Artistery vs functionality

[mattias]

Hi Travis!
I'm a big admierer of your work and since I'm cheating a little as an cd-designer myself I often check your work and find some inspiration in it.

But I must admit I was a little disappointed with the Anathema booklet. It looks awesome but it's almost impossible to read the lyrics without feeling pain in your eyes afterwards.

I wonder if it was ment that it should be this hard to read them.. maybe it was a wish from the band, and the client is always right of course Or maybe it looked good on the screen but got messed up when it was printed. The final print is never as sharp as it looks on the screen of if you print it out with a good printer at home. I have had that problem myself with one of my projects.

I also have a Porcupine Tree CD (stupid dream) where Bill Smith did the artwork and the lyrics are put in very thin columns so it's almost impossible to read it.

What are your ideas about artistery vs functionality? I'm also interested in knowing what the rest of you on thes board thinks. Is a good and cool look more important than readable lyrics?

Mattias

 

[Seems like Trav]

A vs F: Well, for me it depends on the context.
and its a matter of preference. but it also depends on whats
right for each thing...

sometimes a band wants the lyrics up front and clear as a bell
foremost and sometimes not. ive done things where art was left out
in favor of more readable lyrics. Like on Opeth, it was very crucial that the lyrics were clear and readable so you had pure function, or on katatonia where you can read them but they are scrawled so you have artistry AND function. Anathema is meant to be taken all at once
to where the writings are actually a part of the art and not a seperate entity from it. usually you have some art that gives insight to each song and then the lyrics so you can read along or what not. this is not the case for this. you take in what you see and hear all at once and whatever you interpret is what you walk away with. in that context the booklet functions exactly as it is supposed to. It printed exactly as it was intended. its more about a state of mind than a read along type thing. I get a lont of questions about that one from people which is good because it's causing them to look harder and try
to figure it all out, which is what we wanted. If you get a conclusion from it or if it just makes your head hurt it's doing it's job. it's just supposed to be a big trip.



t