eye was combining multiple textures into one finished story or piece. This chaos of texture and color gives me peace and is dear to my heart as an artist. I love to use many colors that correspond to my artwork; this type of work reminds me it’s okay to have a little bit of chaos. It makes for a treasure hunt and gives the audience mystery, combining their interpretations based on visual aspects and elements.

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   link: https://peoplesgdarchive.org/item/13810/the-cure-wish-album-cover-cd
   One Drive Link: https://uncg-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/r/personal/r_riley_uncg_edu/Documents/_Rachele%20Riley/teaching/S25/ART%20448/Hannah%20Belk/Week_7?csf=1&web=1&e=E4wfBH
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   The musical artist for this paper album cover art is The Cure and album ‘Wish.’ The Cure’s musical genre is Synth-pop, Gothic rock, Rock, Alternative/Indie, Post-punk. This album was created by Andy Vella in the UK in 1992. This format of my selection is a CD, as mentioned in the description, for a more extensive visual selection related to their alternative and edgy style of The Cure. The album ‘Wish’ represents individuality and encourages other artists to explore it. The contracts of visual elements such as red and blue represent this metaphor.

   Vella conveys strong meaning through these visual decisions. With the movement of grunge and this being popular at the time, this cover art was made, contributing to a more extensive visual system. The prominent design has strong color choices with drawings of eyes, blues, and reds. Colorful piece that has intensity. The use of typography is the band’s name “Cure” and the album name “Wish,” in the upper right corner for the font cover art. Using swirly lettering and relating the color blue back to the center circle makes the whole piece recognizable and clarifies. The eye drawings add a hand-drawn feeling that gives the grunge era. I also loved the liner notes, which gave me a good idea for my notes. I also enjoy the hand-drawn elements, which I want to incorporate with my album cover art and liner notes.

8. The first album cover that caught my attention was the album cover for “Paraiso” which was made for Harry Hosono and The Yellow Magic Band’s first album as an LP. This album cover for this J-pop album was created by Kazuo Yasuhara in 1978. This album cover incorporates typography and photography in its visual elements but mostly focuses on photography by taking different images and putting them together in an interesting way. This album cover intrigues me because there is a lot going on in this image and has many elements that are thrown together, but it comes together in a very unique way. The second album cover that caught my attention is the album cover for Paramore’s album “Riot” from 2007 which came out on CD and vinyl. This album cover was created by Mark Obriski, who not only made the album cover but also created the handwritten typeface that is used all over the album cover. Apparently, this was also one of the first album covers that he made by hand which is interesting. This album cover is just typography but what intrigues me about it is the fact that it is only typography. Yet it has this identity because of it and it only uses two words and covers the whole page with this unique font.

   https://peoplesgdarchive.org/item/12653/paramore-riot-album
   https://peoplesgdarchive.org/item/13118/haruomi-hosono-paraiso-album-art

   1. I almost picked Paramore’s “RIOT” album as one of my two album arts to talk about and yeah I agree that the handwriting makes it really special because Mark Obriski went in and wrote each and every one in different height, boldness, and with the intent to make it feel like the words are anxious or someone is screaming it. Having done handwritten typeface in the past as well its a really interesting challenge especially if its your first and to me it was similar to like doodling but with words.

9. The first album art I decided to look into was “Lonerism” by Tame Impala. This Alternative/Indie album was released in 2012 and the designer behind the artwork was Leif Podhajsky, a graphic designer from Australia. The pictures presented are the vinyl record and the artwork is a photograph that was taken by him that he specifically chose with Tame Impala that expresses the meaning behind the album and the title “Lonerism”. They explain that “its about appreciating the things in life”. The photograph is shot like a vintage memory that is seen from a distance but also bright as if they are remembering the positive of being in the moment. This is what caught my attention as being lonely in this context is not negative but taken a positive direction.
   https://peoplesgdarchive.org/item/12650/andnbsp-lonerism-tame-impala

   Continuing with looking at vinyl records I noticed this one that caught my attention because of the shape of the sleeve being an octagon. The album is called “Stop” by The Eric Burdon Band which was released in 1975. The design of the sleeve seems to be created in-house by the record label Capitol Records Inc. I like when the title of the album is taken seriously and in this case “Stop” is presented in this unique package that is shaped like a stop sign and the color around the edge of the photo of the artist is red which further insists on the concept.
   https://peoplesgdarchive.org/item/7420/the-eric-burdon-band-stopandnbsp

10. https://uncg-my.sharepoint.com/shared?id=%2Fpersonal%2Fr%5Friley%5Funcg%5Fedu%2FDocuments%2F%5FRachele%20Riley%2Fteaching%2FS25%2FART%20448%2FGerardo%20Gomez%2DSan%20Juan%2FWeek%207&listurl=%2Fpersonal%2Fr%5Friley%5Funcg%5Fedu%2FDocuments&login_hint=GJGOMEZSANJ%40uncg%2Eedu

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