#ashleyluna

Bauhaus Album Cover: They’re a band that became popular on the punk and goth scene in the 80s that were introduced to me by my alternative aunt when I was a kid. This cover has always intrigued me with its timelessness. The clean, simple readable type paired with a super contrasted photo (almost a negative) is eerie and also extremely clean. Despite being designed in the 80s it could have easily been designed a few years ago and emits an easy, simple, and moody image.

Crystal Castles: The filter/lighting of the photo is so time specific to the trends of the early 2010s. It’s moody and reminds me of the photobooth app on Mac computers that were very in fashion.

Kanye West Graduation: The album cover was done by artist Takashi Murakami; his work has always had some very graphic elements. The way he plays with color, scale and composition creates a clear flow throughout the image. Typography can be argued to be an afterthought, but it is legible and doesn’t pull away from the intensity of the image (which is better than them clashing). I think it’s the cheeky juxtaposition of cute and violent is a big part of what makes it compelling.

1.     I really enjoyed the very beginning of the film particularly discussing how type-creators used to actually, physically make the type. My first job in a print shop was sorting through leading (the physical spacing for type setting) and organizing them by width. I had not considered the creation of the letters from a physical standpoint and their design (particularly those made from lead and not wood set type).

2.     Lay out using a grid is very common now, especially on photoshop and illustrator, it feels strange to think that this was not standard pre-computers.

1.     Considering the shape of the negative space isn’t something I would consider on my own