Noah and the Whale
Obviously apps are being created but it’s not really an area we currently engage. JON FORSS + KJELL EKHORN – Non Format (Black Devil Disco Club, Delphic, Milky.Disco.Three) Jon Forss + Kjell Ekhorn: 2011 has been a good year for us. We’ve certainly produced fewer music packaging projects than last year but the ones on which we have worked have been fun. 200%: What has been memorable project(s) on which you have been working? JF+KE: One favourite from this year is the ‘Black Devil Disco Club’ album ‘Circus’, and subsequent singles. We again commissioned the Belgian illustrator Géraldine Georges for this album. She produced a wonderful set of images for the campaign that worked well in conjunction with the custom typeface we created for the project. The album was produced as a CD pocket pack as well as a gatefold LP sleeve, which are always a pleasure to work on. Another favourite is the ‘Ben Butler & Mousepad’ album which featured the typographic explorations of Rasmus Svensson. That particular project is on display as part of the ‘Graphic Design: Now in Production’ exhibition at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, together with quite a few of our other music packaging projects from previous years. Other music-related work on which we have been working is in that of creating video idents for the Norwegian graphic design awards show, Visuelt. We commissioned the very talented Vincent Oliver, aka Oswald Skillbard, to create a series of music pieces for that project. 200%: Do you have some interesting music projects for 2012 in the pipeline? JF+KE: We’ve just completed album packaging for a new band called ‘NZCA/LINES’ which will be released early next year. There’s a ‘best of’ compilation for ‘The Chap’ coming out soon, that has an unusual animal/human hybrid on the cover. We’re also working on the new album for ‘The Chap’ entitled ‘We Are Nobody’. These projects are all for Lo Recordings. We’ll be working on the Visuelt awards indents again for 2012, which will, hopefully that’ll be another opportunity to commission some more music. 200%: Is it tougher to continuously find interesting music projects on which to work? JF+KE: Well, we don’t really look for them, as they tend to come to us. We’ve been offered quite a few music packaging projects over this past year, but we were unable to work on quite a few of them because of timing or budget issues. We continue to work with Lo Recordings as much as possible, though, as they offer us complete creative freedom: it’s better to work on fewer creative projects than many less creative projects. 200%: In the article in 200% on ‘English Sleeve Design’ some designers we interviewed said that musical packaging will disappear and the screen format will be the future medium for the visual identity of bands. Have you been working on new inventive ways of musical packing this year? JF+KE: Yes, as it’s pretty clear that music is shifting rapidly away from physical packaging. We have yet to really get to grips with the potential of this move to screen-based formats for music packaging, but we’re more than happy to see music being represented this way. There are bound to be albums that continue to be packaged in the traditional formats using paper and plastic for quite a while yet, but we embrace the thought that, eventually, music will be accompanied by visuals that are almost entirely screen based. 200%: In his latest book ‘Retromania’, Simon Reynolds wrote about the return of the comeback. Are you happy that vinyl is back in fashion again? JF+KE: Hasn’t vinyl been back in fashion since the early 90s? There was a brief moment in the mid to late 80s when CDs reigned supreme but it wasn’t long before people started a vinyl revival. Seems to us that is has been going on ever since. I[Jon]really like that vinyl has outlived the compact cassette, MiniDisc and now, it seems, even the compact disc. It seems unlikely that there’ll ever be a CD revival but, as Brian Eno once said, it’s the weaknesses of a technology that are the main cause of its revival. Or something to that effect. GERARD SAINT – Big Active, Creative Director and Founder (Mark Ronson, Muse, Goldfrapp, Snow Patrol, Beck) Gerard Saint: Big Active Design has been busy on a number of projects this year – notably Nero, and Noah and the Whale. We’re also working with some pretty exciting developing artists, many of whom will become more visible next year. Our favourite is Michael Kiwanuka, whose album, which is amazing, will be released in March 2012. Mat Maitland is also currently heavily involved in working on a singles album for Goldfrapp, which is also out in the New Year. 200%: Is it tougher to continuously find interesting music projects on which to work? GS: Big Active Design is always being approached about new projects on which to work. The only tough part is that record labels and artist have less money to spend on commissioning and developing the creative, which means we’re all having to be more resourceful. There’s a lot of visual noise out there and it’s important that good design can be used to effectively cut through that. The issue really is that, as budgets get further and further cut back, many of the best designers will look elsewhere for creative opportunities… 200%: In the article in 200% on English Sleeve Design some designers we interviewed said that musical packaging will disappear and the screen format will be the future medium for the visual identity of bands. Have you been working on new, inventive ways of musical packing this year? GS: I don’t agree that physical packaging will totally disappear. Music design is, now, more about releasing material in appropriate formats. Whilst the digital environment may be used as the basic default, we believe it’s more about how a range of formats can be used in different ways to compliment each other and to create an appropriate story around a release. Every band and artist is different, and the variety of mediums that are available allows them to engage with their audience in different ways. 200%: In his latest book ‘Retromania’ Simon Reynolds wrote about the return of the comeback. Are you happy that vinyl is back in fashion now? GS: Yes, we are happy that vinyl is more widely appreciated once more. Pretty much every release we are working on features a vinyl format to some degree. As I said earlier, the main thing is for artists to use the appropriate formats with which to engage their audience. Hopefully, a new generation of fans will begin to appreciate the sublime beauty of music realised in this analogue format. Interested in more? 200% #4 features an extensive 26 page article on ‘English Sleeve Design’ for which we interviewed the designers Neville Brody, Peter Saville, Mark Farrow, Tom Hingston, Vaughan Oliver and Non-Format. http://www.200-percent.com/