DESIGN | SIMON SINGS SIMON

THE BRIEF: There was no real brief. This was a personalised birthday card for a good friend whose prolific song writing over the years naturally warranted a mock album cover of his greatest hits collection.

Whilst his musical style varies, his roots are firmly based in the country/folk traditions and so I instinctively walked the retro road to the glory days of the LP cover.

Armed with a candid portrait of Simon wearing an unfastened flat cap and recalling some of the easy-listening and country LP designs of the likes of Conway Twitty and Glen Campbell, I set about creating a cover to suit.

The tan tones of beige and brown bequeathed a softness and truth which tends to be a prominent colour in folk music. Perhaps this is due to its earthiness or gritty realism or perhaps it has something to do with the cords and tweed jackets that are also prominent. Either way, with a typically retro font for the title and and a classic serif font with which to list the songs, the cover pretty much set itself. The overall balance was particularly pleasing, both for Simon and I.