For my design for Etta James' "At Last", I aimed to illustrate a lot of layerings because I wanted some depth and contrast in my cover like I had felt from the song. I used her original CD cover, as a reference for the silhouette and shape of my design, because I felt that this song is SO iconic and famous, that the silhouette alone would be a great way to recognise the artist, without the face or name like the brief asks to ignore. I also tried to stick to original colours, but I made them more vivid and 'modern' because I feel like that would attract new music lovers to the cover and also re-establish this song in this era.
Because my choice of colour was so loud, I didn't want too much going on within the design, so my first final result ended up as the image on the bottom right which I really like and I think suits the uplifting and warm tone of the song itself.
However I had an idea to look into the patterns and wallpaper styles of the 60s, to see if I could perhaps replicate this with my design. I chose the 60s because "At Last" was released in 1961, so this would be the time where all of these trends were starting. I loved how there were so many clashing and bold colours within the patterns, they were loud and obnoxious but at the same time they are captivating and engaging. I noticed that yellows, oranges and brown were the most common shades in the 60s, which I thought would be perfect for my cover.
From this idea, I went ahead and made multiples of my silhouette, starting with the top left image, and then tried to change the colour of the whole image, to match the shades of the ones that I had found previously. Despite all my experimenting with oranges and browns in hues, I actually liked the colour palette I had to begin with most, and the one with the more repeated images. I think the more browner designs would look better as a wallpaper, but for a vinyl cover, I think a more vivid and eye catching palette would look better on a shelf.
However once I placed this design onto a mock up, I realised that again, it didn't really look quite right to me. I feel like this pattern would be more suited to the sleeve of the vinyl, the paper cover you get within the vinyl itself, as these are usually more detailed and loud. I do like the design, but perhaps not for a front cover, as this might say something different to the customer, than the original design I had made, and make them think of a more retro, upbeat song.
Therefore after trying different design and colours of vinyl mock ups, I decided to stick to my original idea, with just the one silhouette of Etta James on the front. Once I placed this next to the vinyl itself, it looked much more fitting and felt more authentic to me than the patterned one, However when you put the two designs together, they do look like they would be a match,for the cover and sleeve so in essence, I made a pair of designs that would go together. Overall, I think that this design fits the tone of the song and personality of the artist themselves. I also think that this design suits the era that it was released in, following the trends and colours of the 60s and I am happy to submit it.
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