So many of you probably think that it's just one big party after a rock show but we're here to tell you otherwise. We strive to ensure the well of creativity never runs dry and sometimes that means putting in overtime. Ryan Stasik & Kevin Browning found some of that mojo after the Red Rocks show while staying in the vintage Boulderado Hotel (inspiration found at approxmiately 5am). We hope you enjoy our silent film, note the cameo by famed UM photographer Chad Smith.
From Hall of Fame designer John Engelman
The Logo:
It was pretty clear from the beginning that we wanted to use the same logo from last year's HOF release but it needed some sprucing. Timelessness & classiness were two of the prerequisites so we experimented with a variety of color choices, some good, some bad, some real bad. Ultimately we ended up with a look I refer to to as Honolulu blue & silver. (A shout out to my Lions!)
The Pictures:
In my opinion, this was the most difficult part of the design. Kevin had a good idea of what he wanted out of the photo, but he wasn't sure what photo & how to present it. We wanted the focus on the crowd & we wanted rock hands (duh). We had a huge stash of photos to comb through and after we arrived at a few likely candidates, I began some mock ups. Do we want a border? What style border? Bigger logo? Smaller logo? Should the photo wrap around the whole package or indvidual photos per side? On and on and on.
Again, some of them really work and some don't. For me, design is about trial & error. You never know what is going to work unless you try it. From this point, we just put the legos together until it fit. Chad Smith's black & white photo emerged as a clear winner for the cover. The thin boarder does a great job framing the whole shot, keeping it clean. Abbby Fox's photo on the back is a great representation of what we've all felt so many times at the rock show.
One of the most interesting parts of the journey is to look back at the original design & see where we ended up. Pretty close eh? It's funny to see all these little changes you make but often end up right back at your original instinct. Trial & error is the name of the game.
The Finished Product:
I hope I've given you a small glimpse of what went into the design of this album cover. Obvoiusly there is a bunch of boring stuff I've skipped over, like the text sizes & edits, layout changes from vinyl to cd to download, but you get the gist. Eternal thanks to Kevin Browning & Umphrey's McGee for giving me the chance to design this album and all the other projects I've been fortunate enough to do for them. It's an honor & a privelage.
If you want to hear more about this project or have any questions, please check out umphlove.com or find me on twitter @heavynuggets. If you're ever in need of design work, please check out MIDWESTpeeps.com. Thanks again Umphrey's, and stay classy everyone.
P.S. Get the vinyl (even to just hang on the wall) as that's where it really shines!