BranD Magazine – Issue 56: Design for Music

BranD is an international bi-monthly magazine, focusing on multidisciplinary communication design from Hong Kong.

BranD defines a new way to look into Communication Design by presenting, researching and manifesting excellent works amongst Visual Art, Advertising, Product, Graphic, Interior, Architecture, etc. Every issue not only expends around numbers of high-quality visual features to seek the real content and values behind different forms of communications, but also includes in-depth observation articles andcolumns from the industry’s leading organizations and individuals. The Community section brings the designers, artists, art directors, marketing specialists, and business strategists together to seek the multidisciplinary creative methodology behind communication design for businesses.

BranD Magazine – Issue 56: Design for Music

“Music is like a close friend who knows us best. Then who is the close friend of music? I think it is the visual art for music.” With the digitization of music records, the design for records has become more and more significant. People collect not only the music, but also its design. In fact, art and music are inseparable. The Fauvism master Henri Matisse said: “One tone is just a color; two tones are a chord, which is life.” In the history of art, there are countless musical elements in famous paintings. Besides, having undergone countless music movements and design transformations, the visual design for music records has evolved into various forms from the initial pure art. No matter how great the music is, no matter how the media change, the purest forms of happiness are where we invariably return to in the end. When we open a record album carefully and put it on the record player, we enact a ceremonial act that brings us happiness and inspiration. After 8 months of editing and design, this issue becomes one of the top recommendations for collection. Its attitude shines a dazzling light on the design for music. A global limited edition definitely worth collecting

1. The artworks on cover have been authorized by Keith Haring Foundation to publish in limited edition! In 1983, Keith Haring designed a series of works for the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. At that time, each work in the series was limited to 80 copies, and all of them were screen-printed. BranD selected 2 works from this series for the cover of issue 56. To restore the colors of the original works, BanD prints the cover with spot colors. Abiding by the spirit of the contract, this issue will be published in limited quantities.

2. An interesting illustration, like music, has a soul. In 2019, to celebrate B.B. King’s 94th birthday, Google Doodle collaborated with the illustrator Steve Spencer and the animator Nayeli Lavanderos to make a 2-minute animation video, reviewing the life of the iconic “King of the Blues”, who brought blues music from the cotton fields and street corners to grand halls across the world. It is the first time for this work to be published in the mainland of China.

3. The music visual design nowadays is not that bad! There are always people who take the music design as seriously as their lives. To realize thoughts behind the music design from different perspectives, BranD team had interviews with Shine Lee, the Director of MVM (one of the visual design labels of Modern Sky), Tao Lu, the co-founder of XYZ Lab, and Aaron Lowell Denton, the American artist and designer.

4. Where should we learn about music culture? What is the manifesto of the indie music label? Let’s talk with Karl Henkell, the Editor-In-Chief of Record Magazine, Fei Tu, the co-founders of Old Heaven Books, and Qiii Snacks Records, the indie music label, and explore a broader and more interesting world of music.

5. MV presents a new context and visual culture. The interesting animation and story can energize music. This issue revealed the artistic world of Alex Jenkins, the illustrator and cartoonist in UK, and invited him to talk about how he created a brand new MV story for the album GSG by Leah Dou who is the emerging singer-songwriter in China.

6. Can the rock stars be presented in the form of textile art? By sewing unconventional materials, the British textile artist Jane Sanders depicts iconic musicians and conveys a unique rock spirit.

7. This issue includes music visual designs from all over the world, covering physical music records like vinyl records, CDs, and cassettes.

8. Never compromising with the digital age, the record continues to store the music and warm the world. To regain the music culture of an era, this issue presents the interesting producing process of a cassette and a vinyl record.