I was one of five featured designers in this month’s issue of Design Bureau Magazine on the topic of album packaging design. The question: “In the age of the iPod, is there still money to be made in album art?” My answer is as follows:

“You might expect to be paid little or nothing, especially if it is for an indie band, but these projects present opportunities. Maybe it will be great for your portfolio. Maybe you can use this project in self-promotion efforts to get more and better work in the industry. Maybe it will get you more technical experience. Maybe you’ll get some recognition, either by winning an award or being featured on a design blog. All of these things need to be considered against the monetary compensation.”

There was more that wasn’t published, so I’ve included the “unofficial” version after the jump. Special thanks to Design Bureau and Lauren Smith for including me in this interview.

How do you think that differs from the pre-digital-music era, was there a lot more money to be made in album art design? 

Packaging used to be a key component to the delivery of music but in the digital age there is less of an emphasis on album art and packaging. This can make album art become an afterthought or be seen as unimportant. With digital-only releases and apps like Spotify, Rdio and iTunes, all you need is a lo-res jpg of an album cover, if anything at all; no packaging, no liner notes, etc. Also, anyone can get a copy of Photoshop and make their own “art”, so the emphasis on finding and paying skilled, competent designers and visual artists to create great album art is seen as a “nice-to-have”, but not an essential part of the final product since it cuts into budgets and is therefore expendable. There are most certainly artists and labels out there that take their album art seriously but even their resources are diminished compared to the pre-digital music era.

I think there are two opportunities here. The first is to create short run, limited edition high-end music packaging. I still think those who care about music care about the entire package, including the album art. If you are going to have a physical release, create something great and give people a reason to buy it. This tactic can also be used for self promotion, say for an upcoming indie band sending a well designed album package to an A&R person, a concert promoter or a music journalist/blogger to stand out from clutter of CD comps and digital download codes.

The second opportunity is to rethink how music is being delivered in the digital age and how to enhance that experience. Music today is delivered though a series of digital interfaces that do not need album art to function at all. They are technically proficient, yes, but in that digital delivery we’ve lost the visual component of the music listening experience – like how I used to sit in my room listening to an album, looking though the liner notes and letting the artwork influence and color my perception of the music. That is an interesting question: how can we bring back the visual/album art component of listening to music on a digital platform?

What types of artists/record labels are still likely to fork over some cash for designer album art?

All artists need some sort of album art but it’s probably only the major labels or some of mid-size and larger indie labels who have budgets to pay a designers. Many labels have in-house design departments or the band may have a designer/artist they like to work with (or one the band members may be a designer themselves), so it can be tough to get your foot in the door as an independent designer. For this reason, it’s important to take on clients that allow you to pay your bills and make a living as a designer. If you have a good roster of paying clients it allows you to take on the “fun” projects on your own time, focusing on the opportunity and doing good work and less time stressing about making profit. As time goes on and you build up your portfolio and reputation in a certain industry, it may be possible to move more of your work into this area while being compensated for it.

I am incredibly thrilled and honored to have my Sea Wolf poster included in this year’s Communication Arts Illustration Annual. The annual this year is packed with amazing illustration from so many incredibly talented illustrators; I highly recommend picking up a copy. Thanks to the judges and Communication Arts for selecting my work.

The Nada Surf and Destroyer gig posters were both selected for publication in this year’s HOW International Design Annual. I look forward to the Annual every year for its showcase of great design and this one does not disappoint. There is a ton of great work here with the Minneapolis design community being well represented. Special thanks to HOW and the judges, Mikey Burton, Noreen Morioka and Jamey Wagner for selecting my work!

The Nada Surf poster I designed early last year was recently included in the new Communication Arts Typography Annual. I’ve always looked at being recognized by Communication Arts as the pinnacle of design awards and it’s a huge honor to be included with all the amazing work in this year’s annual. The Typography Annual is only in it’s third year but it is quickly becoming one of my favorite design annuals. If you haven’t had the chance to check out all the great work there, I highly recommend that you do so. Special thanks to Nada Surf, Communication Arts and the judges, Gail Anderson, Jessica Hische and Jesse Ragan.

It’s time once again for my annual best-of music list. These are the albums and artists I enjoyed most this past year and, as always, it was tough to narrow it down to a small number. You can also check out an rdio playlist with (most of) the artists from this list.

HONORABLE MENTION
Woods, Bend Beyond
Deep Sea Arcade, Out Lands
Opossom, Electric Hawaii
Gold Motel, S/T
The Men, Open Your Heart
Matthew Dear, Beams
King Tuff, S/T
Mac Demarco, 2
Low Roar, S/T
On An On, Ghosts
Blackbird Blackbird, Boracay Planet
Dusted, Total Dust
Swearin’, S/T
Jóhann Jóhannsson, Copenhagen Dreams
Mountain Goats, Transcendental Youth

BEST OF 2012
40. Now, Now, Threads
39. A.C. Newman, Shut Down The Streets
37. The Lumineers, S/T
36. Twin Shadow, Confess
35. Bat For Lashes, The Haunted Man
34. Coconut Records, Goats (OST)
33. Summer Heart, About A Feeling
32. Ty Segal, Twins
31. Frankie Rose, Interstellar
30. Social Studies, Developer
29. Vacationer, Gone
28. Chris Cohen, Overgrown Path
27. Sea Wolf, Old World Romance
26. Violens, True
25. California Wives, Art History
24. La Sera, Sees The Light
23. The Black Tambourines, Chica
22. Eternal Summers, Correct Behavior
21. Tennis, Young & Old
20. Heavenly Beat, T A L E N T
19. Melody’s Echo Chamber, S/T
18. Ryan Teague, Field Drawings
17. alt-j, An Awesome Wave
16. Cat Power, Sun
15. Spiritualized, Sweet Heart Sweet Light
14. Echo Lake, Wild Peace
13. Hospitality, S/T
12. The Walkmen, Heaven
11. Japandroids, Celebration Rock
10. Cloud Nothings, Attack On Memory
9. Diiv, Oshin
8. Daniel Rossen, Silent Hour/Golden Mile
7. Beach House, Bloom
6. Grizzly Bear, Shields
5. Tame Impala, Lonerism
4. Divine Fits, A Thing Called Divine Fits
3. Wild Nothing, Nocturne
2. Sharon Van Etten, Tramp
1. Lotus Plaza, Spooky Action At A Distance

Best Debut: Divine Fits, A Thing Called Divine Fits
Most Overrated: Frank Ocean, Channel ORANGE
Most Underrated: Echo Lake, Wild Peace
Most Disappointing: The xx, Coexist
Best Album Cover: Sea Wolf, Old World Romance
Worst Album Cover: Bear In Heaven, I Love You, It’s Cool
Good Riddance: Band Of Horses

A couple months ago, I had the opportunity to design a gig poster for Sea Wolf’s show at The Cedar in Minneapolis. It was a great show and I got to meet Alex too, who is an extremely nice guy. The print is an 18×24 three color screen print (black, off-white, and yellow ink) on 100# Charcoal Brown French Construction stock. Prints are available for purchase at my etsy shop.

I was fortunate to work with Sharon Van Etten on a gig poster for her recent show with Tennis at First Ave. in Minneapolis. The design was inspired by the lyrics and music of her excellent new album, Tramp. The poster is a three color (green, black and gray) 18 x 24 screen print on heavyweight cream stock (French Construction Whitewash). You can buy a print at my etsy shop or at the paypal button above. Thanks to Sharon and her manager, Ben, for the opportunity to work on this with them.

I designed a gig poster for The Walkmen for their show at First Ave in MPLS last month. The design was inspired by their new great album, “Heaven”. The poster is a three color (metallic gold, gray/blue and black) 18 x 24 screen print on heavyweight light green stock (French Construction Cement Green). Prints can be purchased at the paypal buton above or through my etsy shop. I’m working on a few detail shots of the poster that should be posted in the next week or so. Thanks to the band and their management for the opportunity to work on this project.

I recently partnered with the band Destroyer on a gig poster for their show with Sandro Perri at The Cedar in MPLS. The design was inspired by their excellent 2011 release, “Kaputt”. The print is an 18 x 24 four color screen print (black, white and 2 gray inks) on heavyweight light gray stock (French Construction Grout Gray 100#C). Prints can be purchased at the paypal button above or through my esty shop. Thanks to Destroyer, their management and The Cedar for the opportunity to work on this project.

The Rabbit Children Cemetery Friends EP was recently featured on The Dieline, one of my favorite design blogs. It’s quite an honor to be included. Thanks, Dieline.