The Eagles

In 1975, rock band The Eagles released a new album entitled One Of These Nights. Designer and Art Director Gary Burden created the album cover art, based on the first trip the band and him took towards the desert for the first album he designed for them. Infusing the psychedelic elements, and the culture of the local American Indian shamans. Based on those standards, Gary Burden combined all those elements to create an album cover that resembles both the band and the emotions evoked on the first desert trip the band and Gary Burden took together.

During this time frame, most music was either found on the radio, or in album stores. There was no online database where you could look up any artist or song title. People actually had to go to stores and search for a particular artist. Cover art such as this is a quality of design that is somewhat lost. Now album covers are mostly seen on tiny screens, decreasing a person’s appreciation for all the time and effort a designer did in creating that album cover.

When this album was released its portability was rather limited, as with vinyl’s you have to be very careful not to scratch it, so carrying it around was rather difficult. Unlike today where everything we could ever really want can be found in our hand held technological devices. The Eagles album One of These Nights shows the remains of an animal heads that’s been painted on with wings of an owl behind it. The contrast between the light and dark is very powerful, and relay emphasizes the center image. Although the wings, ad title begin to disappear in the background, as the hue of the feathers, and the thinness of the typeface, are hard to make out. However with the dark background this can give the impression, of uncertainty, and an infinite amount of possibilities. This can also be seen in the colors chosen between the typeface, and the colors painted on the skull, as they are matching variations of two different hues. Representing the union between the bands image, and music with the history of the skull.

Barbaras at the Brewery

One of my favorite breweries and gastropubs in Los Angeles, CA is called Barbara’s at the Brewery. Uniquely hidden in the center of several art lofts in the downtown area, many local artists, and USC medical students can be found here. With small outdoor seating, the location is very spacious with long wooden tables with steel piping creating an industrial look. Along the walls of the brewery, you find hung artwork from various artists in the area. At the bar hangs a large dragonfly instillation; behind the bar are several handcrafted beer taps.

As Barbara’s at the Brewery is a little hidden gem of it’s own, and first timers can be discouraged not knowing if their in the right place, but along various walls, you can see signs pointing you in the direction. The logo itself can be seen everywhere in Los Angeles art district. Creating a simple design, the typeface is bold and is simple. This in itself is a reflection of the kind of environment the brewery offers. As a simple, and relax ambiance, Barbara’s at the Brewery is for the individual that enjoys a relaxed setting. On the exterior of the building you see the large logo. The logo is the same color, but with different typefaces. Although the logo itself is rather simple, I would have changed the color of the logo to attempt to guide the viewer’s eye. This grey blue color disappears a little when you first look at the logo. Barbara’s at the Brewery location itself doesn’t allow for many people to know about it or where it’s located. Although Barbara’s at the Brewery this in itself may help people heading to the gastropub, because it makes the location a locals only laidback vibe.

The Artisan House

Located in Downtown Los Angeles, the Artisan House caters to a wide range of individuals. Both a restaurant and market, the Artisan House offers a wide range of wine and produce that comes from many local farmers located around California. This location is very detailed in all their dishes and produce. Their mantra is Break Bread. Share wine. Feed the soul. This statement and way of building a business are to work towards building a certain level of community around the restaurant and what they want to bring to the city they’re in.

With large windows and live bands, the décor of the Artisan House brings about a vintage look, and wide-open floor plans allow for people to maintain more intimate conversations with one another. Caring this over to their design, and logo, the Artisan House first initials are within an enclosed smoother angled hexagon. Within the design, the A and H share the same horizontal line, as the H is leaning in towards the A sharing the same tilt degree. This connects the Artisan House together resulting in a physical unity, and intimacy that can be seen when you go to the restaurant.

The design is visible everywhere at the restaurant, with a personalized decal that can be seen on the windows of the restaurant, as well as a large banner above the restaurant. Inside business cards can be found, allowing for the restaurant reputation, and logo to be more portable. In addition to business cards, the Artisan House has a website, and can be found on yelp, as well as other social media accounts. The design of the logo is clear and legible. The text is large with wider curves among the typeface. Finished with a grainy like feature, this represents a status that’s been well established.

Elaine's Bagels

Published on November 2009, Squid Ink Advertising Agency released an advertisement for a bagel chain in Michigan known as Elaine’s Bagels. Serving locals in various cities around Michigan, Elaine’s Bagels, offers a wide variety of alternatives to help anyone start the day. The advertisement used for the company shows an onion bagel positioned on its side, with two ends of it resembling an onion top and bottom, with a thin base layer similar to an onion on the bagel. By creating this image it, states that the bagels are so fresh that they are a great combination of fresh onion and bagels all rolled into one. Although I would have made the background a little lighter in color, because it’s a little too similar to the color of bagel, this can lead to the bagel almost disappearing into the background. However, the bagel itself doesn’t really fall to the color of the background, as the centered area is a lighter brown color, similar to a tan. The design itself is very simple, and does get the message across very well to where it reads easily, that the bagels from Elaine’s Bagels are to be the freshest bagels.

Vessel

Twenty One Pilots is an American indie rock band. The duo group released their 2013 album called Vessel through an American record label called Fueled By Ramen. The cover shows two men standing next to each other with a minimal background. Conceptualized by the two musicians, they wanted to create a more personal and meaningful album cover. With that the two men on the album cover, are in fact the grandfathers of the musicians. The album title Vessel is a representation of the body, and how this outer shell is what can set us free, from thinking of only the physical. This album cover can be easily accessible for anyone, as anyone is able to see the release of the album through various music sources like itunes, Sound Cloud, or Spotify. This allows for the albums cover, and the bands popularity to increase. I think the simplicity of the cover was a good idea, because it highlights the two men in the center image. The top layer along the bottom crosses over the two figures as a way of shielding in and disguising various parts of the two men. This could be interpreted as the physical shell that one of the singers, Joseph spoke on, stating it as a reference that the outer shell dies we are set free, and that’s what lives on.

As a big fan of Saturday Night Live on NBC, I could not be more excited for the app release for the hit show filled with hilarious skits from wonderfully talented actors, comedians, and guest Hosts and Musicians. The app has an easy ready to use user interface, allowing for a more friendly user experience. The categories offered allow for anyone to easily access the selected skits from their favorite Saturday Night Live (SNL) cast member, to those individuals favorite time period. As SNL has been around for decades, the show has had many hosts and cast members, so precise categories are extremely valuable in the app function. One issue I’ve noticed in the app is that there is a difficulty in accessing a full screen mode for a video that I wish to watch. This can create future conflicts. As this is a technology based item, its portable and can be easily accessible from anyone’s smart phone, tablet and desktop/laptop. Saturday Night Live has a wide range of viewers, due to its comedic skits, and for how long the show has been on, so as some viewers may be older, the only issue that may occur, is for those specific individuals that don’t have access to a computer or smart phone. After using the SNL app, I was very pleased with it’s efficiency, and function, in being able to search any skit I wanted.

Iron & Wine

The Folk band Iron and Wine has released multiple albums. Lead singer Sam Beam has taken it upon himself to design the cover art for multiple released albums under Iron & Wine. Singer Sam Beam wanted to create a harmonious link between the music and the cover art for his albums. The picture above is the cover art he did for the release of Iron & Wine album Our Endless Numbered Days, title based on one of the albums lyrics. In this image you see a self-portrait of artist Sam Beam lying in a grass covered field. The brush strokes are similar in thickness, and are stylized along with the center figure being Sam Beam. By creating brush strokes similar in a vivid movement creates movement allowing for the viewer to move freely along the cover. In addition to movement the lines create a sense of harmony, linking humans to nature. Sam Beam completed this self-portrait as a way of creating a tangible environment he imagined for the song and the message of the album. As this is a cover art piece, it’s easily portable based on its ability to be seen on a CD to various online music sources. This allows for anyone to be able to see the artwork of the album. I think the depiction of the cover art of this album looks incredibly beautiful. The brush strokes of this stylized depiction of his self-portrait, and the grass in the back. The thick lines that create the figure and background are similar in thickness; this creates a sense of harmony between humans and nature, illustrating a kind and positive message. Although this album cover is incredibly beautiful and unique, perhaps the only difference I would have made would be increasing the thickness of the text on the cover. With using a natural cursive text, if not used properly it could create a rather illegible appearance. Overall this album cover is extremely beautiful and brings a smile to my face, it upholds a level of uniqueness that can be found in the sound of Sam Beams voice to the acoustic and soothing sound of the instruments.