MARI: Nonprofit Design Example

I chose the website of the American Heart Association because of its relation to my own topic for own current project.  My poster theme criticizes the presence of 'fake' and enhanced foods in society's diet and their negative effects on our health, calling forth individual responsibility to be learned of the things we put into out bodies.  Similarly, the American Heart Association recommends a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and healthy fatty acids and limit saturated fat.  A healthy diet is an informed diet.  The Association's website stands out in a very positive way - the use of bright and saturated colors gives the feeling of happiness, hope, and freedom.  These themes are even more evident in the 'happy' aura of the background - a bright blue sky above a luscious green expanse of grass.  A girl holding a heart-shaped balloon is even running across the grass.  The design is very effective in that it communicates a very free and airy atmosphere - one that promotes the freedom that comes with a healthy lifestyle.

Mari

Bailey Cause Poster

I found this poster for a social justice/climate camp and I thought the designer's use of Photoshop really makes this poster successful. The road signs make it clear what the big ideas/goals of the event are. The sky in the background directly relates to what the signs say, with the stormy sky on one side and a clear sky on the other side. The bike and small hiking sign also promotes the "green" message the poster is trying to convey.

Kayla's Environmental Poster

I chose a poster / magazine ad from the World Wildlife Fund. This image obviously has a more photographic quality with very limited text. I think the image really speaks for itself and gets the message of "stop global warming" across in a straight forward way, while appealing to the viewers emotions. I really like how the designer used photoshopped images, much like we will be doing for this project. 

Andrea's Non-Profit Design Example

I chose the World Wildlife Fund since I, like many others, have chosen an environmental theme for my poster. The WWF used the earthy tones of tan, dark brown, and green for their website. These main colors are accented with blue and orange. They used subtle textures. I think this is a very effective design for an environmental theme.

Allisons 2nd Cover

I chose this album cover because I love the textures that overlap the photograph. I love the simplicity and the rustic features of it. This band plays mostly worship music so the crown symbolizes more than just the name of their band. It has a deeper meaning to it. The picture makes you wonder what's the story behind this image. Most of their covers have this haziness to them, which adds interest and mystery.

Justin Orris, the cover that would not work!

I picked this album art because it only has one main image and the background is just a texture.

Linda's Album Cover.

I chose a Korean girl group, 2NE1's album cover. Although it is colorful and basic, it would not work with our assignment because it is too simple and doesn't express what kind of music they perform. Their type of music is hip-hop, but the album cover makes it seem like 80s music. The album cover also doesn't have much character, but pretty much just stating their group name.



Linda Lee

Kayla's Picture

Going through I realized my album cover art didn't show up so here it is again!

Bailey Second Album Cover

I chose the cover of Beirut's Gulag Orkestar album. I really like the photograph the designer used because it fits well with their style of music and shows a story. However, it wouldn't fit with our current assignment because it is a photograph and not an illustration. If Beirut's designer would have done something similar to the Lon Gistland album, it would have been very successful for this assignment.

DMB Central Park Concert

The album art for DMB's Central Park Concert wouldn't quite cut it for our assignment. It's a blurred photograph with text over the top; while it's visually appealing, it lacks editing through resolution and graphics.

Caitlin Whealon

Matthew's second album cover

For my second pick I chose Massive Attack’s third album Mezzanine.  One of my favorite albums. This would not work as our assignment because it is a photograph.   In general I am not really a fan of bugs but the contrast between the white and the black of this album cover is quite excellent. I also like the type going over the insects body/head.

Connor's one that wouldnt work

This is one album cover that would not work simply because of the use of a camera. Besides the fact that it wouldn't work for our current assignment, I thought it was an interesting album cover because of its relation to M.C. Eschers super-realistic work with graphite and such to the point that his work looked like it was a photo.

Carolina's second CD cover

This CD 'Weeknights' by the band Probcause has always been a favorite of mine, mostly because the photo is a familiar skyline and the colors give a great 'city nightlife' feel. This CD cover wouldn't work for our project because it seems to be an unedited and slightly low-res photo. Other than the embellishments in the lower lefthand corner and the title, there are no other additive elements. 

Terri's Second Album Cover

I chose this album cover from Angels and Airwaves because I think it is kind of interesting. But it definitely wouldn't work for our assignment. There really is only one object in the design (the guy floating from the 'o'). The rest of the design consists of a solid color (except for the reflecting light) and type. I do like the simplicity of the cover and how they incorporated their symbol of the A inside of the V.

Kim's second album cover

I choose Cobra Starship's album cover because I think it is visually intersting. I like the color combination and the fonts that were used. However, this cover would not qualify in our assignment because it is a photograph, not something edited or created in Illustrator. Also, the text is a main part of this design, whereas in our assignment text is not supposed to be used. I do think this design is successful in portraying the mood of the music.

Sarah's 2nd Album Cover

Try to look at this without laughing. After browsing through my iTunes album artwork in an attempt to find the most corny and awful cover, I was able to end my search relatively quickly in the B's with Bone Thugs 'n' Harmony's "Strength and Loyalty". I just couldn't resist. This approach obviously would not work for this assignment because, for one thing, it is made up of a photograph. Type is another huge part of the design (if you can call it a design) and we are not allowed to use type. The awful pairing of those fonts, along with the random Arabic? text in the background should probably be a crime.

Liz's second album cover

A album cover that I think will not be acceptable for this assignment is a album from the Fleet Foxes. I just feel that there is way too much going on in this cover, there are way more than just three discernable images. Although it isn’t a photograph, the images are to clustered and confusing, you’re eyes don’t really know what to focus on. If the album cover is trying to tell a story or depict a situation, I don’t see it. 

-Liz Qi

Sam's Second Album Cover

The album cover I chose is Matt Nathanson's "Some Mad Hope". I've always been drawn to this album cover because I think it is a very captivating photograph. I also find it interesting how almost the entire image is storm clouds and empty space, but it still draws in your attention. The muted stormy colors, and dull cityscape also reflects the message of the album well in my opinion.

Lizz's Second Album Cover

I chose this Belle & Sebastian album cover because it has always intrigued me. It's very simplistic - just a picture of a woman in a bathtub, presumable breastfeeding a tiger fish [or simply holding a stuffed animal. But it's that mystery of "what is she doing & why?" that always draws me to this cover, and a lot of B & S's covers. This doesn't fit the parameters for the project we're doing because it's photography, not an illustration, and there are not 3 distinct forms either.

_Lizz Feldt

Mari: Second Album Cover

I chose the cover of Death Cab for Cutie's Transatlaticism album because, for one, it is very unsettling.  The colors, though a bit bold in terms of chroma, together give off a very muted and simple feel.  The orange and the red act together to give the album warmth, but the starkness of the black crow throws you off.  You aren't really sure what to make of the meaning behind the image, other than that it irks you somehow.  While the cover art is successful, in that it provokes an emotion in the audience (one of our aims for our current assignment), it would not be appropriate for assignment. For one, its lacks three discernible objects.  And two, it borders on being photography, though the crow does show hints of being photoshop-tweaked.

Mari Mihai

Kayla's Second Album Cover

I chose Trevor Hall's album "This is Blue" because though it does have a playful and childish feel to it, it would not work well for our current assignment. There really are no real images present, all we see is a color scribble and some hand written text. It does convey some reminiscent feelings which I really like and it fits well with the album's content. 

Kayla Melbye

Andrea's Second Found Album Cover

 I think this cover is very successful due to its typography and the striking, yet simple, image of the egg. It relates to the title "A ghost is born," since we often relate white to ghosts and eggs to "born." However, if this was created for our class, it probably would not receive a passing grade. It is just an image of an egg that was probably photographed.

-Andrea McNett

Time has expired

Time has expired for the Week 1 blog entry.

Week 2: the theme is interesting, successful covers that would not be successful in the context of the Illustrator assignment 1. For instance, art directed photography would not work in this case. A cover that is solely text, or a single icon would not work either. This doesn't mean these concepts are without merit, and I challenge each of you to find at least one.

Megan Unrau

I posted the cover art from Kanye West's 808s and Heartbreak album.  I like the simplistic look of this cover, as well as the combination of cartoon (hands) and more realistic (heart balloon) images.  The images also relate well to the album title.

Bailey- Album Cover

I chose a classic blink-182 album cover. While it is minimalistic, it meets all of the requirements of this assignment. It communicates the album name (Take Off Your Pants and Jacket) with only three objects. The circles of the three objects tie into the three circles around the numbers in their name. The colors are also bold and grab your attention.

justin O: album cover

I put this up because of its insane detail, and its unique layout.

Mari: Album Cover

I chose the album cover of Madonna’s greatest hits CD Celebration primarily because it's so visually striking.  The bold colors just blobbed onto the 'canvas' give off a pop art effect that resemble the classic American image that many associate with the pop queen.  The cover is a mixture of maturity and impudence - the audacity of the different - which is what pop art is about.  The image of Madonna is almost like a cartoon - flat and comical (not in the funny sense).  But it is also very dramatic.  The colors (variations of the three primaries) contrast boldly and pop out.  They serve to add dimension to the flat sketch, and also to grab the attention of a hopeful customer or Madonna fan.  I found the cover striking and interesting, so in that effect the designer did his job.

Mari Mihai

Terri's Album cover

I picked this album cover because it's so unordinary. The white horse coming out of the black background is a very unexpected image. The horse's head becomes the focal point because of the value difference between the black and white. The head intersects with the band's name and the album name, so the eye moves from the horses ears, down and then across the title. I also think that the album name corresponds with the picture because the horse is out of place, which is what an outsider is.
Terri Ebert

Liz's Cover

I chose Gwen Stefani’s album cover because the elaborate array of colors immediately drew in my attention. It appears to be a photo that has been heavily Photoshopped. The final outcome presents a futuristic and glam look to the cover design. The detailed patterns and bold colors reflect not only Gwen’s music style, but her fashion style as well. I really like chrome-like appearance and the blurring of the shadows that is applied to figures. The cover has a gold, dark, and pastel oriented color scheme.
-Liz Qi

Lizz's Album Cover

Hey all! I chose Thom Yorke's "The Eraser" for my album cover. I love the simplicity of the colors and composition used on the cover - just red, black, and white can make a big impact. But the design also seems complex, with the hash marks and swooping lines moving across the picture plane. The image just draws you in, and makes you want to open the case to see if the drawing continues inside. 

_Lizz Feldt

Connor's Crazy Cool Cover!

So I chose Vampire Weekends first album that is simply named "Vampire Weekend." The main reason that I enjoy this album cover so much is because I believe that it accurately reflects the content of the bands work on this album and also ties into their climb to where their careers as musicians (As this was taken at a venue that they performed early in their careers). The majority of the songs on the album use a wide array of instruments that are common in classical music, which leads me to the connection with the chandelier. It seems like a victorian slash classy lifestyle. And I trust that I am not the only one that has this opinion of the light fixture. However, as I am in a frat here at the U I can tell you that this chandelier is attached to the ceiling of the same frat that I am in but at Hamilton College... So the Chandelier is probably made of plastic or is no more because of some drunk frat boy that decided it would be fun to hang from it. So even though this doesn't have anything to do with its aesthetic or utilitarian aspects of the album cover, its kind of cool!  In addition to the mess above, the music that Vampire Weekend has produced on this album is very light and friendly. I think the orangey filter used was a good fit for this characteristic of the band and their music in that its a very pleasing and "easy on the eye" sort of appearance. Have a great day! 

Caitlin's Cover

I chose this album cover not only because of its simple illustration but also because of the chosen color scheme. The combination evokes a warm, calm feeling that reflects the music. The watercolor background with the drawing over it draws the eye to the corner of the album making the artwork intriguing and easy on the eye. Simplistic, but still thoughtful.

Caitlin Whealon

Sam's Album Cover

The album cover I chose is the Kid Cudi, Man on the Moon album. Although I'm not really a fan of Kid Cudi, I thought this album cover was really cool. I like the water color/sketch effect that creates his profile and the colors that are used.

The Weepies

This is the album cover for 'Say I Am You' by the Weepies. I like this one due to the simplicity--I'm a fan of the stark color blocks and how, because they are near complements, the eye is drawn to the little white birds. Verrry Niicccee.

Carolina Gwinn

Kim's Album Cover

I chose 3Oh!3's album cover because it immediately drew me in with the variety of shapes. There are very straight lines in conjunction with soft lines and circular shapes. The variety is successful, even though there is little detail in the overall design. The color choice is good because it uses achromatic hues that are pleasing to the eye. The font is bold, which is reflected in the music (it is extremely bold).

-Kim Stabenow

Matthew's Album Cover

I chose Burial's second album Untrue.  There is something about this illustration that really draws me in.   This person seems to be in deep thought and or brooding about something.   I think if a lot of color was used, it wouldn't convey the same kind of message.  At least that is my take on it.

Allison's Album Cover

There were so many neat album covers and my favorites were the ones of a simple photograph, but since our project needed to be illustrated I chose this one to share. I enjoy this one because it makes you feel something. The mixtures of colors and textures can be interpreted differently, which I think creates a mysterious feeling. I also thing the album title fits this image perfectly.

Sarah's Album Cover

I chose Animal Collective's "Merriweather Post Pavilion" for my album.  I had a hard time just picking one album cover, there are a lot of good ones out there (but also quite a few lame ones).  I chose this one because of its crazy pattern that creates a look of actual movement, but also because of its simplicity and basic color palette. I also tried to find one that didn't have text dominating the whole design, as well as one that didn't include photography.

Andrea's Found Album Cover

This is the album cover for "High Violet," a new album by The National. While I didn't actually end up liking the album all that much, I was really drawn to the cover. I think it's an excellent example of "making order out of chaos," which is a theme in the band's music. The National is a band that is known for their lyrics, so I think it was a good decision to make words a central element of this design.

-Andrea McNett

Album Cover

           

Hey everyone,
I chose two different album covers I really like by the band Chevelle. I love the lighting and how abstract they both look.

Kayla Melbye

Syllabus word cloud

Just in case you haven't had enough syllabi this week, here's a word cloud of your 2334 syllabus. Not related to the album art, but still interesting.

Hello.

This will serve as our class blog for GDES 2334.

This week, each student will find a post an interesting album cover illustration.

Make sure to put your name in the post, so you can receive credit.