Top 10s for 2005: Roni Brunn
Cover art top 10:
(Presented in an order that looks good)
This witty, clean cover gives a new way to look at a veteran band, all with just a basic font, one color, and judicious use of capitals.
If Braun were to re-issue some of its 1960s electronics, say, a radio, this scheme would work for the packaging. In my world, there are few better design compliments.
It would have been enough for me that the cover looks a lot like 50s jazz album art, but it's not strictly an homage. I love the tighter interplay between the letters and graphic shapes in this piece -- sometimes the shapes complement each other, sometimes the proportions are syncopated to carve spaces out. In a way, it's a lot like the interaction between lyrics and accompaniment.
it's hard to use hearts in a way that's not trite and cliché, and the fact that the cover's not cute slightly hints at the title song's theme. The background integrates well with the text and is very effective graphically.
I might have picked this one because it reminds me of Crowded House covers, or maybe it's here as a reaction to too many tightly spaced, thinly outlined illustrations that graced album covers recently (e.g., Annie's "Anniemal", Isolée's "Wearemonster", Architecture in Helsinki's "In case we die", Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's s/t, Arcade Fire's "Funeral", Beck's "Guero", Sufjan Stevens' "Illinois", Devendra Banhart's "Rejoicing in the Hands", Decemberists' "Picaresque"). Beyond that, I'm into limited color palettes, I think the composition works dynamically, and I like how the buildings are generic and specific at the same time.
While I dislike listening to recordings of performances -- what's the point? -- I do think images can capture the live experience. This one does in the spontaneous feel of its seemingly arbitrary framing and wildly distorted coloring. Emotional appeal aside, the controlled palette and division of space just work, and the elements are nicely scaled.
The photo's high contrast evokes the texture of oil paint, the perspective plays off the lights nicely, and I like that the walls' primary details are decay.
This photo doesn't reveal its age -- it could have been taken 50 years ago or today; could have been shot in the morning or afternoon, and time frame is only one of many contextual features that are elegantly absent from this minimal image. The font choices echo the visual themes nicely -- spiral, spindly script against lithe, vacant caps.
The clean composition and quirky photo first appealed to me, but on second glance, this cover reads as a minimal, surreal nature shot. Which I love. You've got dismembered shrubbery on the left, a vaguely sky hued upper left corner, and a hood pulled tightly. It almost inspires a hike.
Sometimes it's fun to see something trendy. This cover uses silhouettes and an off-kilter serif font, sure, but the essence of both elements is utilized with deliberation, carving out dynamic negative spaces with innate balance.
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Roni Brunn is a regular IAT contributor.