Recording - December 2020 - 71

What makes a good design?

In preparation for this piece, I sat down with Erick and reviewed what we both feel is a pretty good checklist of what to
look for in a photographer and/or graphic designer.

Make it part of the budget. Wait, what? That's right, build it
into your recording budget. That doesn't mean pay for it
yourself, but be sure to allocate for it.
Some musicians tend to think that since they're musicians,
they're visual artists as well. This isn't always the case. When
you hire a photographer or graphic designer, let them do their
job. Trust them! If you don't, you hired the wrong person.
Look at their resume. If the photographer you are looking
to hire has only ever done high school portraits, they probably
aren't the right choice. You really want someone who has
experience shooting and designing for print. Most of the
shots Erick ends up using on my projects are so strong to begin
with you can drop his raw images straight into the cover designs.
Resumes are important but hire the person first. This isn't any
different from any other part of the music production. Just
because someone is talented doesn't mean their personality is
going to gel with your artist. You don't want someone else in the
room that comes across as being more important than they are.
Proofread it yourself. It's not the designer's job to know how
to spell everybody's name. They only copy and paste what
you give them. Even if there's a label involved, you still need
to be involved. If something is misspelled, it's probably your
fault. [this is gold -Copy Ed.]
Even if you aren't a visual arts person, be a good devil's
advocate. You worked on the music, and you know that
vision pretty well. Does the art make sense? Yes, sometimes
things are abstract, but I would suggest that it's a missed
opportunity to tell a story and cement the genius of your creation
when there's zero connection between the art and the music.
Makeup is important. Yes, even for guys. When you have
as much hair as I do, a little bit of makeup goes a long way.
This doesn't mean it has to look like a glamour shot, just
appropriate to whatever look you're going for-more than
likely, your photographer knows who to call.
Size matters. How does the cover look when it's blown up?
How does it look when it's small? (streaming or on a phone).
If you shrink it down and can't read it, you should reconsider
your choices. It's just like mastering for different formats;
you have to be conscientious of your medium(s).
Have the digital booklet double as an EPK. Ensure all the
relevant contact info for your artist's team is on the last page
and is up to date. Then use it to push the album and the
artist. Or change some text and create a separate version.
Your artist gets a new EPK on top of the album art, and it
probably didn't cost them a dime.
Have fun! Erick and I have worked on hundreds of projects
worldwide. We work hard to make sure the artists have a
good time, and in turn, we have had a blast doing it. We
never know where we might end up (including on a Game
of Thrones set in Ireland one time).

Photo by: Mark Hornsby

Photo by: Erick Anderson

That's a wrap

There are a lot of talented artists out there. If you're stuck,
read the liner notes in some of your favorite albums. If the artist
is still working, I'm sure they aren't hard to find (sadly, I don't
think Peter Blake is still available), but be realistic. Just because
artist X worked on album Y and you think it's really cool doesn't
mean that they're the right fit for your current project. That said,
if you lay out your needs and they're a true professional, they'll
be the first ones to tell you whether or not they would be a good
fit for the job. In the meantime, you can check out Erick's work
here: www.eafoto.com. See you next time...

Mark Hornsby (aka Dragon)

Mark Hornsby is an award-winning music producer and audio
engineer. He is co-founder and president of EchoXS Entertainment, LLC, a company dedicated to providing artists with creative
solutions by some of the best people in the business.
markhornsby.com

echoxs.com

RECORDING December 2020

http://www.eafoto.com http://www.markhornsby.com http://www.echoxs.com

Recording - December 2020

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