Ancillary Task 1 - Album Design for 'Yeezus'

Looking through a number of redesigns for the album 'Yeezus' By Kanye West, I feel that many designers have overcomplicated the cover design. They haven't taken into consideration the message of the American rapper, which is portrayed in the album. When creating something as important as a number one best selling album, you have to attempt to create near perfection. In my design, I want to capture on the one hand the rage and anger of Kanye's music, but on the other the simplification of sound and instrumentation, the highlighting of vocals and lyric.

Here you can see a design which has been overcomplicated, because the graphic elements cover the whole piece. There is a lack of negative space, which I feel, when used correctly, really compliments a piece of design. In my design I often favour the use of negative space for that reason.

Here is another cover design which I feel is failing to promote and communicate the message which the album is intending. The palette of colours featured in the design doesn't match the harsh lyrics and feel of the album. Using pink and blues are often found on albums for House/Dance genre, as they are colure associated with teens and partying.

Moving onto the cover which was used for the album. This one was design by Kanye West and his team. This leaves much to the imagination but also uses an incredibly minimalist approached, like nothing seen before. The only addition to the clear CD cover is a grain-textured red sticker. Red is often associated with anger and danger, which suits the albums message.

I do believe that attempting to redesign an album so brilliantly designed in the first place is a tough brief to partake in but I personally trust myself to create something which communicates the message of the album, yet also doesn't give away too much through over-clustering the design.