The Cit-a-del....Handled.

Over this past semester at the famed Los Angeles City College, of which i was a student up until 2 weeks ago, i asked to try my hand at designing the school's massively overlooked and uncared about Anthology of Arts "The Citadel". One of the main catalysts for this was actually seeing the complete visual coat-hanger abortion that was last year's cover.

Apparently the painting that was the cover, which i do not have immediately available on the interwebs to show you, was painted by a mentally handicapped individual, which is fine...but as far as i knew, the layout and typesetting was done by a human in normal health. It was a complete bummer constructed out of MS word default "Papyrus" type and an eyesore of a diagonal "2007" for no reason.

oh and it was mostly "TEAL".....teal....like you know, the color of 1994.

So i took a chance at creating a few options and the first one of my attempts was this:


This, is actually one of about 6 concepts built around this nice little piece of bark i found. The teacher in charge of the Citadel didn't like the idea of using a photograph, and wanted something a little bit more provocative. He did go on to say that he liked the professional finish, although i think, as i look back, that the 2008 in the corner makes no sense. Moving on.

The next one, I am too embarrassed to show, but let's just say it was a product of obsessing over ripping off the 90's computer type look of Radiohead's "In rainbows" and using primary colors. GROSS.

So now we get to the last tier of designs focused around an ink drawing i did called "Three Bleeding Giants".

Here are a few:



One of these were chosen. It was not the one I wanted.

The one i really liked was the last design, with the large "C". I really how the commanding and important it looks. The whole design reflects what i like most in design, a very precise and pristine minimalism. It is crisp but not lazy, and it creates an air of importance...I feel. As i look at it more though, and step in the other people's shoes i can see that some might find it mundane and uninteresting, which i think would not be successful in it's aim to create an interest among the students at LACC. I do feel that at OTIS, it would be recieved a little differently, but we will see when i start next year. I did feel that this overall look and layout could easily be continued throughout the years as a definitive design. It could be altered by simply changing the color scheme and background image, but maintain the look throughout the upcoming editions....but whatever...a little ambitious maybe?

The image chosen was the first one. This luckily was my second favorite cover. It is similar in style to the "C" one but a little less severe in it's minimal structure as it has less negative space, focusing more on the drawing itself and leaving the title clear and interesting enough bleeding into the black bar at the bottom.

So that will be printed soon, on thick textured matte paper stock for "The Citadel/08" cover within the year and i can't wait to see it. It would have been on glossy thin paper by default...but my god would that look cheap and shit, so i requested the better paper from the "2005" edition of this book.

Well, thats that! I think soon I am going to Post a collection of all of the Hydra Head Advertisements I have been drawing for lately! I just finished the most recent one of Rachel, our new Alpha Female/Intern/Instigator. Be sure to spot all of the past ads in issues of Decibel, Wire, Vice, and Rock Sound (UK). Cool.tanks.


-Paul.


Recent Immersions:

Listen: Opeth "Watershed(2xLp)" bonus track "Derelict Herds" is astounding, Camel "Mirage", Fleet Foxes "S/T", Kayo Dot-"Blue Lambency Downward"; Read: Joan Didion "Play It As It Lays"; Watch: Masculine Feminin, Opeth "Lamentations";Other: Health Issues, Bed Sleeping, Big Move, Work Decline, Limited Finances, Party.