“ V isualizing music to me is seeing colorful, floating shapes in space. ” Adam Westrich
OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS VISUALIZING MUSIC OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS VISUALIZING MUSIC VISUALIZING MUSIC OBSESSIONS OBIONS VISUALIZING MUSIC OBIONS OBSESS N O I S S E S B O OBSESS N O I S S E S B O OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS OBSIONS SIONS OBSESSIONS OBSIONS SIONS OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONS OBSESSIONSOBSESSIONS
Adam Westrich
Visualizing Music Visualizing Music Visualizing Music
Visualizing Music Visualizing Music
V I S U A L I Z IN G MUSIC Published by Adam Westrich St. Louis Missouri
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DESIGN All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means — graphic, or electronic, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems — without written permission of publisher. Copyright © 2012
For Bailey Dolenc, my loving girlfriend, who knows and loves music better than anyone I’ve ever met.
Content Page Page Page Page
1 Typography 5 Color 11 Texture 15 Unknown
INTRODUCTION Music is one of my many obsessions. Images can be a gateway to the feeling or mood of the music. I created this book with collections of album and vinyl covers. I used these because I appreciate their artistic designs. I will be dissecting this collection into five basic design elements: Typography, Color, Texture, and The Unknown.
Typography Typography Typography in music
This John Mayer cover design is one of my favorites because of the typography. When you are creating good typography, especially for music, there are many things to understand first. Thinking about who the audience is most important, details can be worked out once you have a good starting point. John Mayer songs are mainly slow, flowing, and relaxing, which presents an opportunity to use a fluid, curvy typography, as shown in this example. The following designs also use typography to further strengthen their design.
Using typography that fits with the overall design can dramatically increase the strength of the composition. It was once said “If you have a great grasp on typography, you’re a designer. But if you have everything but typography, you’re not.”
John Mayer Album Cover Born and Raised 2012
1
Florence & the Machine Lungs 2011
3
Vessels Helloscope 2011
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or lor Color lor r
or
Co
lor
Color
Gotye Making Mirrors 2011
in music
When thinking about desinging with color, always keep in mind you can change the color at any time. So when creating a concept, don’t waste time changing the color scheme until you are comfortable with the final product. Color does not always have to be used to make the work stronger, but oftentimes it creates a feeling surpassing that of which you get from a black and white image; it can sometimes greatly increase the emotion the design is calling for.
This Gotye album cover is a strong example of using color to enhance the drama. It evokes more emotions which grants the design to be more relatable to a larger crowd. If this design was comprised of all the same values, the shapes would appear to be the same, however, color can bring out an alternate view on the same object.
Owl City Midsummer Station 2012
5
One Republic Waking Up 2009
7
Seekadome High 2010
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Aaron Goldber and Guillermo Klein Bienestan 1975
Muse The 2nd Law 2012
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ERU ERET ERU
TEXTURE TEXTURE TEXTURE RE TEXTURE URE RE RE TEXTURE URE URE RE
RU
texture in music
Texture is a great way to add a dimension to your overall piece. Having texture grants the viewer another sense, which is always fun to explore. In this Rolling Stones vinyl cover the subtle use of gold highlights is a smooth texture which grabs your attention. There are many ways to use texture and it is very easy to over-do it. Always take into consideration the amount of texture after you’ve seen your project printed.
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Texture sparks an interest that the eye is naturally drawn to and wants to interact with, which is a good way to get a consumer to pick up the album.
texture texture texture texture texture texture texture texture texture texture texture
Rolling Stones Rolled Gold 2004
erutx texture textu Ben Harper
Give Till It’s Gone 2011
The Shins
Port of Morrow 2012
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Unknown in music
I created this topic because there are so many album covers I don’t understand right away. These are some of the more intriguing covers I have found out of the collection. For music, it is key to have strong visuals to grab the attention of the viewer. Drawing a person in to the unknown is a great way to spark interest. These are the album covers that I think best portray my own opinion in visualizing music. I have found that these are the covers that you can draw a lot of other designs from and create new and more interesting layouts with the same concept. This part of my collection is my favorite because it gives a wide range of design aspects to choose from.
Many album cover designers use illustration to convey their feeling of music, but not only can illustration evoke emotions, but abstract objects and the familiar, yet unknown, are always a strong cornerstone to start from. Having listened to all of these albums, I have to admit that each designer that created these pieces drew from the artist’s songs to create a visual hierarchy of their music.
Samaya Cheb I Sabbah 2012
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Un Doo-Wops and Hooligans Bruno Mars 2008
CutCopy Zonoscope 2011
Aim and Ignite Fun
2009
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te tex tex tex text text t tex text tex text Stereotomy Andrew Ellis 1985
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Terry Champlin The Earth Below 2009
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Iron and Wine Kiss each other clean 2001
DVA1 Pretty Ugly 2012
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2010
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Velociraptor
texture texture texture texture texture texture texture texture texture
Kasabian
Foster The People Torches 2011
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This book was created by Adam Westrich in Advance Problems in Graphic Design 1 with Jennifer McKnight. At the University of Missouri St. Louis, 2012. The pages were compiled in Adobe Indesign 4. Using Homestead, and ITC Frankling Gothic LT 10/11 for body copy. Printed on Coated 60lb paper.