This vinyl album system design is my entry for Bent River Records 2021 Album Design Competition for Up and Over Trio’s first album, “Up and Over”. The competition is in partnership with the MacEwan University Bachelor of Design program.
The album system is designed with themes of improvisation, iteration, and expression at its heart.
Art - be it musical, visual, or otherwise - is an abstract way of expressing experience and emotion. Jazz is a highly expressive and improvisational form; the sheet music provides a framework upon which improvisation is based.
The painting which forms the basis of the album design was created emulating the improvisational style of jazz; beginning with the basic framework of the canvas and allowing a spontaneous process of creativity to take place. Painted while listening to Up and Over Trio performances, the piece is an abstract visual interpretation of the album.
Bringing this painting into the design, the theme of iteration is actualized. Specific elements and areas of the painting are focused on, creating a fresh visual manifestation of the central art piece for each component of the system.
The nine frames on the cover highlight this concept of iteration; each frame displays a different element of the painting, reflecting musical iteration through repetition and variance. The three-by-three arrangement references the “Trio”.
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