Back Story

The four members of the rock band “Heavy Duty Owl” have finally decided to call it quits. It’s about time! In the last show, the drummer started throwing sticks at the bassist, and during the band’s most popular song, the guitarist launched into a gratuitous 27-minute solo, refusing to leave the stage. No doubt about it, the band has grown and they all have different views about music.

Of course these days, a “full band” is hardly necessary. With digital recording and tracking software, it only takes a single person to create an awe-inspiring wall of orchestral sound. So now flying solo, each band member has formed a new operation. By coincidence, or perhaps in an attempt to outdo one another, each of the bands has taken on a simple name based on one of the four medieval elements

– namely: EARTH, AIR, FIRE, and WATER.

So…

The Project

Quite simply, you will create a vinyl record package/booklet for one of these subsequent breakout bands. Your production will include developing an overarching concept, producing the artwork/imagery, and laying out lyrics and additional text. The band you work with will be assigned at random.

More Details

The focus of the project is the creation of an advanced “multi-paged” layout and the production of a marketable record. Naturally, you should take into account any of the concepts and issues we’ve covered to date. Here are the pieces you will start with in creating a successful project:

• Eight-page (including cover), four-color, full-bleed, booklet
• Label for 7″ vinyl record
• Record “holder” design (e.g. sleeve, jacket, box?). A way to bring all these pieces together in a neat package.

Note that there are many pieces to create here — it will be important for you to stay up-to-date with project milestones and overall development. With this sort of package, you will not be able to complete a piece in two days of “last minute” design.

Art Direction

There is a large amount of leeway here, but the design of the piece is not completely free-form. Between each of the groups, there are some aesthetic crossovers, but it is very important that you design your work around the nature of your band member’s chosen element. In other words, FIRE should somehow deal with Fire, WATER with water, etc.

Therefore it’s up to you to conceptualize your element. You must get to the bottom of it – not only portray it in a visually striking manner but show us something interesting and new about this element. We know these elements quite well – so how can you present them in a new way? Perhaps one that relates to the band’s own newness?

As with many bands, there is a spirit of “irreverence” and “rebelliousness” that you should try to achieve in the work. The design should not be “random,” but it can consist of irrational elements, and not everything in the design may make perfect sense.

As for the sound of the bands, overall it’s an upbeat rock vibe; clear drums, peppy, clean and/or distorted guitar sounds, catchy lyrics that can be humorous or sometimes poetic. In its original inception, “Heavy Duty Owl” managed to appeal to fans of classic rock and more alternative rock. There was a hint of “grunge” but also a subtle resonance with the roots of rock-and-roll.

One additional note, now that the band members are recording individually, the music has gotten very intricate. In some cases, the songs on these albums are complex and multi-layered. The design should reflect this “intricate” quality.

On the website, you will also see a few images of rock posters that lined the garage where the band rehearsed. These designs might give a sense of the music and perhaps an aesthetic vision.

and finally…

Technical Details

To say that these bands are on a tight budget is a major understatement. With mounting legal fees and conjecture over song rights, there’s virtually no budget for the artwork. This means no commercial photography or major photo licensing. Good news though, you can use any scanned media, your own drawings/photos, or images from the “High-Quality Free Image Websites” provided in CI Learn. You’ll find the list under “Design Resources.” The websites provided are the only place you can go for “web” imagery—please note that for non-commercial work, these photos are typically free of charge (always check the licensing).

In addition to the above options, you are asked to incorporate one significant “analog” technique in your project. In other words, you will “create” something (anything!) in the “real world,” and somehow integrate it into your project.

Alongside your production in Photoshop, this project will also ask you to contend with multi-page layouts as created in InDesign. Thus we will start to see how some of these Adobe programs interact with one another. It will also be recommended that you lay out your type in InDesign, not only for the sake of experience but also because of the more precise and robust controls.

Milestones

(subject to change)
In the design world, “milestones” are significant for a host of
reasons. Naturally, they help you keep up with a project, but they may also ensure that you get paid! Here are the milestones associated with this project:

10/24

The initial concept statement is written out and uploaded to CI Learn

10/26

You will give a short but dynamic presentation on the concept behind your design. This presentation should be visually oriented, with a series of slides describing the nature of your project and the concept behind your “element.”

In this presentation, we should see your angle — where you will be taking the design, and essentially where you will be taking your overall investigation. We should get a clear sense of what you will bring that is unique. More on this to come…

In the presentation, please also include:

• 3–5 existing poster designs or aesthetic approaches from the band’s garage which will relate to your design and an explanation of how the posters found in the band’s rehearsal space specifically will influence your design
• 3–5 found designs or aesthetic approaches which will relate to your design from the internet or elsewhere
• Ten different “type treatments” for the band name as it might appear on the cover of the disk
• Sketches and more
• More details later

11/02

Digital draft. All pages included (even if some of the ideas are incomplete).

11/09

First round of critiques