Tagged: music

Week 2: Music Graphics Task

The piece of music-related graphic design I have chosen is the album cover of the 2014 Off-Broadway (later National Tour and Broadway) musical, The Lightning Thief, based on the 2005 book, ‘Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief’ by Rick Riordan. The album was released in 2017 for the rebranding and rewriting of the musical, using the same design they had been previously using for the marketing materials and posters. The poster depicts a lightning bolt which has been spray-painted over a blue background. There are white circles spray-painted as well, which seem to resemble clouds, and provide another contrast for the blue and yellow, but also make the title of the musical considerably easier to read, as the text is in the same colour as the background. The title is very easy to read, as it is in what appears to be Arial Bold or a similar typeface, and it is fully capitalised, so it grabs your attention. The limited colour scheme works very well, as it is eye-catching, and the colours interact well with each other. The spray paint may be used to suggest youth, which is appropriate as the musical is aimed at younger audiences (but is suitable for all ages). The lightning bolt design is, as the title suggests, an incredibly important motif, so it works very well as the icon for the poster and materials, as it gives an idea about the theme of the story, as well as looking very interesting. It is a contemporary design and definitely gives off a modern impression, and the CDs and vinyl records stand out because of this intriguing cover design. The design is simple but recognisable to fans of Broadway musicals, as many musicals prefer to use a basic or minimalist approach to their posters or marketing materials.

 

(300 words)