Category:
Album remix
Client:
This charming man
Album artwork remix of The Smiths album, The Queen is Dead, this is one of my passion projects.
THE TASK
I'm sure I’m not special when I say, I love music. Anyway, I love creating and recreating album artwork. This project is special to me, as I created it in Manchester when I trained to be a graphic designer, not too far away from where The Smiths are from.
THE BIG IDEA
I wanted the look and feel to reflect the overarching theme. Through ideation I chose the keywords; isolated, gloomy and regal.
THE PROCESS
This is an album I have always loved, so it was a welcome reason to listen to it again, but this time really paying attention to how it made me feel, the thoughts it conjured up and the overarching theme.
I researched the era the album was released and the political landscape at the time. I felt the album depicted a lonely soul’s sadness and frustration towards the monarchy and the establishment.
For the cover, I used a single rose to depict isolation, which also links to the monarchy through the war of the roses. I used colour overlays in the image treatment to intensify the feeling of gloom and isolation, using reds and greens to create a grungy feel.
For the back cover, I wanted the image to symbolise frustration and the somewhat bitter sweet of the prospect of the fall of the monarchy. Using a burnt rose to visualise bloodshed and colour overlays to electrify the hues to create a morose image.
The typography chosen for the band name is art deco in nature, but I feel it accentuates the grungy feel of the album. The supporting serif typeface chosen is a nod to the original album and sits comfortably alongside the logo lock-up.
CHALLENGES / OUTCOMES
An amusing challenge I encountered was burning the rose, as I planned to do the burning in the studio, but was obviously unable to due to fire regulations. A Blue Peter moment at home solved this problem, which was filmed and transformed into a GIF. The flame was larger than expected hence the shocked look on my face.
