Print - primary record research

I went to Oxfam and picked up some cheap records to study the physical records as well as the sleeves and design.

Drew Scott - Music Rising

I picked up this record as it had the most simplistic design in the shop. The sleeve is made from a semi shiny black paper, with a hole in the centre measuring 100mm across, allowing the label on the record to be the central focus. The construction of the sleeve is also very basic. Taking it apart I can see that the sleeve is made from one large sheet of paper folded and adhered using tabs on the inside, with one open end, for the record to slide into.

london's brilliant - Wendy James

This record sleeve is designed slightly differently. The case opens like a book, with the sleeve on the right hand side. The extra material is used for design purposes displaying a large photo of the artist on the inside cover, along with lyrics to the song. The sleeve is used as an additional aesthetic element, instead of a necessity to prevent scratches on the record as in the design of the music rising record.

If I was to deconstruct the record sleeve, I would see that it was made of two sheets of very thin card, stuck together, with one end open for the record to slide into. The inner layer is adhered to the outer layer similarly to the inner layer in the front cover of a hardback book.

More attention is paid to the visual impact of the record sleeve, with large monochrome photos of the artist as well as the addition of a pink colour scheme. The result is a sleeve that goes beyond pure functionality, it utilises design in order to sell the record.

The Rise EP - 2Tall (designed by iwant)

This record sleeve follows the same construction as the Music Rising sleeve, however it is made from a much heavier, more luxurious stock. The digitally printed cover is textured due to being coated and the combination of heavier stock and this treatment makes the sleeve feel far more thought out than the Music Rising record.

The actual content of the design also reflects the style of the record. The genre of music is relaxed electronic (2tall - Rain) and the digital aesthetic of the sleeve, including linear features, bold clean type and obvious CMYK colour palette shows this well. 

Out of the Question - Mumm-Ra

This is a 7" record, which I got to compare to the larger records, in terms of size. A book this size would be more compact and possibly more handy, however I think the intent of the client was to create a book that could easily be displayed along with the physical records in an audiophiles collection. 

The construction of the smaller sleeve, known as a gatefold sleeve, is similar to both types of sleeve. Again it is in a fold out format and double layered, with the inner sleeve adhered down, and one opened end, but the sleeve is made from one sheet of card, and is folded at the top edge to create that double layer.