A couple of weeks ago the creative group at my office got together for a little show-and tell. Before the meeting we were asked to bring in one or more of our favorite album covers. And the assortment was awesome. Who argue against the greatness of picks like Abbey Road or Sergeant Peppers; Back in Black; Andy Warhol’s cover for The Velvet Underground and Nico; Wish You Were Here, or the Beasties License to Ill—seriously, c’mon.
For my selections I chose a bunch of covers designed by Reid Miles for the Blue Note label. It’s true, I like jazz (it’s what I play). But more than that, I think Miles’ work quite simply defined what jazz music looks like. In addition the covers highlight what a graphic designer (as opposed to an artist, illustrator or professional photographer) can do. With relatively few tools, Miles focused on establishing a visual rhythm and creating compositional dynamics—tension and release. Over the course of his career he designed more than 400 covers for the biggest names in Jazz Music.
A few of the Reid Miles’ covers for Blue Note.