Essy with Footnotes

An Investigation Into How Graphic Design Can Aid The Communication of a Theme Within The Context of a Concept Album Michael Nunn Introduction: In this research proposal I will be studying the visual identity that can be created for bands to market their music through the use of graphic design. I will be focussing, but not limiting, my research to the designers and artists that have created work for bands and musicians that produce concept albums. My research will focus on the designers behind musicians that create a conceptual narrative through music and I aim to explore the lengths to which designers can aid these types of albums with a strong visual identity. I want to see how far you can push the limits of what is expected of a band’s image in order to tell the story and whether there is a limit. It is my belief that by researching the methods used by artists and graphic designers, useful information can be extracted from it that will apply to other genres of music and the mindset behind its design will be very similar regardless of the visual output. I shall propose a short manifesto, based on my research, that will communicate ways in which designers can create a visual identity for a band or musical artist. In this I aim to explore the ways in which a graphic designer can use the visual cues of the musician’s genre to their advantage, whilst avoiding certain cliches that can damage or miscommunicate the intentions of a band or musician’s visual identity. I will take into account the temporal aspects associated with releasing music in this day and age by acknowledging the changes in the way that we buy, listen to and consume music over the past few decades compared to this modern era. I shall then evaluate the effectiveness of my manifesto by using the principles I establish to brand a relevant band with an appropriate visual identity and produce a physical product in keeping with the visual cues of my chosen band’s genre, whilst avoiding misrepresentation through the use of cliches I will have established through research. Through this I aim to position myself within the world of a designer who specialises in working with bands to create strong and marketable visual identities. I will do this through focussing on artists who have been successful in accruing a career creating cover art and accompanying band branding art throughout the ages. Throughout this essay I will refer to both musical artists and graphic designers. To avoid confusion, henceforth when I state “Musician” I am referring to musical artists, bands or clients that are being branded and I will be using “Designer” to refer to graphic designers, visual artists or other creative directors that produce visuals and whose work I will be predominately studying. Nick Hayes and Woody Guthrie: A concept album is defined as “an album that has a unifying theme or that tells a single story”. 1 However, this meaning has become quite subjective; some saying it must contain 1 Collins 2018, Definition of 'concept album’, accessed 20 April 2018, <https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/concept-album> a narrative, whilst others argue it only needs a theme to be a concept album.2 Both can be enhanced by clear visual identities. These visual trends have changed over the years, but there are consistencies in the approach to designing a concept album, rather than any other commercial release. I will be researching this by looking back at the origins of concept albums and seeing how they have evolved into modern thematic releases. One of the pioneers of the concept album was Woody Guthrie and his album Dust Bowl Ballads. Released in 1940, it told stories of economic hardships based on fictional characters inspired by Woody’s own life and the people he had met.3 Whilst this was one of the first concept albums, its visual identity barely existed beyond a grainy photograph of a house’s silhouette and some fairly appropriate fonts heading the album cover. I believe that Dust Bowl Ballad’s real value is in its influence; it paved the way for other musicians, such as Bob Dylan and Frank Sinatra, to tell stories through their music 4, but furthermore, it opened a door for designers to have their input. Woody Guthrie - Dust Bowl Ballads (1940) 5 2 Sturges, F 2009, ‘The return of concept album’, Independent, 1 October, accessed 21 April 2018, <https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/the-return-of-concept- album-1796064.html> 3 Wikipedia 2018, Dust Bowl Ballads, accessed 20 April 2018, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Dust_Bowl_Ballads> 4 Sturges, F 2009, ‘The return of concept album’, Independent, 1 October, accessed 21 April 2018, <https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/the-return-of-concept- album-1796064.html> 5 Wikipedia 2018, Dust Bowl Ballads, accessed 20 April 2018, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Dust_Bowl_Ballads> Nick Hayes is a cartoonist who saw Woody Guthrie’s song based tales as a chance to create something more in depth and further the original work’s inspirational and creative reach in a new way; a graphic novel.6 Hayes’ illustrated novel titled The Dust Bowl Ballads not only told the story of Woody, but actually gave a much wider understanding of the environment in which these songs came about, in a visual and creative way. Woody Guthrie And The Dust Bowl Ballads - A Graphic Novel By Nick Hayes (2014) 7 Whilst this was a retrospective expansion of an older story, it does speak volumes for the relevance of how 21st century mindsets allow us to reimagine stories and keep their messages relevant. Dust Bowl Ballads speaks a lot about the socio-political climate of the great depression in America and through this album, revitalised by Nick Hayes’ creative output, the resilient narrative can be revived and used to reflect on how things have changed in this era. 6 Cape, J 2014, ‘“This machine kills fascists”: Nick Hayes’ Woody Guthrie, the Dustbowl Ballads’, The Woolamaloo Gazette, 1 November, accessed 19 April 2018, <http://www.woolamaloo.org.uk/? tag=woody-guthrie-the-dustbowl-ballads> 7 Cape, J 2014, ‘“This machine kills fascists”: Nick Hayes’ Woody Guthrie, the Dustbowl Ballads’, The Woolamaloo Gazette, 1 November, accessed 19 April 2018, <http://www.woolamaloo.org.uk/? tag=woody-guthrie-the-dustbowl-ballads> Woody Guthrie And The Dust Bowl Ballads A Graphic Novel By Nick Hayes (2014) 8 Storm Thorgerson and Pink Floyd: Pink Floyd - The Division Bell (artwork by Storm Thorgerson, 1994) 9 8 Cape, J 2014, ‘“This machine kills fascists”: Nick Hayes’ Woody Guthrie, the Dustbowl Ballads’, The Woolamaloo Gazette, 1 November, accessed 19 April 2018, <http://www.woolamaloo.org.uk/? tag=woody-guthrie-the-dustbowl-ballads> 9 Thorgerson, S 1995, The Division Bell, Accessed 20 April 2018, <http:// www.stormstudiosdesign.com> One of the most notable figures of the album artwork world is Storm Thorgerson, considered by many as one of the best album designers in the world. What interests me most about his work is his approach to it. When describing his thought process when working with a band he said: "I listen to the music, read the lyrics, speak to the musicians as much as possible. I see myself as a kind of translator, translating an audio event – the music – into a visual event – the cover. I like to explore ambiguity and contradiction, to be upsetting but gently so. I use real elements in unreal ways.” 10 Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon (artwork and variations by Storm Thorgerson, 1973) 11 Whilst much of his artwork is very abstract and often surrealist, it appears to come from a place of understanding the work he is representing. I believe this is the key to his success; the more you understand about the band you’re representing, the more relevant the artwork can become without limiting the creativity. “it related mostly to a light show. They hadn’t really celebrated their light show. That was one thing. The other thing was the triangle. I think the triangle, which is a symbol of thought and ambition, was very much a subject of Roger’s lyrics. So the triangle was a 10 Sweeting, A 2013, ’Storm Thorgerson obituary’, The Guardian, 18 April, accessed 21 April 2018, <https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/apr/18/storm-thorgerson-dies-69-designer-of- album-covers-for-pink-floyd> 11 Thorgerson, S 1973, Dark Side Of The Moon, accessed 21 April 2018, <http:// www.stormstudiosdesign.com> very a useful – as we know, obviously – was a very useful icon to deploy and making it into the prism – you know, the prism belonged to the Floyd.” 12 In the case of Dark Side of the Moon, arguably his best and most recognisable piece, it came from a lateral thought process. He was able to use this, seemingly unrelated, object and apply an open sense of meaning to it; it is recognisable and iconic, but it came from a place of context from Storm getting to know the band and being active in taking it to new places. “Thorgerson showed Powell a black-and-white photograph of a prism with a color beam projected through it — an image he’d also noticed in a physics textbook.” 13 Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon (artwork by Storm Thorgerson, 1973) 14 I believe it is important to acknowledge in this instance that simply depicting elements of the story in a literal way isn’t always the best use of cover art; it is a platform for creativity that should serve the purpose of expanding the listener’s immersion in a visual way.

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