Success and Failure in Design

For my examples, I found 2 album covers. In my future career I want to combine photography and graphic design, especially working with other artists and musicians. 

The famous Pink Floyd “dark side of the moon” CD cover is an example of excellent horizontal balance while also remaining  interesting and having emphasis on the title of the album and band. The prism and rainbow beam against the black background create an eye catching positive/negative duality, and the overall shape draws the eye to the right. In the upper right hand corner, the band name and title of the album are enclosed in a circle. The placement of the circle creates perfect imbalance, and when the eye is drawn to the right by following the prism and rainbow colors, the important words are easily read and understood, adding to the overall equilibrium of the work. Overall, the design is famous for a reason, not only does it display amazing visuals and creativity, but also success with design elements.

This cover is from a band I have not heard of, but overall it’s design methods do not work. The colors used are abrasive, and the centering of the face makes the design static. It is unclear the message that this design is intending to send. The font and placement of the artist and album are also weak, with the title being large and the artist name much too small. The font colors of the title are also too close to the red background it is placed on.  If the focus was placed on the title, with more of a clear positive/negative complex created by the harsh colors used here, and more organization, it is possible this design could have been interesting and successful. This album cover is stressful, but unfortunately not in a design related way.