First Initial Methods of Primary Research

Videos, Websites & Previous Albums.

Gary J. Freiberg presented a short audio analysis of history and the evolution of album art throughout the decades.

Notes Taken During Video:

“Album Cover Art History – Illustration Era – Part 1 of 3” Gary Freiberg

• 30/40’s – albums came in bounded books similar to photo albums. Brown packaging with a thick spine and only read “Record Album”.

• No attention or indication to the music or the artist.

• A series of vinyl's by the artist were shown within the book.

• Were sold in racks in appliance stores in the same brown packaging, labels indicated which album was from which artist.

• Between 39-40, “Columbia Records” hired a new graphic designer, Alex Steinweiss- to illustrate albums covers belonging to that label. They believed a viewer would be “Intrigued by the art.” Persuading them to buy.

• Beethoven album sales were apparently increased by 800% after the release of album cover art on his records.

• The first ever album cover was a picture taken of Broadway that was then painted to give an embossed effect in black and white.

• Photography was not yet introduced and as developed in the first stages of album art so it was strictly illustration work.

First original draft of notes taken from the video playback.

Watching this video allowed me to gain a wider understanding on the first early evolution of album

cover art in the 30/40’s and also who was the first initial designer of cover art, Alex Steinweiss.

“Album Cover Art History – Photographic Era – Part 2 of 3”Gary J. Freiberg then went further on to describe and analyse the evolution of photography in album cover art and how it influenced the sales of records and the idolism of the artists.

Notes Taken During Video: • In 1949, album artwork evolved to

be much “fancier”, the illustrations became much more bold and daring.

• Illustration continued to be the primary medium of artwork until the early 50’s.

• The illustrations became more fun and risqué, often depicting women in minimal amounts of clothing (sexual depiction of music e.g. jazz, Latin)

• Portraits and illustrative paintings of the artists were introduced in the 40’s and 50’s. Gave the artist an element of “beauty” and a flawless look to attract a listener.

• E.g. Mary Martin “Peter Pan” – was one of the first introductions of photography in vinyl record covers. It was taken from the Broadway production of Peter Pan and edited to fit the album cover.

• Bright, dramatic photography “conveyed the persona and charisma of the artists.”

• Photographic imagery created idolism of the artists, certain images became iconic and were beneficial of the impact of the record on a whole. The artist’s were made to look glamorous, positive and flawless in the images.

• “A good characteristic of photography in album art is that it depicts fashion.” Popular artists would spark a trend as to what they were wearing in their album cover.

• Jazz; Dynamic shapes and colours were used to represent the mood of the music. Often featured in small print, the name of the graphic designer that created the album cover.

• Photographic images of artists often featured very little movement and focused on the allure of the portrait. Certain photographs became iconic such as Dolly Parton and Elvis Presley.

• Images of beautiful women were used in albums that featured love songs, attraction to buy due to the perception of beauty and sexual attraction.

• One of the most iconic albums of photographic history was, “Whipped Cream & Other Delights” due to the nature of the image.

What Separates Me From You (2010)A Day To RememberImagery: This album cover was drawn and then further edited in Photoshop to dramatize the colours and the overall visual. The foreground features a man trapped inside an hourglass, this is a visual illustration of the album title – with the man being “separated” from the crowd behind. The passers by do not seem to notice the man which gives the feeling of sequestration and distance. In the background a series of people have been aligned to give the allure of crossing a road or a sidewalk, the layers in which they have been associated gives the picture depth and a 3D feeling, rather than a flat base. Overall, the imageries relationship with the title of the album works in correspondence with separation and isolation, and relates to several songs in the album such as “2nd Sucks” and “Out Of Time.”

Colour Scheme:The colours here are fairly contemporary and work in harmony with one another to create the city scape effect, the main foreground character is wearing black with a black hair colour, he has also been placed in a central composition to allow the viewer to read the image like a story and how the character relates to the album. A lot of heavy greens and blues have been used to draw the illumination of the whites and blacks used in the foreground imagery and the main title. The white banner used for the alignment of the title has been made slightly transparent to not make the cover as bulky and heavy with shapes and also for it to meet with the heads of the characters in the imagery.

Font:The font used here is a sans serif, bold font that has about a 2mm gab between each letter so that it spreads equally across the banner. Only one font is used continuously throughout the whole of the back and front of the cover, and alternates between black and white to complement the colour scheme. The font is modern and easy to read from a distance, the name of the band features the largest amount of font on the cover to distinguish the ownership of the material to the band. Stereotypically, using a serif, more swirly font - would of given the impression of a softer album with contemporary music rather than heavy pop-punk.

Media:Quote from interview with artistdirect.com with front man, Jeremy McKinnon.http://www.artistdirect.com/entertainment-news/article/a-day-to-remember-talk-what-separates-me-from-you-call-of-duty-black-ops-and-diablo-3/8167427

How do you choose the album artwork? Do you have a go-to artist?We've had a different person do almost every record. I go with the person I'm feeling for the project. I wanted the artwork for What Separates Me From You to be a little more serious. It has the vibe of a painting.