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May 21, 2009
Votable CD & Book Cover Design Gallery
CoverArts.com is a new site that lets visitors vote up cd and book cover designs. You can view covers by most recent additions or by highest rated. At least one new cover design is added every day. CD cover design has it's own unique design challenges - sometimes conceptual, other times it's creating a style for an artist photo or photos.
There is some excellent design work represented there. I check it out for inspiration (actually their rss feed sends me new covers as they are added). Each cover is tagged with genre or type, so you can search for just Rock or Hip/Hop covers with a simple click. Cool.
Posted by Rico | PermalinkApril 28, 2009
The First CD Packages
Wilson Rothman published a neat article at Gizmodo about the ever shrinking packaging for music. I had almost forgotten the CD long box, the original packaging for compact discs. As he describes,
"They actually started shipping in long rectangular boxes, so they'd take up exactly 50% of the rack space of a vinyl album. I think this was on purpose, so record stores didn't have to retool their shelving. The upside was lots of surface area for cover art, and the early days of the CD were like a return of album art. These long skinny boxes had huge busts of Jim Morrison, huge prints of the famed Zeppelin explosion that launched a band into stardom. The boxes were also wrapped in easy-to-tear plastic, so getting into your CD, though it took a few steps, was pretty easy."
Those were the days. Here's the link
Posted by Rico | PermalinkApril 06, 2009
CD Cover Design Case Study
Ever wonder how a cd cover design comes together? Check out this case study from a talented young designer who blogs at a vector art site.
It's pretty cool, he breaks down the elements, showing the use of stock photos to create several variations on a Christian rock cover design.
See the full cover design case study.
Here is the designer's other illustration blog
April 02, 2009
Ghost in the Machine - Cassette Tape Art
Flickr member iri5 has found a cool way to recycle old cassette tapes, making portrait art of the magnetic tape.
His Flickr set includes portraits of Jim Morrison of The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Ian Curtis (of the now defunct Joy Division), Marilyn Monroe, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Robert Smith of The Cure and Ian Brown of Stone Roses. Great stuff!
The artist is working on Tom Waits and I saw a request for Frank Zappa. I would love to see that.
See even more at iri5's Flickr set
Posted by Rico | PermalinkOctober 01, 2008
Vinyl Art by Daniel Edlen
The relationship between art and music is always changing, particularly in recent times. It continues to remain strong in those for whom music is more than just entertainment. One such artist is Daniel Edlen, who channels his love of creativity and music into a unique expression. Using record albums as a canvas, he hand paints portraits of musicians directly on their vinyl releases.
A neat idea for sure, but what really elevates the work is his capturing the likeness of the musicians. Judge for yourself in the portraits below. Then visit Daniel's full gallery of vinyl art. He also blogs here and posts his works on Flickr here.
Here's a time lapse video showing Bob Marley's portrait progressing from outline sketch to completion. Very cool!
I may have chosen mostly classic rock artists, but Daniel's works include recent artists such as Jay-Z, Eminem, Madonna, Snoop Dogg, Fergie and will.i.am, Tommy Lee, Jonathan Davis of Korn, The Flaming Lips etc. So check it out: Vinyl Art site.
related posts: 300,000 LP Albums and Covers Recycled into Art
Posted by Rico | Permalink
July 18, 2008
Folded Paper CD Case Made Before Your Eyes
A do it yourself cd case skillfully made with paper, pencil, scissors and a disc.
Cooll Paper Cd Case !!! Flower Design ..... - Funny home videos are a click away
June 03, 2008
The Simpsons Spawn Worst Album Cover Hoax
Perhaps you've seen this album art while browsing the internets. It quietly makes all the worst album art lists out there. But in a shocking new report, gawker.com exposes the truth and the fraud behind this piece o fart. Wait until you hear the connection with The Simpsons. Go now.
March 10, 2008
300,000 LP Albums and Covers Recycled into Art
Vinylux transforms vintage LPs and Album Covers into a variety of gift items - coasters, bowls, clocks, trays, ornaments, notecards, sketchbooks etc. Artist Jeff Davis estimates he will recycle 150,000 LPs and 45s in 2008 alone. What started as his design school master's thesis project turned into a full time business.
Visit Vinylux.net
related post: Vinyl Art by Daniel Edlen
Posted by Rico | PermalinkFebruary 24, 2008
Cover Styles of the Young and Naked - A Warning!
Naked children and album covers do not mix! Don't let it happen to your son or daughter.
CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE
The real story of the naked kid on Nirvana Nevermind - [VH1.com]
Whatever happened to the naked kids on Led Zeppelin Houses of the Holy - [dailymail.co.uk]
The real story behind the naked girl holding a spaceship on Blind Faith's self titled album - [bobseidemann.com, photographer].
Photographer Bob Seidemann was hired for the cover design of Eric Clapton's new band in 1969. He titled his striking image of innocence meets human achievement Blind Faith. The name stuck for the group. The album art was changed (to a band picture) for the US release, but album art censorship is nothing new.
Posted by Rico | Permalink | TrackBackFebruary 18, 2008
Clown are Scary, Even on LP Album Covers
There are two types of people in the world: those freaked out by clowns, and those who mock us. Perhaps by posting these old LP album covers I can begin to exercise the fears. So here they are - 4 freaky clown covers from the past. Their smiles are hiding all that big top evilness... and they're watching me... I just know they are.
source: LP Cover Lover
Posted by Rico | PermalinkFebruary 11, 2008
Beatles Album Covers Lego'd
Seven famous Beatles album covers recreated - Lego style.
See them all: Bootlego Beatles
Pink Floyd Box Set Interactive Promotion
A great interactive promotion for Pink Floyd's 14 cd box set. The packaging is demonstrated nicely. One by one, each disc rises out from the box, leading to a jukebox style browser of each album cover and sample track. You can flip the cover art around to see the art on the back and the track listings. Arrows appear to let you browse forward and back chronologically through each release of the box set. The iconic prism-separated light streams pulsate with each sample track.
The screenshots really don't capture the coolness. Check it out: Pink Floyd Box Set Promotion
Posted by Rico | PermalinkJanuary 31, 2008
Design Goodie: 11 Free Vectors - Japanese Themed Freebies
11 awesome, highly detailed free vectors with a Japanese theme - there's a dojo, latern, buddha statue, tower roof, street signs, and a few palaces of Japan. They're free and downloadable at keepdesigning.com.
Check out all the thumbnail screens after the jump.
The final EPS downloads have much more detail than can be seen here. Visit the download page for free vectors.
All images used with permission of the designer.
Posted by Rico | PermalinkJanuary 30, 2008
Be the Cover Art at Sleeveface
I just discovered Sleeveface, where lp album covers merge with reality. Visit the flickr pool or the website. A 3 minute film short is also in the works.
HISTORY OF SLEEVEFACE (from flickr pool discussion)
Carl Morris placed an old album cover of McCartney II over his face while djing in Cardiff, England. The crowd went wild. It caught on with other DJs who then did the same.
then a few folks opened up a Facebook group, and photo'd themselves a la Sleeveface and well, it's history.
definition: SLEEVEFACE: " one or more persons obscuring or augmenting any part of their boyd or bodies with record sleeves causing an illusion." according to Carl Morris.
Posted by Rico | PermalinkJanuary 03, 2008
Top 25 Album Covers of 2007 - Rolling Stone Readers
As chosen by the readers of Rolling Stone, here are the top 25 album covers of 2007. Click image for a larger view.
CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE
source - [link]
Posted by Rico | Permalink | Comments (2)November 28, 2007
Body Painted Pink Floyd Cover Designs
I wonder if Storm Thorgerson has seen this?
UPDATE: A reader has answered the question. In fact it was Mr. Thorgerson himself that created the poster and image in 1997. The poster is titled Pink Floyd Back Catalogue. I'd provide a direct link but it's part of a Flash site. It can be found under Work>Non Moving>Posters on Storm Thorgerson's official site. Thanks to Thomas for the correction!
April 23, 2007
Logo Design Quiz - Better Be Fast!
Ready to test your knowledge and recognition of company logo designs? Visit the Logo Quiz. It's a timed test so you've got to be fast.
Now that you have ordained yourself the crown prince of commercial logo recognition, you have to ask yourself one question, "How important is a well designed logo for my business?" Whether you are the promoter of a local band, the owner of a small family-run business, or the CEO of a multi-million dollar corporation, a well designed and recognizable logo is every bit as important to the success of your business as those funny TV commercials often costing millions of dollars to produce and run.
We do more than cd cover design. Contact us and let us know your logo design needs.
Posted by Rico | Permalink
