Research.
When looking into the world of punk music and more specifically punk vinyl covers I decided to create a mood board to show how I was going to try to approach this project. I was definitely more drawn to the chaotic, messy vinyl covers as I feel they have the most thrown together, chaotic, home made and messy “Punk” feeling.
Punk music was most popular during the 1970’s and often carried a strong political statement. Many punk bands (such as the Sex Pistols) produced songs that conveyed their discontent with the government or different laws/political figures. Punks were seen as the rebels and outcasts- in particular this appealed to the teens of the 70’s/80’s. Often the lyrics and messages in the songs wee used to shock people and start a conversation about issues at the time. This includes controversial views on religion (PiL- Religion, 1978); political figures (Dead Kennedy’s – Calirornia Uber Alles, 1978) and stereotypes (The Slits- Typical Girls, 1979).
Creating My Own Punk Vinyl Cover.
When assigned this task i had many songs in mind however, i felt i could translate “The Smiths” songs best as I am familiar with their album covers. I felt that the song “The Queen is Dead” would work best with collage and black and white highlights. With this in mind I created a mind map and decided to experiment with some other songs that i felt I could translate into an album cover.
Mind Map Of Ideas.
To begin I tried to make my own version of “The Smiths” song in their album cover style. This usually included images that were monochrome/ had minimalist use of color. I used my own photography which I edited and put text – similar to what “The Smiths” use on some of their album covers for example “Asleep (2011 Remastered)”
Examples of album covers created digitally (using photography and editing)
Next I moved on to collage as I feel it will work best when finalizing my album cover. I started using pen and drawing ink along with layering the paper to achieve different looks and feels.
An example of paper layering I used while experimenting.
Collage Examples (Black and White vs. Color)
Above are two examples of my collage experimentation. although the black and white version is unfinished i feel the overall black and white effect is much more powerful than the color – I feel it would work especially well with the boldness of the title over the top which would draw the consumer into the cover.
Another Example Of Collage With Drawing Ink (Unfinished)
When finished this piece will include song lyrics (made from the collaged letters effect the same as the title) as well as an image painted in the middle using red and black acrylic. This example will be an example of “The Queen is Dead” by The Smiths. I felt the newspaper worked well in this design as if it was a headline announcing that the queen is actually dead.
Experimental study of paint and ink
Experimental study of collage sing tissue paper magazines and acrylic paint
Ink 1
Ink 2
Ink 3
Throughout my final vinyl cover ink plays a large roll. On both the interior and exterior i used ink and mark making tools i had used previously to create a chaotic punk cover.
Beginning the collage…
When starting the collage i began with the back as i knew what elements i wanted to include ( this includes the yellow elements and the stag. I felt the animals i included were relevant as the smiths were known for their vegetarianism and if they were a punk band i feel that it would have been an idea they pushed further through their music and making a statement.
Make it punk…
I felt the back wasn’t chaotic enough to feel as if it was punk so i continued to add lyrics and acrylic details.
The front cover.
With the front i used the same methods of ink, collage and acrylic. However, I feel this hasn’t worked as well as the back as the title doesn’t stand out as I had hoped. I will continue to work on this and try to improve to overall look. Although, i also feel like the chaos could be a marketing technique to draw people in as they have to get close to see what it is. I like the idea that someone walking past stops to think “What is that?” and then they would pick it up to look closer. I definitely think that the chaos adds to the punk feel.
The interior.
Inside has an ink blotch pattern (shown in the ink pictures above).
Vinyl Disc Label
Overall, I feel my vinyl cover definitely resembled the chaotic punk aesthetic. If i were to redo the front cover I wouldn’t have added as many elements so that the title could have been conveyed clearly. My favorite part about the overall design is definitely the ink splatters on the inside and shown throughout. I also like the matches as i feel they really add to the chaotic, punk aesthetic I was aiming for.