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Album Cover Redesign: Chosen Design

I think this version is the perfect final design. It’s a good balance between the neons that were not going to print well and the orange version that I felt was too vibrant. I chose to use white font as I felt it was the most eligible and ties in well with the colour scheme. I highlighted Nico by using a pale yellow font to emphasise the way she is an addition to the band. I chose to use the font “Impact” as I felt it fit the band well and the layout of my design.

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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.

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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.

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Album Cover Redesign: Edited Images

On Tuesday I used Photoshop to edit my images and tying out different colours. I spent a lot of time just playing around with the settings on photoshop and made many variations. I’m not sure which edited photo I am going to use for my final design but I think I will experiment with multiple backrounds.

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Album Cover Inspiration

When coming up with my final idea I wanted to look at other album covers that use a main backround or pattern and add typography on top of it. I quite like the simplicity of these covers and I feel as though they convey the vibe of the album well.

I found covers like this from artists like alt-J, Wallows, Mazzy Star, The Strokes, Billie Eilish and The Cure.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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Textures around Limerick

Some textures I took pictures of while on our visit to Tom Collins studio.

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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.

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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.

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Artist Research

As I am looking into using more of a scientific approach and pattern I wanted to look at some artists that explore that side of art. One artist I discovered was Fabian Oefner who is a Swiss artist. Using scientific properties Oefner brings attention to the beauty of the natural world.

I love his use of natural materials and the simplicity of his pieces. I want to bring this scientific and natural side to my album cover.

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Album Cover Redesign: Developed Thumbnails

On Monday we had a crit to help narrow down our ideas. From the feedback I received the previous week I really leaned into the drugs theme. Taking inspiration from my moodboard I used a lot of red and black for these pieces.

The feedback I recieved was very helpful. I think I am quite close to my final idea but I want to lean a little bit more scientific and less of being so literal about the blood and drugs.

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Album Cover Redesign: Digital Moodboard

On Thursday I took the time to make a digital moodboard using my phone. I kept the red theme and a lot of femme fatale elements. I also kept using black as white as I really like the way they fit together. I took some of these myself and some have carried from my analogue moodboard.

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Introduction to InDesign

On Tuesday afternoon we were introduced to Indesign by Meave. We learned how to properly proportion a page and then all the essential tools needed to create using the program. We then had a step by step tutorial on brining in images and editing them in the way we needed them. I found this really helpful and enjoyed having a play with the software.

I also used this time to have a look at some fonts I felt fit "The Velvet Underground" vibe.

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Album Cover Redesign: Collage

On Tuesday we created a collage based on our album especially with our moodboards from the day before in mind. Initially I attempted to create a cigarette image from the magazine cut outs but I did not feel it was right.

I continued messing around and landed on a solid collage. I continued using red and added some shapes similar to cigarette filters. I used typography to lift the collage and I am really happy with the outcome.