LOOK, LISTEN, THEN SPEAK

Seventy-one years have elapsed from when the first album cover was introduced (Colombia Records 1938). Since then we've gone from Listening Booths to iTunes. from phonographs to iPods. But one thing has yet to change... The art of designing and creating album packaging.

As a graphic designer I am no stranger to the task of visually encapsulating the sound, emotion, and personality that musicians put into their craft. The art and images you choose and create to represent any album will automatically become the number on spokesperson for the music it holds inside.

Does all album artwork succeed? Not always. Do some of them tend to mislead? Sometimes. What sets apart unforgettable album covers of the immortals from the here-today-gone-tomorrow artists? That is a very long discussion and a possible great subject for another blog all together.

Here in this blog I will attempt be your eyes and ears. I will take into consideration everything that goes into the making, designing and conception of album covers/packaging and evaluate whether or not the artist at hand has succeeded along with his/her musicians. I will review the album itself along with it's spokesperson and make a final determination on weather or not the album sleeve fits.

Disclaimer: This and the rest of my posts to come are only my humble, maybe sometimes ratty, opinion.

Thank You

Aaron