Browsing records in a store was simply more fun, than …
… flipping images on a tiny device.
Sure: covers have shrunk incredibly over the last 20 years. From record size to tiny pixels on your iPod or MP3 player.
I always loved record sleeves - there was some great artwork on some of them. The CD was already too small for good design work and special covers (like foldouts or embossed covers).
These tiny images are just … too tiny and boring. And there is no haptics experience as well.
I just love the Economist - and this cover was just brilliant!
And another sexist cover that shows everything by showing nothing. This one even has charming racial undertones.
The black guy is bending forward, shoving his crotch in the girls direction. Notice the subtle bulge in his pants. He has a pure white (innocent) suit, golden cane (necklace and belt buckle), but his chest is naked and muscular. You can’t see his face - so he is just another faceless blackmen.
The girl: very white, blonde, skinny and just at the edge of womanhood. Her legs slightly spread, she wear high heels and lipstick.
The image story is a visual lineup starting at her opened mouth, going to the cigarette in her hands, to the lit match in the black guys hand and ends at his crotch bulge. It’s a very oral setup, implying a fiery blowjob, where there is none to be seen.
I wish graphic artists would use such brainpower for more interesting subjects.
Let’s deconstruct this yummy pulp cover:
The male gun is directly aimed at her vagina.
Redheads are supposed to be extra sexual and her red lips and fingernails add some extra horny undertones.
Her skirt is blown away just at the right place to reveal her panties.
The same applies to her blouse to show one of her breasts.
Her unstable posture makes her easy to kick over or press her against the wall. The perfect victim.
Otherwise the cover is high art and perfectly innocent.
I am a big fan of simplicity and minimalism - and this cover perfectly unites these two design principles. Great work!