I have chosen Secret 7" as another brief for the individual practice module, because I heard about it in our Responsive seminar, and went on their website and realised that it would be a really fun competition to enter. I love listening to music on vinyl, and I love flicking through the different ones in record stores, so it made sense for me to have a go at it. Like the Penguin brief, I am interested in the content/what the brands are about so I can get more involved in the process.
After looking into Secret 7" themselves, I realised that their brief is actually for a really good cause. They produce 700 sleeves, picked from all the entrants, and sell them at £50. The proceeds go to Amnesty International, a human rights organisation, so although that price might sound high for a single, it is all for a good cause. Also, there is no name or information on the cover, so you only know who has designed it and who the track is sung by, once you purchase the sleeve. I think this is such a clever and unique idea, that it has made me want to enter this brief even more.
I then went to Piccadilly Records in Manchester to have a look at a bunch of Vinyls sitting together to see which ones I found jumped out to me for some inspiration. The staff weren't really keen on me taking pictures, but I tried to capture some anyway. I noticed either the ones that were quite plain, but with small illustrations caught my attention, or the really brightly coloured ones. This may just be my personal preference, but out of them all, those were the ones that appealed to me. It got me thinking that they don't always have to be complicated and for once I might try and use negative space instead of being too in your face and extreme.
Another aspect that made me more motivated to create sleeves for this brief, were the actual artists. John Lennon, Etta James and Jack Garratt were some of the names that I instantly knew, so immediately I was excited to get started. I think it would have been much harder to stay motivated through this brief if I had not known these musicians, or if I didn't like their music, so I am so glad that this year their tracks are appealing to my tastes at least. Also the songs are from different genres so there is so much to consider and play around with, as some are very instrumental and other more focussed on heavy lyrics.
I then researched their previous winners and found it hard to find specific examples, especially considering they choose 700 each year. But I did find some and noticed that there really is no pattern with the winners they are all so versatile and unique that any direction is possible. Some of the designs are extremely beautiful and others are quite simple but with a lot of meaning so there are other elements to consider other than colour and complexity.
Overall I am quite excited to start this brief and explore new areas of music that I have never even thought about exploring before!
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