ejnord.com | design blog of eric nord

Before getting into the jazz album covers, I wanted to drop this gem. I found a nice selection of cover art by Wilfred Limonious, via Grotesk on his blog at 12ozProphet. This particular reggae compilation from the mid-1980s is ultra-obscure and features Frankie Paul, Papa San, and others.

On a side note, one of the things I admire about 12ozProphet is their design savvy. Most graffiti artists seem relatively uninterested in the larger context of design (of which graffiti is a subset). 12ozProphet not only understands the connection, but they use it to elevate the culture.

cover design by Logan Walters

It looks like I’m on an album cover bender. So I might as well just roll with it and see where it takes us. In honor of Logan’s jazz-inspired cover designs, I will highlight a few of my favorites from Blue Note, Impulse, Black Jazz, CTI, and more.

Daily Drop Caps by Jessica Hische.

Shot by 13thWitness

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J.Rocc Supreme mix

Cover art by Twelve Car Pileup

Here’s another Scientist cover, with Prince Jammy as the defending champion and Scientist as the challenger. Jammy went on to greater fame as a producer, but they were near equals on the mixing board.

Once again, I find myself marvelling at the marriage of art and text in the New York Times. Editorial art has got to be the most underrated and underappreciated segment of the design community.

I came across Stuart Bradford while reading an article on dementia. OK, to be honest… I didn’t get past the first couple of paragraphs. But Stuart’s art definitely held my attention and I quickly made my way over to his portfolio. One of the things I really admire about editorial artists is their ability to take the everyday brick and mortar of visual art — clippings, simple shapes, stock photos, etc. — and make stylish, conceptual illustrations.

Stuart’s style is consistent and unmistakable. His pieces cover a wide range of subject matter, but his refined style runs through all of them. In looking at his work as a whole, a few things stand out.

First, his use of color is just ridiculously nice. Seriously, you should take notice. He has a painter’s sense of color themes, mixes, hues, and gradients. And even with the wide range of color he employs, his pieces all sit comfortably next to each other.

Second, his pieces have depth. Many editorial artists have a somewhat flat style… and that works sometimes. Flat isn’t necessarily bad. But creating meaningful depth with clip-based collages is harder than it looks. The subtle, easy-to-overlook details are where Stuart’s illustration skills really shine, as he adds subtle textures, gradients, and obfuscations.

Third, Stuart’s pieces have a nice flow and balance. And they sit next to articles without the slightest bit of antagonism, even when they might seem a bit odd or obscure.

Or should I say quirky?