Fusing the Visual and the Aural – The art of the Record/CD sleeve

Now that the music industry is “finished”, does music still need to have a visual element?

To an extent it will always need to have some sort of visual element, because musicians will always need an identity to be created so the public can make a connection with them, and then they will go and buy their music and promotional material . The way which it’s being viewed is constantly changing though. It’s becoming more 2D and cyber spacial than 3D. This is having a huge impact on the way which we design.

Jamie Reid is one of my favourite designers. In 1974 he was enlisted to help promote ‘The Sex Pistols’. All the promotional pieces had a DIY look to them to reflect the punk music. He used ransom lettering safety pins, screen printing and torn up photos and flags in his work. He rejected photos of the band as being cliché, this then meant that the public didn’t know what the band looked like. In the past the public had seen photos on albums as a way of visualising the band. But Reid changed this because it  didn’t suit the punk style. What he created was art that reflected the punk movement and the statement that the band was making. Articulating the ideas behind “The Sex Pistols” was much more intriguing and made them more of a public interest. The music was just horrible noise in my opinion, the main point of it was to get across the anti establishment lyrics and it didn't matter if it was good music or not, they just wanted to create a rebellion. This all stemmed from boredom, a sense of no hope, no future and frustration which was the whole mood of the UK at that time. The music and art work felt like it was being took out of the professionals hands and given back to the people, which is why it had a DIY look to it. 

Some of Jamie Reids work

Before Reid there was strict rules graphic designers always followed. Aesthetic qualities of communication were always in control. Designers like Jan Tischold tried to make the experience as simple and straightforward for the viewer as possible. However, their designs sometimes failed to grasp the attention of youth culture. It lacked visual appeal and never would have suited the punk movement. Everything was straight and clear cut. Reid’s work during the punk movement was made to shock and catch the people’s attention.

Some of Jan Tischolds work

The birth of the iPod was the beginning of the end to cover art. Oct 2001 was the unveiling of the iPod between then and 2003 sales were quite slow, but this could have been due to the fact that they only worked with Macs. Since 2004 sales increased and they became extremely popular. As of January 2008 140 Million iPod's were sold. In August 2008 designer Peter Saville suggested that the album cover was dead.

The iPod completely revolutionised the music industry. People began to be able to download music which cut out the hassle of having to buy a CD then upload it to the computer, to put onto the iPod. It’s simply just quicker and cheaper to download. The iPod lets you carry around a huge library of songs to choose from, giving you variety and freedom in the palm of your hand. It allows you to put in earphones and be closed out from the world. You can see the world but you no longer have to listen to it. But all this in turn has diminished the need for CD’s and cover art and it’s made the physical space of the visual art extremely small.

But what new digital forms will come from this? Cover art was pushed forward over time but now it’s going back to the smallest spaces... what will happen next? Could it become a cycle? Is there still the possibility that the style of creating CD’s with cover art will return in years to come? Or will we create some completely new virtual form in which to display it? Really we could just be waiting for the next Jamie Reid to come along and change the way which things are done!

In the words of Jamie Reid, “A lot of stuff is anaesthetised – that’s the nature of the beast, the way to cope with that is to move on to the next thing. Keep one step ahead all the time. It’s about tomorrow and don’t worry about it or It’ll do your head in! Just keep moving on.”