CASE STUDY: Marc Almond music packaging
album cover
Marc Almond is a name that will be familiar to almost everybody who ever bought a pop record. So the opportunity to design the sleeve for Fantastic Star was one that just had to be snapped up. The music was wonderful, the photo shoot was a delight and the man himself was a pleasure to deal with.
‘Adored & Explored’ – single
Before the album, in fact, there was a single. Adored and Expored set the stylistic tone for the album campaign. The guidelines from the record company and management were “Tarantino with a glam edge”, or words to that effect.
single cover
The single cover didn't play up the glam side as much as the album would later do, but it got the Reservoir Dogs look down and started to use the distressed ‘faxed’ imagery that would be used in greater detail on Fantastic Star.
Flip through the Fantastic Star CD booklet
The influences that the Adored and Explored single sleeve had started got a good work-out in the album which artwork. The Tarantino elements were still there (right down to the handun on the back of the booklet) but they were mixed with a scrapbook style of torn paper edges, fur, tape, slogans, splattered blood, faxes, and high camp portraiture. “Excess” was the watchword and there ended up being 20 pages of it. Everyone loved it, except the boys in the repro house who, in an era predating PDF workflow, were faced with a quark layout
The album was followed by more singles, including The Idol, Out There and Child Star. All followed the high-camp-but-edgy lead of the album – the typography of the latter single was made from snakeskin-effect paper sprayed gold, whilst the radio promos for Out There used a holographic foil blocking. Great fun to work on.
single cover
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Client:
Mercury Records
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