Sales of custom vinyl records increased by 14 percent over the previous year, with around 2.8 million units sold. This is a new record for vinyl sales since 1991, when the format had all but disappeared in the wake of the CD boom, according to a report released yesterday by Nielsen SoundScan. Unsurprisingly, the artists […]
Graphic Design
Graphic Designers: 5 Tips to Get to the Top
You love designing but you don’t want to stay in the same level 5 years from now. You do not want to be glued on your computer chair all your life working for the same kinds of people, on the same kinds of projects, at the same rate. You are simply ambitious and you have […]
Must-Read: The Art of the Album Cover
“How can something so square be so hip?” Designer Richard Evans, The Who’s in-house designer for 35 years, sets out to answer this question in the new illustrated history of the 12in album sleeve. In this glossy hardback, he provides a comprehensive overview of over 70 years of album covers. Evans recognizes that everything changed […]
Viral Marketing- the good,the bad, & the ugly
Viral marketing campaigns use mystery, fun, and often, deception to help create buzz for a new product. Sometimes such campaigns succeed; sometimes they backfire. Let’s take a look at these cases and try to see what they did right and wrong. Court TV “Hi Steven,” it began, cheerily enough. “Do I have your attention now? […]
Featured Designer: Chris Rubino
About Chris Rubino: Chris’s works have been exhibited in Europe, Japan, Hong Kong and the U.S. He recently has created designs & illustrations for such clients as The New York Times, Banana Republic & The NY Public Theater. Rubino’s work has been strongly influenced by his screen-printing background making limited edition posters for bands such […]
CD Packaging: Kanye Reveals 5 Alternate Album Covers
Do you remember Kanye West’s album art drama? That seems like very old news but apparently, the guy is still not over it (maybe not until Nov 22, the official album release date…). He used the CD Packaging ‘controversy’ to promote his physical albums and when the issue became boring and everyone began to put […]
DVD Packaging with HANDS
Horror films love hands in their movie posters and DVD artwork. Hands can show struggle, pain, anger, and desperation. And as we all know, hands are used to slice, chop, and strangle among others. Here are movie posters and DVD artwork that use HANDS. Of course, we’ll start with Psycho. _____________________________________________________________ Unified Manufacturing is a custom […]
Creative Concepts: Corporate Giveaways for The Kitchen Films, Spain
Here is a range of corporate identity and packaging materials for The Kitchen Films designed by ruiz+company, Spain. I just adore how clean it looks-black and white, one-dimensional, uncluttered. It reminds me of kindergarten coloring books. The best thing about the design is that it doesn’t use too much ink. I do not know “The […]
Music News: Dido Sued by Astronaut Album Cover Star
Bruce McCandless II, the first astronaut to make an untied or untethered ‘free flight’ in space, is suing Dido over the cover art for her 2008 album ‘Safe Trip Home’ for using his picture without permission. The cover shows McCandless ‘free flying’ in space, around 320 meters away from the cargo bay of the space […]
CD Packaging: 5 Catchy Album Cover Design Concepts
A kick-ass CD Packaging artwork has the ability to stop on our tracks and actually hold the CD to examine it closer. Then we say “hmmm…interesting”, examine it more, then buy it or put it back. But definitely when we get home, the band’s name sticks to our head…then we google it, maybe tweet about […]