Brent & Eric with Bradley Hinson after a MARANG show in 2010
The other day I got a cool opportunity to design the album cover for a band I have a lot of appreciation for. The band is called, “thank you, spaceman” and is fronted by my friend, fellow MVP player and former band mate, Eric Cook. Like so many indie bands, I think that many of those who’ve seen them would agree with me that TYSM was over before it’s time. That said, I really enjoyed their sound and original flavor and am thankful for the privilege to play with them on several occasions as an opener.
The Front Booklet Design
Eric did manage, by sheer tenacity and force of will to get this album completed despite the fact that the band was no longer gigging. Having had the chance to listen to it before it’s official release, I can report that it is excellent. An album that deserved some truly unique album art.
Now I’ll talk a bit about how I approach the design and hence forth Eric will be referred to as “the Client.” Going in I knew from former experience creating graphics for our common band, MARANG, I knew that the client really like quirky, almost gawdy style imagery. In general he leans heavily toward graphical art as opposed to photo real. That’s completely contrary to my own tastes but knowing that up front helped me set aside what I wanted in order to meet the clients expectations. Fortunately, I was still able to guide things in slick direction.
The Inner Booklet - Old School Style
The client provided some of the basic information in a text file. Always a big plus when it comes to a design with a lot of text. He also brought 12 or so images taken of Secadas emerging from there shells. He had in his mind that he really wanted to use an image that was entirely out of focus. It took some persuading but finally I convinced him NOT to insist on an out of focus image as that essentially takes away all the control from the designer. You can always blur a clear image, but it’s impossible to make a totally out of focus image clear.
The name of the album, revolving\evolving did work perfectly with the tiny insects clawing their way out of the husk of a past season. I was instantly inspired. For the back booklet slot we managed to work in a little of the bands history. If you look closely, the pennies are dated 2001 – 2011, the active years of the band. The flip side of the booklet, only viewable when you open the old school CD up and take it out to view, we added all the detail text including the song titles and running times, the band, photography and recording credits.
I’ve included low resolution versions along with the article. If you’d like to check out the awesome record, contact proleart@yahoo.comto get your own copy today.
Finally, a Slick Element on the Tray Card.
