#albumcoveredesign

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Artist Research

After making the decision to chose a more abstract and scientific design I came across the work of Niko Luoma. Born in 1970 Niko Luoma has played a key role internationally for the past twenty years with his experiments in photographic abstraction and using light as a raw material. The part I like most about his artwork is the bright colours he uses paired with quite simple pattern. Together they create a very interesting image.

For my album cover I want to use the bright colours and abstract patterns that we can see it Luoma's work. I find the layering quite intersting and would like to add a depth like this to my own backround too.

[k00291639]

Album Cover Redesign: Exploring Typography

After really experiencing the importance of Typography at our studio tour I decided to start looking at potential typefaces for my album cover. I started by tracing some fonts meave had printed previously. I was looking at two main styles: bold or serif. I then moved onto InDesign where I looked at more available fonts. I narrowed it down to a few favourites but don’t think I’ll properly choose until I see the font on the album cover itself.

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Album Cover Redesign: Final Adjustments

On Thursday I edited my original image again to produce a higher quality background for my album cover, I used photoshop for this and as I already had my layout solidified I also added my maroon backround on photoshop. With Sharon’s help I also added a small coloured strip to the right hand side as I felt it lifted the image and kind of draws you in.

I then took my image to InDesign where I added my typography. I made a few iterations again playing with different sized fonts and different colours.

[k00291639]

Album Cover Redesign: Choosing a final design

After working on InDesign for most of Tuesday and Thursday I had many options for my final album cover. I was originally focusing on the more neon version but after speaking to Lydia decided to experiment with the orange background. I played around a lot with typeface, stacking fonts and colouring as well as adding a border and positioning the writing in different places.

I think I have nailed down the layout of the album cover but after my trial print I realised I need to go back in to photoshop and edit my image again to make sure it’s as high in quality as possible.

[k00291639]

Album Cover Redesign: Final Concept

On Thursday afternoon we had another critical to really. I’ll down our final concepts. I created two rough layouts for my final piece. I used different font layouts and added a black out line to one.

Due to the fact I have my photo for reference I was able to give the group a good idea of what I was aiming for and they gave me some good ideas that incorporate typography really well.

[k00291639]

Album Cover Redesign: Photography

On Thursday I photographed my backround and main Album cover concept. I used olive oil and red food colouring to create an interesting pattern. I also scrunched up my plastic bag to give the image more texture. I then went in with my phone and edited the colours in different ways. I am not sure which image I am going to use in the final product yet.

I plan to edit it more on Photoshop especially if I choose to go with the yellow pattern as I feel the colour is too saturated. I quite enjoy the way the darker ones look and I feel as though they represent the album and my research better.

[k00291639]

Trip to a Signmakers Studio

On Tuesday we had the opportunity to visit Tom Collins Studio in Limerick city. We spoke to Tom about how he became a sign maker and what his job involves which was really interesting and we looked around his studio. His workshop is beautiful it’s as if it is an archive of Limerick streets.

We then had a chance to paint our own sign. Using the inspiration all around us we chose a font and traced out our name. We then got to paint using the same method Tom does when painting signs. We also learned how to use a mahl stick which was really interesting.

[k00291639]

Album Cover Redesign: Potential Patterns

On Monday after speaking to Paul Tarpey about patterns and photography I designed some potential pattern ideas for the background of my album cover. I designed some of these with inspiration from the textures I have photgraphed and others from the themes of the album itself.

The most scientific looking one is the lava lamp pattern. This is also fitting as it relates a lot to the studio the band spent most of their time at and Andy Warhol. This pattern would also be easy to make using oil and food colouring.