09

Design Variations

17

Content

Thesis Proposal

Research

Project Brief

Mini-Projects

Design Variations

Final Design

Final Paper

10

OMAR - What is your thesis proposal?CRISTALIA - Explore music genres, and design album covers by only usingtypographic elements.

OMAR - What do you want toaccomplish with this project?CRISTALIA - I want to show people thattypography can be a strong designelement by itself, and that it is notalways necessary to use a photographsor illustration for designs. I also wanteveryone, not only designers to see thebeauty of typefaces, because they arenot only meant to be read.

OMAR - How can type relate to music?CRISTALIA - Music genres vary a lot just like typefaces. Some typefaces are very simple, thin, sans-serif, which can be related to classic or even jazz music.Also, rock can be represented with abold sans serif typeface, as well as witha Gothic one. Another way type relatesto music is if they were created duringthe same time period.

OMAR - Is type the best way toportray a music genre?CRISTALIA - I would not say it is the

best way, but it is an interesting way toexpress the rhythm or style of music.

OMAR - Why is the usage of typeimportant to you, rather thancombining imagery with type?CRISTALIA - I was struggling verymuch to come up with my thesisidea, so I decided to combine atypographic project, with the albumcovers. I wanted to create atypography handbook fornon-designers. The reason for thatbook is that before I started takinggraphic design courses, I did notknow about typefaces, I didn’t evenknow they were called fonts, ortype. I was very ignorant, abouttypography and I think everyoneshould see the beauty ofletter-forms, and think of them asart not as letters, as I used to.

OMAR - What is the history of typein the music industry?CRISTALIA - Type was used fromthe beginning of album coverdesigns. As art director of ColumbiaRecords in the early 40’s, AlexSteinweiss started designing album

covers. But it was Reid Miles thatcreated amazing type covers whilehe became art director of the jazzlabel, Blue Note records.

OMAR - Does every genre have aspecific type treatment that makesit recognizable?CRISTALIA - I think it is possible torepresent music with type. This isone of the reasons why I decided touse type for the album covers.

OMAR - As we all know, each genrehas its typographical cliche, how isyours different?CRISTALIA - To make my coversdifferent from other album covers Iwill only be using three to fivecolors in all covers. They will lookdifferent from each other, because Iwill be using different fonts, but thecolors will unite them.

Interview by Omar Amigon

18

031119

04

Thesis Proposal

Graphic Design and Music. In the dictionary, music is described as an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner. Music has been part of human lives since their existence and designers have used it as an inspirational tool for their designs. Designers created posters, and album covers, using a wide range of mediums like drawing, painting, and collages. For my senior thesis project I would like to design nine albums and one posters using typography. My designs will be on nine different music genres, which are: 1.classical, 2.jazz, 3.rock, 4.bhangra, 5.reggae, 6.merengue, 7.tango, 8.r&b. 9.house. Each album will be designed on a 12.375 inches square document in honor to the vinyl records. The poster will be wall size, depending on the space I will get for the final presentation, and I plan to design a world map with all music genres in it. This will also be designed with type. For the final presentation I would like to have the poster on the wall and a table with a record player and the album designs.

10

Jenny Holzer Language Games: Interview with Jeanne Stiegel (1985)

Jenny Holzer is a fine artist that decided to display text on the street instead of painting and having her work shown in a gallery. In this interview, Holzer states that she did not want to display her work in gallery’s eventhough she has done it in the past, she prefers to do so in public spaces. In places that people do not expect to find it. One of her works was displayed with the Spectacolor Board in Time Square. This object, is supposed to be used for displaying advertisement, was used to display truisms that contradicted each other but at the same time were true. An example of the words displayed are: “Childre are the cruelest of all” and “Children are the hope of the future”. Holzer played with typography to make her work interesting, so that it looked animated. She described it as being almost musical.

1220

ResearchWorks Cited "The Art of the Album Cover - Eisner Museum of Advertising and Design." The Eisner. William F. Eisner Museum of Advertising and Design. 15 Feb. 2009 <http://www.eisnermuseum.org/_albums/index.html>.

"Benjamin Zander on music and passion | Video on TED.com." TED: Ideas worth spreading. 30 Apr. 2009 <http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/benjamin_zander_on_music_and_passion.html>.

Bilboard.com. 09 Mar. 2009 <http://www.bilboard.com>.

Billboard.biz - Music Business - Billboard Charts - Album Sales - Concert Tours. 11 Mar. 2009 <http://billboard.biz/>.

Brook, Stacey. "Hung Up: The State of Rock Poster Art." Pop Matters. 10 Nov. 2008. 19 Feb. 2009 <http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/64333-hung-up/>.

Carter, Rob. Digital Color and Type. Rotovision, 2002.

"Data Visualization: Modern Approaches | Graphics |." Smashing Magazine. 13 Apr. 2009 <http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/08/02/data-visualization-modern-approaches/>.

"50 great examples of infographics -." FrancescoMugnai.com. 20 Apr. 2009 <http://blogof.francescomugnai.com/2009/04/50-great-examples-of-infographics/>.

The Font Feed. 06 Jan. 2009 <http://fontfeed.com/archives/category/fonts-in-use/my-type-of-music/>.

Garcia, Cristalia R. "Thesis Interview." Online interview. 02 Mar. 2009.

Ghiorso, Elizabeth. "[ Vinyl fights on in a digital world ] - Entertainment." The Orion. 01 Jan. 2009. 21 Jan. 2009 <http://media.www.theorion.com/media/storage/paper889/news/2009/01/28/Entertainment/.Vinyl.Fights.On.In.A.Digital.World-3599995.shtml#cp_article_tools>.

05

Mini-Assignments

13

Sony Classical

21

Harvey, Wilson. 1,000 Type Treatments: From Script to Serif, Letterforms Used to Perfection. Rockport, 2008.

"Helvetica / Blu-ray - Experimental Jetset." Four Random Files - Experimental Jetset. 13 Mar. 2009 <http://www.experimentaljetset.nl/archive/helvetica-bluray.html>.

Holzer, Jenny. "Language Games: Interview with Jeanne Stiegel (1985)." Interview with Jeanne Stiegel.

Jubert, Roxane. Typography and Graphic Design. Illustrated ed. Flammarion, 2006.

Krause, Jim. Idea Index. 1st ed. North Light Books, 2000.

Levy, Joe. The 5OO Greatest Albums of All Times. Wenner, 2006.

Snyder, Clair, and Busic Snyder. A Typographic Workbook. John Wiley & Sons, 1999.

Spencer, Herbert. Pioneers of Modern Typography. Revised ed. The MIT P, 2004.

Thames, and Hudson. Creative Type.

Tufte, Edward R. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. 1st ed. Graphics P, 1983.

Visocky O'Grady, Jenn, and Ken Visocky O'Grady. The Information Design Handbook. How, 2008.

Visualcomplexity.com | A visual exploration on mapping complex networks. 21 Mar. 2009 <http://www.visualcomplexity.com/vc/>.

0614

Music According to Billboard Charts 1958-2008

22

Music is the rhythm of our lives, our universal language, and the stress reliever everyone needs. I decided to base my thesis on music to design how it has evolved throughout the years. I planned to create art that would take the viewer back in time to remember music from fifty years ago and be able to compare songs from the 70's to current ones. As years pass music has evolved and popularity of genres continue to change, as well as sales and formats in which music is sold. Even though many people attach themselves to one music genre , I think we should explore different styles instead of focusing on one.

The initial goal of my thesis was to create typographic LP cover designs for the most popular music genres. After realizing that genres evolve through the years, I decided to design the covers for the most popular song of each year, from 1958 to 2008. The information was taken from Billboard's Hot 100 Year End Charts. As I designed the records, I thought that al the information I had for the album covers could be a better solution to show people the evolution, sales, and popularity of music genres. In the following I will be giving detail about how the information was put together on the different charts, and talking about the different technological impacts on the music industry. By analyzing and designing information from Billboard charts, I will be showing people how music has changed through the years technologically and genre wise.

071523

Project Brief

08

I sympatized with music since the first time I heard it. It was probably when my dad played his records at home. I did not like most of his ballads and romantic songs, but I was practically forced to listen to them when he played the music he so loved. I truly thought they were boring, and he knew this. One day I discovered my dads records collection, and was amazed by how many he had. This was when CD's had become popular, and his collection was put in the storage room of the house. My story with fonts is different, I discovered them when I took typography one in college. I considered myself being a total font ignorant, because even though I used them all the time while writing papers in school, I never thought of them as a designer does. Designing record covers and creating a type handbook for non-designers were two separate ideas as I brainstormed about my thesis. So I decided to combine them and use type as the only design element for the albums. Instead of focusing on specific artists for each record cover, these will be based on genres that I selected from a list of world music.

My attraction, toward music that is not in my culture, has made me think that people should explore the many different genres around the world. I would like my covers to invite people to listen to music they have never heard of. I also want to show people that type can be a strong design element by itself, and that it is not always necessary to use photographs or illustration for designs. I also want every-one, not only designers, to appreciate the beauty of typefaces, because they are not only meant to be read. I think it is possible to represent music with type and this is one of the reasons why I decided to use type for the album covers. I would not say type is the best way to represent music, but it is an interesting way to express the rhythm or style of any genre.

Music genres vary a lot just like type-faces. Some typefaces are very simple, thin, sans-serif, which can be related to classic or even jazz music. Also, rock can be represented with a bold sans serif typeface, as well as with a Gothic one. Another way type relates to music is if they were created during the same time period. This is one way of representing

the genres and I plan to come up with other ideas as I start designing these.

To make my covers different from other album covers I will only be using three to five colors. They will look different from each other, because I will be using different fonts, but the colors, and grid will be the same.

I have researched record covers and found that type was used from the beginning of album cover designs. As art director of Columbia Records in the early 40’s, Alex Steinweiss started designing album covers. But it was Reid Miles that created amazing type covers while he became art director of the jazz label, Blue Note records.

1624

09

Design Variations

17

Content

Thesis Proposal

Research

Project Brief

Mini-Projects

Design Variations

Final Design

Final Paper

10

OMAR - What is your thesis proposal?CRISTALIA - Explore music genres, and design album covers by only usingtypographic elements.

OMAR - What do you want toaccomplish with this project?CRISTALIA - I want to show people thattypography can be a strong designelement by itself, and that it is notalways necessary to use a photographsor illustration for designs. I also wanteveryone, not only designers to see thebeauty of typefaces, because they arenot only meant to be read.

OMAR - How can type relate to music?CRISTALIA - Music genres vary a lot just like typefaces. Some typefaces are very simple, thin, sans-serif, which can be related to classic or even jazz music.Also, rock can be represented with abold sans serif typeface, as well as witha Gothic one. Another way type relatesto music is if they were created duringthe same time period.

OMAR - Is type the best way toportray a music genre?CRISTALIA - I would not say it is the

best way, but it is an interesting way toexpress the rhythm or style of music.

OMAR - Why is the usage of typeimportant to you, rather thancombining imagery with type?CRISTALIA - I was struggling verymuch to come up with my thesisidea, so I decided to combine atypographic project, with the albumcovers. I wanted to create atypography handbook fornon-designers. The reason for thatbook is that before I started takinggraphic design courses, I did notknow about typefaces, I didn’t evenknow they were called fonts, ortype. I was very ignorant, abouttypography and I think everyoneshould see the beauty ofletter-forms, and think of them asart not as letters, as I used to.

OMAR - What is the history of typein the music industry?CRISTALIA - Type was used fromthe beginning of album coverdesigns. As art director of ColumbiaRecords in the early 40’s, AlexSteinweiss started designing album

covers. But it was Reid Miles thatcreated amazing type covers whilehe became art director of the jazzlabel, Blue Note records.

OMAR - Does every genre have aspecific type treatment that makesit recognizable?CRISTALIA - I think it is possible torepresent music with type. This isone of the reasons why I decided touse type for the album covers.

OMAR - As we all know, each genrehas its typographical cliche, how isyours different?CRISTALIA - To make my coversdifferent from other album covers Iwill only be using three to fivecolors in all covers. They will lookdifferent from each other, because Iwill be using different fonts, but thecolors will unite them.

Interview by Omar Amigon

18

031119

04

Thesis Proposal

Graphic Design and Music. In the dictionary, music is described as an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner. Music has been part of human lives since their existence and designers have used it as an inspirational tool for their designs. Designers created posters, and album covers, using a wide range of mediums like drawing, painting, and collages. For my senior thesis project I would like to design nine albums and one posters using typography. My designs will be on nine different music genres, which are: 1.classical, 2.jazz, 3.rock, 4.bhangra, 5.reggae, 6.merengue, 7.tango, 8.r&b. 9.house. Each album will be designed on a 12.375 inches square document in honor to the vinyl records. The poster will be wall size, depending on the space I will get for the final presentation, and I plan to design a world map with all music genres in it. This will also be designed with type. For the final presentation I would like to have the poster on the wall and a table with a record player and the album designs.

10

Jenny Holzer Language Games: Interview with Jeanne Stiegel (1985)

Jenny Holzer is a fine artist that decided to display text on the street instead of painting and having her work shown in a gallery. In this interview, Holzer states that she did not want to display her work in gallery’s eventhough she has done it in the past, she prefers to do so in public spaces. In places that people do not expect to find it. One of her works was displayed with the Spectacolor Board in Time Square. This object, is supposed to be used for displaying advertisement, was used to display truisms that contradicted each other but at the same time were true. An example of the words displayed are: “Childre are the cruelest of all” and “Children are the hope of the future”. Holzer played with typography to make her work interesting, so that it looked animated. She described it as being almost musical.

1220

ResearchWorks Cited "The Art of the Album Cover - Eisner Museum of Advertising and Design." The Eisner. William F. Eisner Museum of Advertising and Design. 15 Feb. 2009 <http://www.eisnermuseum.org/_albums/index.html>.

"Benjamin Zander on music and passion | Video on TED.com." TED: Ideas worth spreading. 30 Apr. 2009 <http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/benjamin_zander_on_music_and_passion.html>.

Bilboard.com. 09 Mar. 2009 <http://www.bilboard.com>.

Billboard.biz - Music Business - Billboard Charts - Album Sales - Concert Tours. 11 Mar. 2009 <http://billboard.biz/>.

Brook, Stacey. "Hung Up: The State of Rock Poster Art." Pop Matters. 10 Nov. 2008. 19 Feb. 2009 <http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/64333-hung-up/>.

Carter, Rob. Digital Color and Type. Rotovision, 2002.

"Data Visualization: Modern Approaches | Graphics |." Smashing Magazine. 13 Apr. 2009 <http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/08/02/data-visualization-modern-approaches/>.

"50 great examples of infographics -." FrancescoMugnai.com. 20 Apr. 2009 <http://blogof.francescomugnai.com/2009/04/50-great-examples-of-infographics/>.

The Font Feed. 06 Jan. 2009 <http://fontfeed.com/archives/category/fonts-in-use/my-type-of-music/>.

Garcia, Cristalia R. "Thesis Interview." Online interview. 02 Mar. 2009.

Ghiorso, Elizabeth. "[ Vinyl fights on in a digital world ] - Entertainment." The Orion. 01 Jan. 2009. 21 Jan. 2009 <http://media.www.theorion.com/media/storage/paper889/news/2009/01/28/Entertainment/.Vinyl.Fights.On.In.A.Digital.World-3599995.shtml#cp_article_tools>.

05

Mini-Assignments

13

Sony Classical

21

Harvey, Wilson. 1,000 Type Treatments: From Script to Serif, Letterforms Used to Perfection. Rockport, 2008.

"Helvetica / Blu-ray - Experimental Jetset." Four Random Files - Experimental Jetset. 13 Mar. 2009 <http://www.experimentaljetset.nl/archive/helvetica-bluray.html>.

Holzer, Jenny. "Language Games: Interview with Jeanne Stiegel (1985)." Interview with Jeanne Stiegel.

Jubert, Roxane. Typography and Graphic Design. Illustrated ed. Flammarion, 2006.

Krause, Jim. Idea Index. 1st ed. North Light Books, 2000.

Levy, Joe. The 5OO Greatest Albums of All Times. Wenner, 2006.

Snyder, Clair, and Busic Snyder. A Typographic Workbook. John Wiley & Sons, 1999.

Spencer, Herbert. Pioneers of Modern Typography. Revised ed. The MIT P, 2004.

Thames, and Hudson. Creative Type.

Tufte, Edward R. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. 1st ed. Graphics P, 1983.

Visocky O'Grady, Jenn, and Ken Visocky O'Grady. The Information Design Handbook. How, 2008.

Visualcomplexity.com | A visual exploration on mapping complex networks. 21 Mar. 2009 <http://www.visualcomplexity.com/vc/>.

0614

Music According to Billboard Charts 1958-2008

22

Music is the rhythm of our lives, our universal language, and the stress reliever everyone needs. I decided to base my thesis on music to design how it has evolved throughout the years. I planned to create art that would take the viewer back in time to remember music from fifty years ago and be able to compare songs from the 70's to current ones. As years pass music has evolved and popularity of genres continue to change, as well as sales and formats in which music is sold. Even though many people attach themselves to one music genre , I think we should explore different styles instead of focusing on one.

The initial goal of my thesis was to create typographic LP cover designs for the most popular music genres. After realizing that genres evolve through the years, I decided to design the covers for the most popular song of each year, from 1958 to 2008. The information was taken from Billboard's Hot 100 Year End Charts. As I designed the records, I thought that al the information I had for the album covers could be a better solution to show people the evolution, sales, and popularity of music genres. In the following I will be giving detail about how the information was put together on the different charts, and talking about the different technological impacts on the music industry. By analyzing and designing information from Billboard charts, I will be showing people how music has changed through the years technologically and genre wise.

071523

Project Brief

08

I sympatized with music since the first time I heard it. It was probably when my dad played his records at home. I did not like most of his ballads and romantic songs, but I was practically forced to listen to them when he played the music he so loved. I truly thought they were boring, and he knew this. One day I discovered my dads records collection, and was amazed by how many he had. This was when CD's had become popular, and his collection was put in the storage room of the house. My story with fonts is different, I discovered them when I took typography one in college. I considered myself being a total font ignorant, because even though I used them all the time while writing papers in school, I never thought of them as a designer does. Designing record covers and creating a type handbook for non-designers were two separate ideas as I brainstormed about my thesis. So I decided to combine them and use type as the only design element for the albums. Instead of focusing on specific artists for each record cover, these will be based on genres that I selected from a list of world music.

My attraction, toward music that is not in my culture, has made me think that people should explore the many different genres around the world. I would like my covers to invite people to listen to music they have never heard of. I also want to show people that type can be a strong design element by itself, and that it is not always necessary to use photographs or illustration for designs. I also want every-one, not only designers, to appreciate the beauty of typefaces, because they are not only meant to be read. I think it is possible to represent music with type and this is one of the reasons why I decided to use type for the album covers. I would not say type is the best way to represent music, but it is an interesting way to express the rhythm or style of any genre.

Music genres vary a lot just like type-faces. Some typefaces are very simple, thin, sans-serif, which can be related to classic or even jazz music. Also, rock can be represented with a bold sans serif typeface, as well as with a Gothic one. Another way type relates to music is if they were created during the same time period. This is one way of representing

the genres and I plan to come up with other ideas as I start designing these.

To make my covers different from other album covers I will only be using three to five colors. They will look different from each other, because I will be using different fonts, but the colors, and grid will be the same.

I have researched record covers and found that type was used from the beginning of album cover designs. As art director of Columbia Records in the early 40’s, Alex Steinweiss started designing album covers. But it was Reid Miles that created amazing type covers while he became art director of the jazz label, Blue Note records.

1624

09

Design Variations

17

Content

Thesis Proposal

Research

Project Brief

Mini-Projects

Design Variations

Final Design

Final Paper

10

OMAR - What is your thesis proposal?CRISTALIA - Explore music genres, and design album covers by only usingtypographic elements.

OMAR - What do you want toaccomplish with this project?CRISTALIA - I want to show people thattypography can be a strong designelement by itself, and that it is notalways necessary to use a photographsor illustration for designs. I also wanteveryone, not only designers to see thebeauty of typefaces, because they arenot only meant to be read.

OMAR - How can type relate to music?CRISTALIA - Music genres vary a lot just like typefaces. Some typefaces are very simple, thin, sans-serif, which can be related to classic or even jazz music.Also, rock can be represented with abold sans serif typeface, as well as witha Gothic one. Another way type relatesto music is if they were created duringthe same time period.

OMAR - Is type the best way toportray a music genre?CRISTALIA - I would not say it is the

best way, but it is an interesting way toexpress the rhythm or style of music.

OMAR - Why is the usage of typeimportant to you, rather thancombining imagery with type?CRISTALIA - I was struggling verymuch to come up with my thesisidea, so I decided to combine atypographic project, with the albumcovers. I wanted to create atypography handbook fornon-designers. The reason for thatbook is that before I started takinggraphic design courses, I did notknow about typefaces, I didn’t evenknow they were called fonts, ortype. I was very ignorant, abouttypography and I think everyoneshould see the beauty ofletter-forms, and think of them asart not as letters, as I used to.

OMAR - What is the history of typein the music industry?CRISTALIA - Type was used fromthe beginning of album coverdesigns. As art director of ColumbiaRecords in the early 40’s, AlexSteinweiss started designing album

covers. But it was Reid Miles thatcreated amazing type covers whilehe became art director of the jazzlabel, Blue Note records.

OMAR - Does every genre have aspecific type treatment that makesit recognizable?CRISTALIA - I think it is possible torepresent music with type. This isone of the reasons why I decided touse type for the album covers.

OMAR - As we all know, each genrehas its typographical cliche, how isyours different?CRISTALIA - To make my coversdifferent from other album covers Iwill only be using three to fivecolors in all covers. They will lookdifferent from each other, because Iwill be using different fonts, but thecolors will unite them.

Interview by Omar Amigon

18

031119

04

Thesis Proposal

Graphic Design and Music. In the dictionary, music is described as an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner. Music has been part of human lives since their existence and designers have used it as an inspirational tool for their designs. Designers created posters, and album covers, using a wide range of mediums like drawing, painting, and collages. For my senior thesis project I would like to design nine albums and one posters using typography. My designs will be on nine different music genres, which are: 1.classical, 2.jazz, 3.rock, 4.bhangra, 5.reggae, 6.merengue, 7.tango, 8.r&b. 9.house. Each album will be designed on a 12.375 inches square document in honor to the vinyl records. The poster will be wall size, depending on the space I will get for the final presentation, and I plan to design a world map with all music genres in it. This will also be designed with type. For the final presentation I would like to have the poster on the wall and a table with a record player and the album designs.

10

Jenny Holzer Language Games: Interview with Jeanne Stiegel (1985)

Jenny Holzer is a fine artist that decided to display text on the street instead of painting and having her work shown in a gallery. In this interview, Holzer states that she did not want to display her work in gallery’s eventhough she has done it in the past, she prefers to do so in public spaces. In places that people do not expect to find it. One of her works was displayed with the Spectacolor Board in Time Square. This object, is supposed to be used for displaying advertisement, was used to display truisms that contradicted each other but at the same time were true. An example of the words displayed are: “Childre are the cruelest of all” and “Children are the hope of the future”. Holzer played with typography to make her work interesting, so that it looked animated. She described it as being almost musical.

1220

ResearchWorks Cited "The Art of the Album Cover - Eisner Museum of Advertising and Design." The Eisner. William F. Eisner Museum of Advertising and Design. 15 Feb. 2009 <http://www.eisnermuseum.org/_albums/index.html>.

"Benjamin Zander on music and passion | Video on TED.com." TED: Ideas worth spreading. 30 Apr. 2009 <http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/benjamin_zander_on_music_and_passion.html>.

Bilboard.com. 09 Mar. 2009 <http://www.bilboard.com>.

Billboard.biz - Music Business - Billboard Charts - Album Sales - Concert Tours. 11 Mar. 2009 <http://billboard.biz/>.

Brook, Stacey. "Hung Up: The State of Rock Poster Art." Pop Matters. 10 Nov. 2008. 19 Feb. 2009 <http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/64333-hung-up/>.

Carter, Rob. Digital Color and Type. Rotovision, 2002.

"Data Visualization: Modern Approaches | Graphics |." Smashing Magazine. 13 Apr. 2009 <http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/08/02/data-visualization-modern-approaches/>.

"50 great examples of infographics -." FrancescoMugnai.com. 20 Apr. 2009 <http://blogof.francescomugnai.com/2009/04/50-great-examples-of-infographics/>.

The Font Feed. 06 Jan. 2009 <http://fontfeed.com/archives/category/fonts-in-use/my-type-of-music/>.

Garcia, Cristalia R. "Thesis Interview." Online interview. 02 Mar. 2009.

Ghiorso, Elizabeth. "[ Vinyl fights on in a digital world ] - Entertainment." The Orion. 01 Jan. 2009. 21 Jan. 2009 <http://media.www.theorion.com/media/storage/paper889/news/2009/01/28/Entertainment/.Vinyl.Fights.On.In.A.Digital.World-3599995.shtml#cp_article_tools>.

05

Mini-Assignments

13

Sony Classical

21

Harvey, Wilson. 1,000 Type Treatments: From Script to Serif, Letterforms Used to Perfection. Rockport, 2008.

"Helvetica / Blu-ray - Experimental Jetset." Four Random Files - Experimental Jetset. 13 Mar. 2009 <http://www.experimentaljetset.nl/archive/helvetica-bluray.html>.

Holzer, Jenny. "Language Games: Interview with Jeanne Stiegel (1985)." Interview with Jeanne Stiegel.

Jubert, Roxane. Typography and Graphic Design. Illustrated ed. Flammarion, 2006.

Krause, Jim. Idea Index. 1st ed. North Light Books, 2000.

Levy, Joe. The 5OO Greatest Albums of All Times. Wenner, 2006.

Snyder, Clair, and Busic Snyder. A Typographic Workbook. John Wiley & Sons, 1999.

Spencer, Herbert. Pioneers of Modern Typography. Revised ed. The MIT P, 2004.

Thames, and Hudson. Creative Type.

Tufte, Edward R. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. 1st ed. Graphics P, 1983.

Visocky O'Grady, Jenn, and Ken Visocky O'Grady. The Information Design Handbook. How, 2008.

Visualcomplexity.com | A visual exploration on mapping complex networks. 21 Mar. 2009 <http://www.visualcomplexity.com/vc/>.

0614

Music According to Billboard Charts 1958-2008

22

Music is the rhythm of our lives, our universal language, and the stress reliever everyone needs. I decided to base my thesis on music to design how it has evolved throughout the years. I planned to create art that would take the viewer back in time to remember music from fifty years ago and be able to compare songs from the 70's to current ones. As years pass music has evolved and popularity of genres continue to change, as well as sales and formats in which music is sold. Even though many people attach themselves to one music genre , I think we should explore different styles instead of focusing on one.

The initial goal of my thesis was to create typographic LP cover designs for the most popular music genres. After realizing that genres evolve through the years, I decided to design the covers for the most popular song of each year, from 1958 to 2008. The information was taken from Billboard's Hot 100 Year End Charts. As I designed the records, I thought that al the information I had for the album covers could be a better solution to show people the evolution, sales, and popularity of music genres. In the following I will be giving detail about how the information was put together on the different charts, and talking about the different technological impacts on the music industry. By analyzing and designing information from Billboard charts, I will be showing people how music has changed through the years technologically and genre wise.

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Project Brief

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I sympatized with music since the first time I heard it. It was probably when my dad played his records at home. I did not like most of his ballads and romantic songs, but I was practically forced to listen to them when he played the music he so loved. I truly thought they were boring, and he knew this. One day I discovered my dads records collection, and was amazed by how many he had. This was when CD's had become popular, and his collection was put in the storage room of the house. My story with fonts is different, I discovered them when I took typography one in college. I considered myself being a total font ignorant, because even though I used them all the time while writing papers in school, I never thought of them as a designer does. Designing record covers and creating a type handbook for non-designers were two separate ideas as I brainstormed about my thesis. So I decided to combine them and use type as the only design element for the albums. Instead of focusing on specific artists for each record cover, these will be based on genres that I selected from a list of world music.

My attraction, toward music that is not in my culture, has made me think that people should explore the many different genres around the world. I would like my covers to invite people to listen to music they have never heard of. I also want to show people that type can be a strong design element by itself, and that it is not always necessary to use photographs or illustration for designs. I also want every-one, not only designers, to appreciate the beauty of typefaces, because they are not only meant to be read. I think it is possible to represent music with type and this is one of the reasons why I decided to use type for the album covers. I would not say type is the best way to represent music, but it is an interesting way to express the rhythm or style of any genre.

Music genres vary a lot just like type-faces. Some typefaces are very simple, thin, sans-serif, which can be related to classic or even jazz music. Also, rock can be represented with a bold sans serif typeface, as well as with a Gothic one. Another way type relates to music is if they were created during the same time period. This is one way of representing

the genres and I plan to come up with other ideas as I start designing these.

To make my covers different from other album covers I will only be using three to five colors. They will look different from each other, because I will be using different fonts, but the colors, and grid will be the same.

I have researched record covers and found that type was used from the beginning of album cover designs. As art director of Columbia Records in the early 40’s, Alex Steinweiss started designing album covers. But it was Reid Miles that created amazing type covers while he became art director of the jazz label, Blue Note records.

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