Marvin know's what is up.
Wow, it is nice to hear advice from someone within the business of designing music album covers. Patric Duffy's article was a refreshing read and most insightful. All five of his topics were concise and informative. It is a wonder where some music artists go to retrieve a designer that ends up crapping on your new piece of work. Unfortunate, but it apparently happens. Now, noted that even among decent designs, mistakes or unforeseen flaws after production does occur it is just a matter of keeping the text controlled I guess.
What I mean is coming from Marvin's Corner. A few cases were presented that just from the layout used that formed the text caused problems. Take for instance Shawn Colvin: A Few Small Repairs (http://marvin.mrtoads.com/disc_critique_colvin.html), it explained the risk of the "1:1 fit". It's a tricky manufacturing risk that involves lining up two inks perfectly so that the silver shows through clean. I have never heard of this, but then again I'm not around printing presses either. How much fun that would be, eh?
Moving on, considering the risk behind this technique for designers that result in this "1:1 fit" for manufacturers, I wonder why designers continue to fervently develop them. I mean even given the possible scenario that was presented by Marvin between the printing press employee and a designer, the designer refused to heed the warning of the print out result. What does the designer know that would have him risking the design accuracy that the printing company doesn't. What I'm saying is that if I were to be warned that MY design would be in danger of a manufacturing risk, even under a pretentious printing company such given as Sony, I would think twice before going gun hoe for mass printing and distribution of the hairiness running amuck the CD cover. Now, granted that with these flaws the album will sell among the common consumer. I don't see every buyer analyzing a what-could-be a good album to listen to. They will more than likely see past or completely be oblivious to the eye disturbances having play time all over a CD design. As for myself, I don't pay close attention to such design detail of a CD. I just want the music so in a sense maybe designers aren't doing badly. I don't mean to dock them all, it's just that those that do make the bad ones are out there making themselves known.
I'm glad that this kind of stuff is out here on the intarwebs (lol). It gives us future designers a step up from the past...if we choose to.
I think that the designer just hopes it will all go well (like everyone has thought at least once in their life). They've spent so much time on the design that they think it is perfect and do not want to change it, so they just hope and assume it will work out anyway. There's never a time that you want to change something you worked so hard on just because someone says it might not work. You have the idea in your head so it must work! I think we all have that mentality when it comes to our own work.
Submitted by physicschic on Thu, 02/07/2008 - 13:55.I agree with physicschic, for a designer it'd be hard to immediatly change something you just put alot of effort into. Plus, like in the article, some things cannot be immediatly forseen. Such as a black case instead of a white one for Flaco Jimenez's work. In regards to Shawn Colvin's work, as tricky as the ink fit is, I think the bigger deal is the color scheme used. The contrast between the yellow and silver is horribly low, making it "an extreme challenge to the eyeballs." as Marvin so eloquently put.
Submitted by Silento on Fri, 02/08/2008 - 10:08.