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Home , Actually, Age Of, Album, Album cover, A Woman and a Man, Band (rock and pop)

Music Cover Design in the Digital Age

A submitted to the Graduate School

of the of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Design

in the Myron E. Ullman Jr. School of Design

College of Design, Architecture, and Planning by

Stephanie Jackson

The Art of Cincinnati

Committee Chair Renee Seward

7/15/2019

iv ABSTRACT

The digital age has affected the whole industry and has become a

part of cultural . industry has continued to transform

over and are currently in a major shift due to technology and digital

music. There are many aspects that can be evaluated, however, this thesis

will investigate music cover design.

Through the design of music album , designers help brand

and the cover introduce musicians name, the album name and set the tone for the listeners. Music listeners are now mostly seeing music covers as small icons they see any music covers at all. Currently, people aren’t getting to cover design as they did in the past, therefore, they’re losing the story aspect of album visuals. The question being asked: Are graphic design principles still being applied in digital design to create a visual ?

vi This thesis analyzed what graphic design principles a role in the visual narrative that is seen on music cover design. Research methods conducted were surveying, card sorting, era mapping, narrowing down of music and album cover analysis to gain insights. The study will determine if music cover design still conveys a visual narrative, is still important, and relevant in the digital age.

vii All Rights Reserved by Stephanie Jackson © 2019

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First, would like to thank my daughter for being my biggest inspiration.

Adriana Jackson, everything is for my daughter including returning to school. Also, Adriana has helped teach me to not , to be brave and to take a risk. I would like to thank my mother Bernetta Jackson for always being there for me and always being my biggest fan. When I felt overwhelmed and felt like giving my mother was right there encouraging me with positive words while motivating me to keep pushing forward. I would like to thank my father Steven Peterson for always being there for me as well and always putting things into a logical perspective. My parents helped me out so much while being in school, especially helping me with my daughter. They would take my daughter to and from school and babysit her with no hesitation while I was in school. They will never know how much I appreciate them. Thank to my professors, Professor Dennis Puhalla,

Professor Matt Wizinsky, and Professor Yoshiko Burke and the rest of the professors I’ve had while on this journey through the masters’ program. A special thank you to Professor Renee Seward who was not only my Thesis

viii chair but my mentor. Thank you for always letting me vent to you. You were always very personable and always had the right things to say. Your knowledge, expertise, and passion of the field of design were always inspiring. Lastly, thank you to Craig Vogel for believing in me and accepting me into your of Design Program at the University of Cincinnati.

ix TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS viiii

TABLE OF CONTENTS x

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION Error! Bookmark not defined.1

CHAPTER 2. REVIEW 9

CHAPTER 3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 21

CHAPTER 4. METHODOLOGY 25

CHAPTER 5. RESULTS 28

CHAPTER 6. CONCLUSION 81

BIBLIOGRAPHY 84

APPENDIX 87

GLOSSARY 94

x Chapter 1. Introduction

This thesis is an investigation of the cultural, visual and communication form of album design by identifying that there has been a significant changes and evolution due to the digital era. Technology is always changing and affecting different aspects of the such as live music, , how it’s produced, the way music is bought, and so much . It’s especially has changed the way we interact and listen to music. Currently, music streaming, , augmented and virtual reality technology has influenced the way that musicians can share and distribute music and interact with their fans. Music streaming applications such as and

Pandora continue to evolve as personalized listening for music listeners. Music streaming platforms became a popular platform due to its user’s ability to customize the music that they hear or skip that they may dislike. Being able to customize music has increased the use of music streaming applications and decreased the number of people who listen to stations.

1 However, digital music is changing the way we see music cover album design. Prior to 2003 when digital music stores were created, album introduced the brand of the artist as well as telling a visual narrative of what the listener can expect to hear. For example, as seen in figure 1, the

Beatles album, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely-Hearts Club (1967) which album consisted of an album cover designs that is iconic because it’s wildly recognized, of the first concept that used a modern art aesthetic and may evoke certain people.

Figure 1. Beatles album, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely-Hearts Club Band

Album cover design helps to aid the musicians with developing a visual narrative of their music. A visual narrative is told primarily by using

2 graphics, illustration, typography and or photography. Album art

communicates meaning so that it can make first impressions, therefore the

viewer is able to make certain interpretations and determine if there is a

concept theme or message.

The current view of album cover design is mostly seen as a small thumbnail

on music downloads or music streaming applications.

between music and design has always been evident due to both being

within the creative realm. One of the tasks that graphic designers have is to

create visuals that transmit information with the aim of .

“Storytelling is the art of not simply conceiving the story, but also

communicating that story in the most effective, most evocative ways

possible through myriad mediums” (Sheinkop E. 2016) Album visuals combined with the music itself tells the whole story of the musicians. More specifically, when music listeners want to purchase music, usually the first thing they see is the music album cover. Music album cover consists of visual such as typography, graphics in terms of created by use of computer, photography, or a combination of the three.

3 The goal of a graphic designer is to communicate information in an effectively and efficiently way by using design elements and principles. The visuals that are presented to the viewer should convey a certain meaning or message with the use of a hierarchy of visual information. Graphic designers develop an effective visual language to create a message

through

Figure 1.1 – Graphic Design Elements, Designed by Stephanie Jackson

4 type, space, and colors that carry certain meanings. “Visual communication

combines , written language, and imagery into messages that are

aesthetically pleasing, connect with the on intellectual and

emotional levels, and provide them with pertinent information.” (Hembree,

2008) When creating album cover designs, graphic designers should focus

on visual thinking. Visual thinking, from a design standpoint, is designing

information using design principles and elements, as seen in figures 1.1 and

1.2, in a way that helps the viewer’s thinking process. “It is important that the sender of a message and the receiver speak the same visual language—in this manner, the designer acts as the interpreter and translator of messages.” (Hembree,2008) Nonetheless, when graphic designers are designing album covers, visual thinking is very important for

communicating ideas effectively which is used to create a visual narrative.

5 Figure 1.2 – Graphic Design Principles, Designed by Stephanie Jackson

Album cover design is not only important because it introduces a ’s new music but also because as part of a marketing kit to promote a musician’s brand. When a musician comes out with new music, the album

6 covers match those of the musicians’ poster, merchandise and

designs. Considering this, album covers may not seem as important

in the digital age but from a marketing standpoint, they work within the musicians marketing strategy. In the digital age, album design works as a marketing campaign. With a music marketing kit, using the same design style as the album design, the consistency keeps their audience engaged and interested. Before the digital era, an album introduced the tone of the artist. usually the first imagery that music listeners have seen.

Currently, album covers aren’t always the first product being seen, it could be imagery on social media platforms or other forms of merchandise. Even though this is now the case, the album design is still an important part of music marketing because it works as a major component.

For the intent of this research, the content will focus on how digital music has affected music album cover design by investigating its evolution. More

specifically, an investigation will be done to evaluate album

covers from before the digital music age to the present-day albums of 2018.

The evaluation will consist of evaluating what was done in the past and what

7 is being done now. With music cover design being mostly seen as small icons, are visual within the design important to the consumer?

8 Chapter 2. Literature Review

The purpose of this background information is to define, compare, contrast, evaluate and reflect on the topic of album cover art. Scholarly articles will be synthesized to find different themes and relevance in terms of visual narratives within album art. The writing will focus on thematic literature dealing with both albums cover artwork, visual narratives, and graphic design principles that define what makes an effective album cover in terms of visual storytelling and what design aesthetics make a weak album cover.

This review will include writings that examine album art past trends to current trends of album art with consideration of digital music.

2.1 Album art is increasingly shrinking, By David Browne

The main argument of this article is that album art is inevitably shrinking due to the digital age. A reoccurring theme in this article is that album art continues to become simpler and less detail because it’s mostly seen as a digital button and or icon. A part of his argument is that elaborate album covers will not survive as an art form and will increasingly become minimalistic designs. As seen in figure 2, the literature gave excellent

9 imagery examples of their argument of the simplicity of current album artwork compared to what was done in the past by showing images of 2 album covers by the same band. The album that was done in the past had great attention to detail, thought out ideation, design principles among the

graphics that could be symbolic of the music. The newer album cover art

was designed to be more minimalistic and simpler. “Album covers appear

to be growing simpler and less detailed than those in the past. The evolution

reflects the way in which more and more fans will be staring at covers on

their , iPads and other mobile devices, on which record jackets

are now roughly the size of a postage stamp.” (Brown, 2011) This relates to

the study since it does seem as though the digital age and increased use of

streaming applications have made album design aesthetics simpler,

therefore, making an ineffective visual narrative. A part of the research

hypothesis is that the more minimalistic designs are being created causing

less of a visual narrative which then causes the visual narrative to be less

important than it was in the past.

10

Figure 2. Hot Chili Peppers' coming album “I'm With You,” left, is far simpler than the one for 's “Blood Sugar Magik” from 1991, right.

The writer used this example in a very effective way because it proves his argument that in the past, album covers were their own art form, however, the current album cover is more of a pictographic element. On the other side of , the writer explains that there are still ways to view album cover art in a larger format rather than a small icon. Streaming applications such as iTunes has an option for listeners to view album artwork. “Designers point to a few hopeful signs for the survival of elaborate album covers. On the iTunes LP section of Apple’s online iTunes Store, fans can view album artwork in something to CD-format size. Thanks to the revival of vinyl, many new releases are available in limited-edition LP versions, restoring

11 covers to their former glory.” (Browne, 2011) With the author giving two sides of the argument, this gives them creditability because they are stating the objective to his argument in a way that shows that their ideation is still relevant because it outweighs the dominant argument.

2.2 Technology is changing the way album covers are designed, by

Kelsey McKinney

The main concept of this literature is the idea of album cover art being less important due to the digital age. After evaluating this writing, it is evident that there is a theme surrounding small icons. In this article, album art becoming just a small icon is the main topic. Adversely, this article takes an interesting turn by examining the other side of the argument that states that digital album art isn’t a bad thing. The writer argues that even though albums are now a small icon, they still work as a type of campaign for the band and apart of the bands branding identity. “the album cover is becoming just one element of a larger branding and marketing campaign, and not necessarily the image the campaign circulates around... Though the album cover has become just one graphic in a series of many competing images, it still plays a very important, communicative role.” (Mckinney, 2017) The

12 ideation that digital art isn’t a bad thing goes along with the belief that album art is still an important design form. If the evolution is inevitable, album cover designs must be able to adapt to its most used format. Designers should be able to convey an aesthetically pleasing design that captivates the viewers, regards of its format.

2.3 Type, Image, and Message: A Graphic Design Layout Workshop, by

Nancy Skolos

The focus of this publication is to create a guide for graphic designers to create poster designs by using different design methods to create specific messages. The following figures are some of the different techniques that can help aid and or convey a certain message or narrative. Even though these design principles were made targeting Poster design,

13 Figure 2.1 – Fragmentation to rely a message / Information of Nancy Skolos, Designed by Stephanie Jackson

14 Figure 2.2 – Fusion to rely a message / Information of Nancy Skolos, Designed by Stephanie Jackson

15 these principles could be used for many different applications. It relates to the research being conducted because it explores different techniques that graphic designs can entail to communicate effectively. As seen in figures

2.1 to 2.3, the literature gives straight forward guide on how to create purposeful meaning with graphics.

16 Figure 2.3 – Separation to rely a message / Information of Nancy Skolos, Designed by Stephanie Jackson

17 Overall, the was very insightful by describing the different formats of

combining type, image and graphics to play a role in the design message.

This literature was important due to its ideation of different principles convey

a certain meaning or message. This thought process could be used in

album cover design to create a visual narrative. If there is a visual narrative

created by design principles, there is an effective design which is still

important for current album cover design.

2.4 CD-Art: Innovation of CD Packaging Design by Charlotte Rivers

This literature is based on the importance of Album cover during advances

in technology. It consists of interviews with graphic designers who have

dealt with designing album cover designs. Also, it touches on the complication that designers face with creating album covers due to the digital music age. One of the main arguments of the book is that even though music is digital a lot of people still having something they can have physically.

A part of the literature that was interesting was the interview of Stefan

Sagmeister. He states that he became a graphic designer to specifically

18 design album cover art. An example of one of Sagmeisters album cover

designs can be seen in figure 2.4. Sagmeister explains that when he first

creating album cover designs that he was interested in creating an

emotional connection to an audience. He believes that most musicians that have a strong graphic presence usually come from the pre- era.

Figure 2.4 Bridges to Babylon - Created by Sagmeister

19

When discussing design album covers now compared to the past,

Sagemeister states, “Because of the need for the image to work very small on various online platforms, the design something simple and powerful obliterated any of detail and storytelling.” (Rivers, 2003) of deluxe edition packaging for music made an appearance so people could still have something physically not just a digital music file.

Designing an album cover with the idea of creating an emotional connection relates to designing with consideration of a visual narrative. The main topic that coincides with the belief that in the digital age means creating simpler album designs is creating for all my music platforms which eliminates the visual narrative, therefore, consumers are losing that emotional connection.

20 Chapter 3. Theoretical Framework

The relationship between music listeners and album cover designs are

important. The aesthetics of album cover design are more important than

ever because it works as a part of the musicians marketing tool. It works the

same way as a successful logo for a company. A brand logo should tell a

certain story and if it lacks a story through design, the logo is weak. Music

album design works the same way. If it lacks a story, the aesthetics of the

album cover design is weak.

With the increasing use of music streaming applications, comes the

decreased use of physical music such as CDs. Considering this, music

listeners are only seeing a small icon to represent the album cover if they

see an icon at all. There is less of an association between the music and

the music album cover design. Album covers don’t seem as important because the digital era has lowered its importance by way of decreasing its

scale.

Simplicity in the power of communication has forced the designs of music

to be simpler to work on smaller digital formats. Unfortunately, today the

21 visual language within music album covers are disappearing. Figure 3

visually summarizes the main idea of the hypothesis.

Figure 3. Diagram of Hypothesis

Along with the lack of a visual language, the visual narrative is quickly vesting due to the digital music. The design work aspect of album

design is getting lost with the use of streaming applications and digital

downloads. The listener is only getting some of the stories and not the whole

frame with only seeing a small icon of album design.

When research on the history and progression of album design,

it was evident that literature lacks research. It was difficult to find scholarly

articles on the topic of visual narrative within an album cover design.

22 However, what is known is that there is usually an icon or type of visual to associate a musician with a single or whole album. The current problem of album cover art losing its visual narratives due to digital music has made the opportunity to explore what exactly makes a good visual narrative for album cover art with the increased use of digital music. Is there still a way to capture a musician’s brand and storytelling with music album cover designs being small icons? Is there a way to effectively communicate musical artist visuals as a graphic designer knowing that the design is for a small scale?

The perspective of this research is from a graphic designer standpoint to develop techniques and gather a taxonomy of certain design principles to effectively create album art that is more than just the artist name, album name, or song title. Is there a way for album cover art to be minimalistic and simplistic while creating a visual narrative to frame the contents of the album? What graphic design principles are being deployed in visual narratives for digital album cover art and where are the opportunities for inputting design elements within a small frame? The challenges of this research project are that there is a lack of literature in terms of album design

23 work. A lot of the articles on the topic of album cover design were opinions and not driven by research. Another challenge that will need to be determined is if there is, in fact, a design aesthetic and or style of alternative in terms of branding or is the design aesthetic or style mostly based on the specific musician or band.

24 Chapter 4. Methodology

To answer the proposed design research question, different design methods will be used to gain insights into visual narratives of an album cover. The methods being explained are Album Cover survey Eras Mapping, Narrowing down the Focus, Album Analysis, and Card Sorting.

Method 1: Album Cover Survey

The survey is a tool to gain opinions and trends of Music listeners. It’s to gain insights on how the general population feels about music album covers. The survey will be conducted with at least 35 different individuals within different demographics.

Method 2: Eras Mapping

Eras mapping are tools to visualize the historical perspective of album cover art. The map will identify key characteristics and milestones in the realm of album cover design. Also, the map will show how album art has evolved and changed over time. This is not set to a specific to, therefore, gain knowledge of the traditional role of album cover design.

Method 3: Narrow Down Focus / Genre

25 When first developing the topic to be researched the topic was broad in terms of music genre. It was determined that for the purpose of this research study that the genre needed to be narrowed down to a specific musical genre. Researching this topic considering all musical would not be beneficial due to the different aesthetics within different genres.

There are many design principles that can be used to analyze album design. Therefore, for the purpose of this research study, it was determined that the design principles being evaluated needed to be narrowed down to specific criteria.

Method 4: Album Analysis The album analysis consists of collecting album art of alternative rock music from the past to the present to be artistically evaluated. The albums will be analyzed to find any design aesthetics that may be the same or different. The analysis will start from evaluated one piece of art. will be to state the obvious about the album design in terms of, who the designer is, what year the album came out, colors used, the text used, document if imagery is used, and if there are any graphics. The next step would be to analyze the subject matter, and style of the cover art. The next step consists of interpreting what the design means. Does the design have a visual narrative or a message?

26 Method 5: Card Sorting

Card Sorting is a method that will be used to find out peoples’ associations and of different album covers. Participates will be invited in the sorting activity and a questionnaire will be created to gather insights. For example, to understand attitudes about an album cover, the participants may be asked to rank the cover art according to if it seems “welcoming” versus “unwelcoming.” Or ask participants to express their thoughts by ranking the cover art from favorite to least favorite. The albums used will be to create a comprehensive set that will allow participants to express their attitudes in several ways. Unlike the survey, the card sorting method will be done with a targeted audience.

27 Chapter 5. Results

The Survey

A general survey was conducted to gain insights on what music consumers are interested in in terms of album cover design. The answers to the survey questions were straightforward with clear results. As seen in figure 5.1, the age of the survey participants was between the ages of under 18 to 65. This is done to make sure that there was a wide range of insights from a wide range of different demographics. The age group that was mostly involved in submitting the survey was aged between 25 to 34. Secondary age group were 35 to 64. The group involved in participating in the study where age is 18 to 24. Lastly, there were a couple of participants that were older than 65 and one participants that were under 18.

28 Figure 5.1 Survey question. What is your age?

The survey was shared on multiple social media outlets as well as sending out a mass email. The ideation behind to get a wide range of age groups to conduct the survey. For this research method, participants were used that listen to all types of music, not just alternative rock music to gain insights on their feelings towards music cover design.

As seen in figure 5.2, it was discovered that most people still listen to music by using traditional radio but second to that the participates mostly use

29 music streaming. Considering this data, it can be argued that music listeners mostly in the car setting and that's why the data shows that the radio is still listened to the most.

Figure 5.2 Survey question, Main source of music?

The next questions of the survey start to transition into learning more about how consumers feel about music cover design. For instance, the question was asked, why do you buy physical music? This was done to see if anyone buys physical music due to its cover design. As seen in figure 5.3, most of the participants answered that they don't buy physical music at all because

30 they use music streaming applications. most popular reason to

buy physical music was to play in audio devices such as a CD player. The

least answered option was buying music based off collecting album cover artwork.

Figure 5.3 Survey question, Physical Music

Also, when asked if participants purchase whole music albums or download

single tracks from the , the majority answered that they don't

purchase music at all because of the use of music streaming applications.

This data can be seen in figure 5.4.

31 Figure 5.4 Survey question, Whole Album vs Single Track

Figure 5.5 shows that even though people are mostly using music streaming applications, when participants were asked if album cover design is important, a than 60% said that it was important. However, almost

40% of the participants said that it's not important.

“ album covers should convey a visual narrative? I think depending on the album, things may get visibly complicated if one tries to convey an entire story.”

-Survey Participant

32 Figure 5.5 Survey question, Is it Important?

Another interesting finding while conducting a survey was that around the same percentage of people who thought album cover design is important felt that the covers should convey some type of visual narrative. It only makes sense that the people that don't believe album cover design is important believe that they shouldn't even contain a visual narrative.

33 Figure 5.6 Survey question, Visual Narrative

An interesting concept, shown in figure 5.6, is that music streaming is so popular, yet a lot of people still believe that music covers designed with a visual narrative are still important.

Eras Mapping

Within the research conducted, the eras mapping was conductive by gaining an understanding of the historical perspective of album cover design. Mapping the eras of album covers was effective by gaining insights and being able to visualize relevant milestones through a period. The Mapping started from the first concept of Album design to current use of

34 cover art. The map made it evident how each era of album cover art has evolved and changed.

Album covers are used to identify records and advertise the musicians using graphic design, illustration, and photography. It consists of the musical artist name which is sometimes in a logo format and the name of the album. However, the concept of the album cover didn’t always exist.

Before the concept of album covers design, the album consisted of a brown paper or cardboard sleeve that was either plan, listed the recording artist name or the music producer. In 1939, Alex Steinweiss was hired by as an Art Director and invented and designed the concept of album cover art, (Kennedy 2016) His design work for album covers could be conceptual or symbolic. After this concept was developed, other record companies began to create the cover design. Eventually, album cover art became a way to not only list the musical artist and the record companies name but as a way for the musician to express and visually represent the music that has been produced. It also became a way for the musician to use as a marketing tool. In 1959, the Grammys created a category for the best visual of album cover which was presented to the Art Director of the album. (2019) This showcases the importance of album art.

35 The use of photography for album cover design became a new concept in the late 1960s and an example of this is the cover of album . There weren’t any graphics or illustrations used but only a photograph of the band.

36 Figure 5.7 Eras Mapping

37 Narrow Down Genre

Figure 5.8 Narrow Down, Mind Map

38 A mind map was created of music genres from Pop to Classical. Figure 5.8 shows that the mind map was narrowed down by sub music genres. The expectation of this method of focusing and narrowing the topic was conducted to be able to demonstrate a good understanding and be able to focus on important specific details for finding critical information.

After further researching music genres to narrow down the genre, it was decided to focus on rock music but specifically alternative rock music due to its unique music style. Alternative rock, also known as , music began in the late 1980’s. It was different than other rock music before it’s time due to its experimental and diverse quality. Alternative rock musicians strayed away from mainstream record labels and would instead sign with small independent record labels. “Alternative rock bands aim to reach a new generation with high-energy, melodic music that speaks to contemporary social issues.” (Grossman, 2013) Alternative rock music was influenced by new wave bands, which was popular in the late the 1970s and 1980 are known for its . Alternative rock was also influenced by groups, which emerged in the 1970s which can be described as a short-paced song with fast guitar riffs that rejected the . (Eval, 2017) Its style consists of catchy meaningful , heavy guitar riffs, and high energy . The alternative rock genre was chosen due

39 to the inquisitiveness of how its music style possibly relates to the design aesthetics of its music cover design.

Album Analysis

The purpose of this album design analysis is to gain insights on different design principles and elements that are being used within the design. The album analysis will consist of 18 different albums cover designs from alternative rock bands. More specifically, there will be 9 different alternative rock bands analyzed. Each band will have 2 albums cover designs analyzed. The first album will be from the past before digital music was popular and then their most recent album will be investigated. Therefore, the analysis will not only deconstruct the design of the album but will be able to compare the design work from the past to the present among the same musician group. Overall, the goal of the analysis is to see if there are any patterns among design principles being used that help aid a visual narrative considering the different time periods the album were released.

40 A crow left of the murder, by Incubus

Design Principles:

•

• Repitition

• Contrast

•

• Illustrative

41 • Proximity

• Figure Ground

• Color

A crow left of the murder is Incubus album and it was created a

shortly after digital music became popular. The album cover was designed

by Jose Pasillas who is the drummer of the band Incubus. The first thing that catches the viewer's attention is the red roses that cover the CD album due to being the largest graphics and also at the center of the cover.

The name of the band is on the top of the cover with the albums name within the silhouette image of the band. Near the top of the design, there are two hovering Black Crows that's right under and in between the crows is the number five to represent that this is their fifth studio album. The Roses, crows, an even the silhouette of the band seem to be symmetric. The symmetry of the album design can represent the idea of balance

Harmony and Order.

42 When taking a closer look at the two biggest roses near the top of the cover,

the viewer will notice that there's text within the roses that are used to create

outlines. This text is lyrics from the song's first single with the same

title as the CD. Therefore the design is mixing graphics with text. The text

says "From on it's instinctual, even straight roads meander, every

piece contains a map of it all it all." One of the main design principle being

used as separation of type and image operating independently to create a

message by using layers. Referring back to the literature of Nancy Skolos design principles, it is evident that the designer used the idea of fusion to create a visual metaphor by combining type and image into one entity.

Doing this, the designer created a design that creates a conceptual connection for the viewer.

This incubus album cover design is an example of the use of a strong visual narrative due to the combination of graphics and text. The visual story that is being told is the text "a crow left of the murder" representing a murder as a group of birds. If one bird is alone, that means it’s choosing to be isolated.

The conclusion can be made that the album cover visual narrative in a sense is about a person's individuality. Therefore, with the roses being on

43 top of the hierarchy of visual information, the cover represents having a passion or admiration for individuality.

8 by, Incubus

Design Principles:

• Space

• Color

44 • Color Contrast

• Emphasis

Incubus album 8 is there a studio album that was released in 2017. The design was created by designer Alberto Erazo. music streaming has become one of the most popular ways to listen to music.

The cover is very simplistic with the only graphic being the incubus logo and the number 8 in a gold texture follow up with the background being black.

In terms of visual narrative, it's lacking any storytelling quality due to not showing much visual language. The only meaning that can be implied is the use of color being defined by color . The gold texture on the graphics represents the achievement of the album since it’s the band's eighth studio album, while the black represents a type of power and mystery. The mystery could be created to influence the viewer to be interested and what the album holds. Compared to the previous album cover design that was shown, it's evident but this album cover was designed to be simplistic and minimal due to currently being viewed.

45 Three for Sweet Revenge, by My Chemical

Design Principles:

• Illustrative

• Hand drawn

• Space

• Color

• Color Contrast

46 Three cheers for Sweet Revenge was 's second

studio album that was released in 2004. The album cover was designed by

Gerald Way, the lead singer of the band who also has a background in

illustration. The color scheme is black white and uses red as a spice color.

The first visual that catches the viewer's eye is the illustration on the cover.

It covers most of the frame and it consists of a and a man closely facing each other with their eyes closed. Their skin is very white and pale.

They both look as if they are in some type of pain, both physically and mentally. The physical pain is evident due to the red on their very pale skin that represents blood and the mental pain is apparent because their eyes have a sad look to them.

The illustration looks hand-drawn with using some type of marker, possibly a permanent marker. The name of the band and album name is digitally designed. The use of black in the design is associated with being edgy, while the red is meant to grab the viewer's attention. The color scheme together can be an intimidating combination while creating a sort of shock value imagery. The visual Narrative of this album cover is to convey that the music will be filled with tones that will stir up and reflect on

47 emotional pain. When considering th design principles used to create a storytelling aspect, it is evident that the design used the idea of fusion. The fusion principle was developed by using a shared surface and texture, having a visual metaphor and implying motion. These principles were used to create a conceptual connection as well as creating an altered reality.

The Black Parade / Living with Ghost, by My Chemical Romance

48 Design Principles:

• Space

• Gradient

• Text top right flush - Bold

My Chemical Romance /Living with Ghost is the bands'

6th studio album. The designer and the art director are unknown. The album cover design consists of a white to gray gradient background with a stylized cross that is distorted. The cross takes up most of the cover design and has a gray texture. The only text is located on the top right corner of the cover which states the bands' name, album name, and the edition of the album.

With the combination of the graphics and the title of the album, there is a certain tone that the band is giving. The tone of the cover with the text is morbid and ghoulish. Considering, Skolos design principles, the album design is using Fragmentation, which is when the type and image displace each other. For example, the cross-scale is exaggerated across the frame.

Using this design principle implies the passage of time and constructs a complex message. These design principles help aid the visual narrative of

49 the album. Compared to the last album design shown, this design seems more simplistic at , yet with the visual language used a visual

narrative is created. The , by The Foo Fighters

Design Principles:

• Space

• Emphasis

• Texture

• Size

• Scale

50 • Text Top Alignment

The Foo Fighters self-titled album was their first album released in 1995.

Six years before digital music became popular. The CD cover design was created by photographer Jennifer Youngblood who was the wife of lead singer Grohl's at .

The design of the cover is simplistic but has strong imagery. It consists of a

large pistol center in the frame of the cover. The pistol is a Disintegrator

pistol (space gun) from the 1982 novel Armageddon 2419 A.d.

The typography is simplistic and clean while using a in caps typeface. The

space gun is horizontal going from left to right. This may have been done to

underline the band's name that is center on the top of the album cover. The

space theme represents that the viewer will hear music that is out of this

world. Also, after further investigating the album design, it was discovered

that the name Foo Fighters was how WW2 Pilots describe UFOs. Also, the

lead singer of the band had a company name .

Therefore, the band used a space theme as the visual language to create

a visual narrative. The viewer's curiosity of the pistol was used to draw and

51 their audience. Taking into consideration of Skolos principles, the album designer used the design principle of Separation since the type and the image work independently. This implies that the album designs visual narrative has multiple meanings.

Concrete and Gold, by the Foo Fighters

Design Principles:

• Space

• Symmetry

52 • Texture

• Alignment

• Proximity

• Space

• Closure

• Color

Concrete and gold are the Foo Fighters 9th studio album which was released in 2017. The art direction of this album was created by Andy

Crane. A cover design consists of a gray textured background to represent the concrete color. At first glance directly in the center of the frame, there is a gold diamond. After looking closer at the diamond graphic, it is evident that the shape is made up of two F's to represent the band name Foo

Fighters. The color gray using may represent a dull or having difficult feelings, however, the gold represents achievement and wisdom.

The cover is so minimalistic and simple that it doesn't even show the name of the album or the band's full name. The designer used a minimalistic design most likely due to the album being viewed as a small icon.

53 Conducting the album cover design visual analysis supported the claim that

the current album cover lacks visual narratives even though it uses a

numerous amount of design principles.

Cheshire Cat, by Blink-182

Design Principles:

• Photography

54 • Line

• Text Center Alignment

• Color

Blink 182 Cheshire Cat is Blink-182s first debut studio album released in

1995. The album design consists of imagery of a white and brown Siamese cat with very eyes. Near the top of the cover is the word blink and yellow old serif typeface yet the numbers “182” are missing. The cat is framed with a yellow line with a brown background. The name Cheshire Cat is famous from the book Alice's Adventures in , which happens to be the lead singers favorite book character. This would imply that there was no deep meaning behind the album cover design, but just simply one of the band members favorite book character. The photograph of the cat was found within a calendar. The band to use the photograph, but the calendar company denied their request. Blink 182 hired their record company’s art Department to digitize the photo until it looked different enough from the original photo to avoid any infringement. With this album design being developed before the age of digital music, it doesn’t go along with the research hypothesis since it lacks graphic design

55 elements and visual language. One could argue that the album design uses separation to develop a story that has multiple meanings by having the type and image working separately. However, since the cover is simply a band member favorite character, it’s evident that the album design doesn’t contain a visual narrative.

California, by Blink-182

Design Principles:

56 • Illustrative

• Emphasis

• Line

• Contrast

• Color

Blink 182 is the band’s latest and 7th studio album. The object

thing that catches the viewers eye is the imagery of a man and a woman.

The second is the word Blink-182 since it’s in bright yellow with a black

background. It shows a cropped picture of a male and a female inside of a

car. The colors look is dark with bright contrasting colors. The main subject

is designed with a comic illustrative style. The illustration is telling a story

about a woman who is in a toxic relationship. She knows that he is not good

but looking at her hand, it’s evident that she continues to give her all

to him. The album design was created by an English street artist by the

name D-Face. The bands’ drummer Travis Barker was a fan of his work and asked the artist if he could design their cover design. The band sent the artist a few songs from the album so that he could design the cover based off the music. According to the artist, D*Face, the band "wanted the artwork

57 to represent California, but with a subversive side to show that it's not always great and there's always something under the surface, in the underbelly." (Moore 2016)

The title California is representing where the band members are from due to multiple songs of the album relating to California’s cities and .

Gorilaz, by The Gorilaz

Design Principles:

• Illustrative

58 • Type

• Emphasis

Gorilaz, British virtual band, self-titled album Gorilaz was released in 2001.

The c.d cover was created by the bands’ artist Jamie Hewlet. Jamie Hewlet is a designer, comic creator and a cover designer. Hewlets artwork for

Gorillaz led to him being named Designer of the Year in 2006. The album design consists of four cartoon characters riding in a “geep”. The jeep is designed in army fatigue colors with different shades of green and brown.

The army fatigue color scheme could represent the idea of getting prepared for some type of battle which is a part of the band’s visual narrative.

59 is the

Design principles

• Emphasis

• Contrast

• Unity

The Now Now is the Gorillaz 6th studio album that was released in 2018.

The cover was designed by Jamie Hewlett, the virtual band co-creator and artist. The design consists of a fun Whimsical illustration of one of the virtual

60 band members. The background is a light blue with a thick black border.

The blue represents the bands’ royalty, while the pink represents peace and

Harmony. The color palette is a huge difference compared to their first album but the simplicity of a graphic in the center of the frame remains the same. This shows that the idea of simplicity in their first studio album remains the same even during the digital music age.

Hoobastank, by

61 Design principles

• Symmetry

• Contrast

• Photography

• Emphasis

• Balance

• Color

• Unity

• Movement

Hoobastank self-titled first debut album was released in 2001. The cover

was designed by the designer and creative director Louis Mario. His past consists of being a creative director and designer for a numerous number

of musicians. He also has experience working with Brands like Nike to

create environmental campaigns. The album cover design consists of a photograph of an empty room. In the center of the room is the bands’ logo, illuminating in the center of the frame. The logo is the "o's" that make up the band’s name "Hoobastank". The emptiness of the room is purposefully done

62 to project certain emotions in memories and to draw the viewer in while

creating a mystery. In regard to Skolos literature, the designer of the album

used the design principle of Fusion by incorporating type and image with

creating a visual metaphor. This was done to create a conceptual connection.

Push Pull, by Hoobastank

Design Principles

• Color

63 • Line

• Color

• Contrast

• Texture

• Unity

Hoobastank latest album was released in 2018 by the name of Push Pull.

The designer of the album is unknown. The album consists of a graphic of

female legs stepping on a white rose made with black line work. The legs

are blue with a white border. The band name is broken in half with a line

coming from the “H” in Hoobastank. The Words “Stank” is under “Hooba” but in an upside-down format. The same idea is used with the album name

“Push-Pull”. Compared to their first album design, this design lacks a visual narrative even though it's using design principles. Unlike the first album, it doesn't seem to be cohesive due to the elements not working together.

64 Hybrid , by

Design Principles

• Emphasis

• Contrast

• Rhythm

• Closure

• Asymmetry

65 • Movement

• Texture

Linkin Park's debut album was released in the year 2000. On the cover, the band's name Linkin Park is on the top center and bold with all caps. There is a white distressed texture over the text. The font has a stencil feel to it due to the line work within the name. In the center of the album, there is a soldier with dragonfly wings. The soldier is holding a flag and is bold, yet the wings are drawn frail with a light opacity, so it's seen as part of the background. Near the bottom right corner is the album name,

Hybrid Theory. It's on top of a distorted black border which highlights the name. The background consists of different gray textures and tones with parts of words and letters going in different directions in an abstract way.

The designer of the album cover is , who is a member of the band. Shinoda has a background in graphic design and has always enjoyed graffiti-style art and design. The album design looks like stencil graffiti to give a street art Urban feel. The hard look with the soft wings represents the band's music mixed with they're soft emotional lyrics. Within the design is a

66 visual metaphor, implied motion, and a shared surface and texture which

are the components of the Skolos design principle Fusion.

One More Light, by Linkin Park

Design principles

• Photography

• Movement

• Unity

67 • Contrast

• Balance

Linkin Park 7th studio album in the last album named One More Night was

released in 2017. The photograph was taken by designer and creative

director a photographer by the name of Frank Maddocks at Venice Beach

California. The photograph is minimal, yet it does contain a visual narrative.

It's designed for the digital age format yet isn't just the bands’ logo. It's

completely different than their first album cover design but has adapted to

the digital age format with using design principles within photography. Also,

the album was sold as a packaged kit. There were different package

bundles options consisting of a CD, t-shirt, Linkin Park fan membership, or

a vinyl record. This is another reason how this album has adapted to the

digital age. The C.D package motivates the consumer to buy a physical copy of the music album. The album cover consists of a photograph of kids

silhouettes in an ocean. There are six kids and all which is to represent the

six members of the band. There's a clear contrast between the Silhouettes

and the sunset in the background. The use of in the photograph

represents the idea of family, love, and innocence.

68 , by

Design Principles

• Photography

• Contrast

• Movement

• Scale

69 The Black Keys first studio album, The Big Come Up, was released in 2002.

The cover design was made by Carney who is the brother of the drummer in the band. He's an art director sculpture and photographer. He's currently the band's art director and designs all of the band’s album designs and marketing material. The first object that catches the viewer's attention is the words “Black Keys” because they are in all caps and bold letters. The next element that grabs the viewer's attention is the image of the band members, that's crapped in an interesting way. Next on the hierarchy scale is the album name that sits below the cropped image in small caps. Since the image of the band members is cropped and zoomed into their face, the visual narrative is that we will see into the band members world but not get the whole picture. Based off Skolos design principles, the type an image used work together even though they’re not quite in sync imply a passing of time.

70 Turn Blue, by the Black Keys

Design principles

• Color

• Movement

• Rhythm

• Contrast

71 The Black Keys latest album The Blue Album was released in 2014. This cover design was also designed by Michael Carney that bands drummers’ brother. The cover design consists of a blue and magenta spiral. The center of the album contains the band's name and the album title. When a spiral is used in this way it can represent mind control. The spiral with a bright color is a very eye-catching tactic. It's simple yet the music listeners can make predictions that the music will deal with the idea of Mind Control, which is the covers visual narrative. The minimalistic style works even in the digital age due to the use of design principles. Viewers can still visualize a story.

The Blue Album, by

72 Design Principles

• Photography

• Color

• Repetition

• Contrast

The Blue Album by Weezer was their first studio album which was released

in 1994. The cover design was created by photographer Peter Gowland.

Gowland, who passed away in 2010, a famous photographer is known for taking glamour shots for magazine covers. The album design consists of a simple image of the band members standing side-by-side left to right. They are standing in front of a blue background with their feet cropped out of the image. On the top right corner of the cover, is the band's name Weezer.

Even though the album is named The Blue Album, nowhere on the cover states the albums name. Therefore, the band used the blue background to tell the name of the album. The use of blue has a calming effect on it’s viewers. This minimalistic style is surprisingly before the digital age.

73 The Black Album, by Weezer

The Black Album by Weezer was released in 2019. It’s their studio album. Weezer has had a theme with most of there album cover designs being named with such as the Teal Album and the White

Album. There latest album’s art director and designer are unknown. The cover design consists of a photograph of the band members standing close side by side, left to right. They are covered in black paint from head to toe.

The viewer is unable to see the band members face. The band members

74 are standing in front of a black background that has a slight gradient from a light shining on them. The band name Weezer is on the top and center of the design in a light gray color. Compared to their first album cover, the idea isn’t that much different, considering that it’s an image of the band standing in front of a color background. What is different is the tone of the two albums.

Since the album is black, it sets an edgy and dark tone which would make the viewer expect edgy and dark music. In terms of a visual narrative, it’s not much different than their first album that was released before the digital music age.

After conducting the album analysis to compare past album cover design to recent album design, it was evident that not all album covers designs made after the digital age lack a visual narrative. Even some of the album designs that seem simplistic and minimal had a visual narrative. The album analysis proofed that even in the digital age that design principles are still being used within album design.

75 Card sorting

Figure 5.9 Albums covers used in Card Sorting

The card sorting activity was conducted with 20 different participants individually, male and female, in person, who listens to alternative rock music. Their ages were between 18 to 55. After completing the card sorting

76 research method, the attitudes, values, desires and or behaviors of those

listeners were determined. The activity was successful due to it being a fun

and interactive way to gain insights. The beginning of the method was

introducing what exactly was being done with the participant. After the

introduction, as seen in figure 5.9, the first question asked was “ you

currently view album cover designs?” The goal of this question was to find

out if the participants feel as though they still see album cover designs at all

and if they do, how are they viewed. Most of the participants stated that if they do see album covers that they are small icons on music streaming

Figure 5.10 How Album Covers are viewed

77 applications. The second most popular answer was that participants don’t see album cover designs at all.

Figure 5.11 Is Album Art Important

78 The next question following was asked to determine if the participants

believe if album cover designs are still important. Based on the answers, it’s

apparent that about half of the participants still believed that album designs

are important. Considering the research hypothesis, it was surprising that only around half of the participants’ fine album design to be important. If it’s

not important to most, the conclusion can be made that the visual narratives

within an album design wouldn’t be important to those as well.

The next part of the card sorting was using the cards to ask the participants

questions. At this point in the card sorting, were different for

each participant. There was no script written out because the questions

were depended on how the participants answered the previous question.

It was also quickly evident that most participants don’t purchase music but

only stream music. 14 out of the 20 participants stated that they do not buy

music but use music streaming applications.

When the participants were asked to compare album design of the same

musician, for example, the images in figure 5.11, 77% of participants stated

that the album on the left was more eye-catching than the image on the

79 right. 22% of participants stated that the design on the right was more eye catching due to its simplicity and the cover on the left being too busy.

“The color scheme and the illustration draws me in because I become curious and want to figure out the meaning behind it.”

-Participant that choose the left design as being more eye catching.

“Simplicity, straight forward, classy. has too much .”

-Participant that choose the right design as being more eye catching.

Figure 5.12 Compare the album designs

80 Chapter 6. Conclusion

The cultural, visual, and communication form of album design covers has evolved from the past to the current digital era. With music streaming applications, album covers designs aren’t viewed physically but on small scale formats. However, after focusing on alternative rock music covers and conducting different research methods, it’s evident that the evolution of music doesn’t necessarily mean that album design has less narrative, even if they are simple designs. This is evident by learning different angles and perspectives of album cover designs, that create different factors that affect their design aesthetic, not just the format. One of the factors is considering if the impact of album cover design has the same impact as in the past?

Based on the research, no it doesn’t have the same impact but more of an impact due to it being more diverse in terms of what role it plays. Album design does more than just tell the name of the band and the album but is part of the musicians marketing. The evolution of music cover has made its role more diverse. Another is that some musicians are more visual than others and come from design and or art backgrounds, so the album

81 designs are greatly considered and contain design principles that make up visual narratives. , musicians may not think album visuals

are as important which may show within their album design. This was made

evident after completing the album analysis. Is simpler more powerful?

Depending on the artist and the viewer, simpler can be better because the

design is straight to the point and viewers can easily tell who the artist is

which also works in a small format. This is also considering the viewers who

don’t believe album design is important and doesn’t need a narrative. A

mature band that’s been around for a while doesn’t need a detailed design

because their name is enough which works in the digital age when albums

are shown as a small icon format. After conducting the album analysis and

card sorting method, it was evident that album cover design can be

minimalistic and simplistic while creating a visual narrative. Some of the

designs that may have seemed simple still contained a visual narrative.

Even though album covers are mostly seen on a small format, as

technology in the music industry evolves, music album covers will adapt.

Music album covers will never truly go away because many people still want to view them.

82 A well-designed album that has a visual narrative works as a branding and

marketing tool. Having album art that works as a branding tool helps the

musicians overall merchandise designs to be cohesive while visually telling

a story. Since music streaming and other formats take away from the

physical aspects of album covers, the of album design should have

an interactive component. This would work in multi-formats and the album designs could be interactive as well as static, depending on its format.

These interactive album designs could be on social media outlet, mobile applications and or music streaming applications.

Due to digital music, the album cover design is no longer the decision point for purchasing music like it was in the past. Therefore, it’s evident that the visual narrative in music should be evaluated. In the past, music listeners heard the music before they process the icon image, however, now they experience music cover icons that are seen are only meant to create an experience with the music while the listener is listening to music.

83 Bibliography

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Alternative Rock. (2019, March 8). New World Encyclopedia, Retrieved, April

21, 2019 from

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d=1018901.

Browne, David. “The Incredible, Inevitable Shrinking Album Cover.” The New

York Times, The New Times, 12 Aug. 2011,

www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/arts/music/as-record-sales-shrink-so-does-

album-cover-art.html

Coats, W. S., Feeman, V. ., Given, J. G., & Rafter, H. D. (2000). Streaming into

the Future: Music and Video Online Symposium: Legal and Business Issues

in the of Music. Loyola of

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84 Emagine. (2018, April 19). The Importance of Graphic Design for Music

[text/html]. Retrieved April 19, 2018, from /our-journal/the-importance-of-

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Grossman, Perry. "Alternative Rock." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular

Culture, Gale, 2013. Biography Context In, http://link.galegroup.com

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. Accessed 25 Feb. 2019.

Hembree, R., & Ohio Library and Information Network. (2008;2006;). The

complete graphic designer: A guide to understanding graphics and visual

communication. Gloucester, Mass: Rockport Publishers

Jr, K. N. (2016, October 1). MTV made music videos cool. Technology will

make them . Retrieved April 9, 2018, from

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reality-interactive/

Kennedy, P. (2016). Alex Steinweiss and the World's First Record Cover.

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Steinweiss-and-the-World-s-First-Record-Cove

85 McKinney, Kelsey. “Technology Is Changing the Way Album Covers Are

Designed.” Splinter, Splinter, 24 July 2017, splinternews.com/technology-

is-changing-the-way-album-covers-are-designe-1793848662.

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Blink 182's New Album Artwork.” NME, NME, 4 Oct. 2016,

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Understanding Fundamental Design Principles. Rockport Publishers, 2018.

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Layout Workshop. Quayside Publishing Group, Osceola, 2006.

86 APPENDIX A

Simple Album Design Cover Survey

Q1 What is your age?

Q2 What is your sex?

Q3 Is album cover design important to you?

• Why are why not:

Q4 Should album covers convey a visual narrative (story)?

• Why are why not:

Q5 Do you buy whole music albums or single tracks?

Q6 What is your main source of listening to music?

Q7 Why do you buy physical forms of music?

87 Card sorting:

Music Album Design Card sorting will be useful by:

• Gaining Quantitative research insights

• Structured survey so it will be engaging for the participants

• Understand how individuals visualize album cover design

• Understand what is most important to alt rock music listeners in terms of album cover design

• Understand the similarities and differences between the thoughts of multiple music listeners of alt rock

• Develop a deep understanding of the alternative rock music listeners insight into how they make sense of album cover design.

• Domain/Target group: These are Alt Rock listeners

• Demographics: In person only, not online (At least 20 participants)

88 Materials Used – Print items on individual standard cards (one unique item per card). Number each item card for recording purposes. Provide a brief description on the reverse side of each item card. Document if participants have or haven’t seen design before. Cards will be shown at C.D album size

4x4 as well as small format (like music streaming icon)

Document everything and transcribe

For same artist set, ask participants to organize artist albums in chronological order (see if they can guess the order) and their thinking behind the order.

Card Sorting Example

Hello, so I’m conducting a research study on album cover design and I’ll be showing you different alternative rock albums from the past to present.

How do you purchase music?

How do you view music album covers?

Is album cover design important to you? Why or why not?

89 Should music album covers tell a story? Why or why not?

Which album design catches your eye more? Please explain.

What do is the Chronological order of the album art based on the design? Please explain why you choose that order.

90

Does this album cover contain a visual story? If so what is it? If no, why not?

91 Does this album cover contain a visual story? If so what is it? If no, why not?

Does this album cover contain a visual story? If so what is it? If no, why not?

92 Does this album cover contain a visual story? If so what is it? If no, why not?

Which album is more visually pleasing? Please explain why

93 GLOSSARY

Album Cover Design - Artwork created for a music album covers

Alignment - The way the different elements in a design are lined up in relation to each other

Alternative Rock - A style of rock music characterized as unconventional or outside of the mainstream.

Balance - The distribution of the visual weight of objects, colors, texture, and space.

Color- used to generate emotions, define importance, create visual interest and unify branding.

Contrast - The of opposite elements (light vs. dark colors, rough vs. smooth textures, large vs. small shapes, etc.) in a piece to create visual interest, excitement and .

94 Design Elements- Components or parts which can be isolated and defined in any visual design or . They are the structure of the work, and can carry a wide variety of messages.

Design Principles - Widely applicable laws, guidelines, biases and

design considerations, all reflecting researchers’ and

practitioners’ accumulated knowledge and experience.

Digital Music - Music that has been recorded in or converted to

a digital format.

Form - The shape or visual quality of something

Graphic Design - To create visual concepts, using computer

software or by hand, to communicate ideas that inspire, inform,

and captivate consumers.

Harmony - The arrangement of elements such as: colors, shapes,

and symmetry to create a pleasing image that works all

together

95 Line - A fundamental element that consists of several points

located next to one another in .

Movement - A principle of visual that moves the viewer’s

eye through a two-dimensional space

Music Streaming - A way of delivering music without requiring you

to download files from the internet. Music services like Spotify,

Pandora, and use this method to provide songs

that can be enjoyed on all types of devices.

Proportion - A comparison of two ratios; includes an indication of

how the two ratios are related

Proximity - The process of ensuring related design elements are

placed together.

Repetition - works with pattern to make the work of art seem active.

The repetition of elements of design creates unity within the

work of art

96 Rhythm- An alternating repetition of shape and space or a planned

movement of visual elements in a composition

Shape - The external outline or contour of an object, figure, or

mass

Size - Used to convey importance, attract attention and create

contrast

Space - An element of design that indicates area and depth on a

two-dimensional plane

Texture- A design element that creates or implies the tactile quality

and characteristics of a surface

Value - A fundamental property of color defined by the lightness

and darkness of a color

Visual Language - A system of communication using visual

elements

97 Visual Narrative - (Visual Story Telling) a story told primarily

using visual media. The story may be told using still

photography, illustration, or video, and can be enhanced with

graphics, music, voice and other audio.

98