Music Cover Design in the Digital Age A thesis submitted to the Graduate School of the University 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, Art and Planning by Stephanie Jackson The Art Academy of Cincinnati Committee Chair Renee Seward 7/15/2019 iv ABSTRACT The digital age has affected the whole music industry and has become a part of cultural evolution. The music industry has continued to transform over time and we 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 album cover design. Through the design of music album covers, designers help brand musicians 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 if they see any music covers at all. Currently, people aren’t getting to experience 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 album cover design to create a visual narrative? vi This thesis analyzed what graphic design principles play 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 genre 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 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to thank my daughter for being my biggest inspiration. Adriana Jackson, everything I do is for my daughter including returning to school. Also, Adriana has helped teach me to not fear, 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 up 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 you 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 Master 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. LITERATURE 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 music industry such as live music, concerts, how it’s produced, the way music is bought, and so much more. It’s especially has changed the way we interact and listen to music. Currently, music streaming, social media, 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 Spotify and Pandora continue to evolve as personalized listening experiences for music listeners. Music streaming platforms became a popular platform due to its user’s ability to customize the music that they want to hear or skip songs 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 music radio 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 cover art 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 Band (1967) which album consisted of an album cover designs that is iconic because it’s wildly recognized, one of the first concept albums that used a modern art aesthetic and may evoke certain memories for 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 a story 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. The relationship 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. “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 language 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 speech, written language, and imagery into messages that are aesthetically pleasing, connect with the audience 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 musician’s new music but also because it works as part of a marketing kit to promote a musician’s brand. When a musician comes out with new music, the album 6 covers aesthetics match those of the musicians’ poster, merchandise and concert 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. It was 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 alternative rock 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 narratives within the design important to the consumer? 8 Chapter 2.