It's Official

[U2Traveller]

don't get me wrong, i'm not teetering on the edge of a building here becasue they went the direction they did for the album cover. imagine you see people in your line of work, your field doing work you were never taught to do because it was just that mediocre. instead, make something that really showcases the talents you have. it could be paving sidewalks for all i care. the point is if you are an artist, designer, photographer and you look at the finished album, you have to admit that there were no boundaries pushed and little creativity, something that has been a U2 hallmark for the better part of their decade. they pulled the plug at a time when they are plugging anything they can, including their Ipod chargers. I like continuity and innovation in U2 and all im saying is that they took a few steps backwards.

I am not ranting, i just feel they are worthy of being criticized because they are artists. i wholly believe that there were much greater arguments behind closed doors, criticizing their own ideas in song and design. plus, as an artist, you indirectly/ automatically open the doors for criticism because you are making an image for someone to see, even if its yourself. we are judgmental creatures, and it is only fair to do this. its the nature of the artist to be a critic- as you make something you are always weighing one thing against another.

btw, i am 22 years old and have been an artist my entire life.
i'd like to think my opinion counts and not be insulted for that.

thank you for your cooperation...robocop was cool

I'm a photographer.

 

[mofo82]

ok...and

 

[radioskugga]

First of all: The album cover is important for a number of reasons.

Second: I'm tired of these posts where someone says what other people should discuss or not! This is a U2 forum, and the cover for their new album is official, and why shouldn't it be as good a topic as anything else we are discussing here?

Now back to why the album cover is important... It is not just the cover that we should be discussing here, because the cover is obviously an indicator on how U2's graphic profile will look now and for a time in the future (tour, dvds etc). The graphic profile is (as anyone of the artmajors posting here has to agree on) important for how your communication works with the reciever. It will be the wrapping of everything U2 does commercially for this album, we have already seen it on TOTP where the stripes and Vertigo target where projected at the buildings behind the scene.

The design will probably have a atomic bomb theme to it. The red stripes to me looks like a warning sign, hazardous environment or something like that, and we have the Vertigo target... We'll see how they use that in the coming video.

I can imagine the keywords they used when coming up with the design, words like selfconfidence, raw and simplicity.

Now to my opinion of the cover. I like it now but at first i didn't. I like that the band members are sitting down, they look selfconfident: "we have been in this business a long time, we know what we are doing".

The red colour stripes are cool and they communicates danger. What i don't really understand is why did they use Clarendon as a font? Because they used it on Slane dvd? How tired it that? Maybe would a sans-serif fit better, or a mekan? I just don't see selfconfidence and rawness coming from a serif font like Clarendon.

I think the cover will stand out in the recordstore and that is always good. It is important to be seen, just think of how important apperence is for how you percieve people you meet for the first time.

It is not cluttered like other stuff around, and Bono said the new video will go in a similar "uncluttered" theme, so this is probably the new style.


ps: this is not a discussion of which is more important, the design or the music of the new album, of course it's the music, but the design IS important.

 

[U2_Guy]

First of all: The album cover is important for a number of reasons.

Second: I'm tired of these posts where someone says what other people should discuss or not! This is a U2 forum, and the cover for their new album is official, and why shouldn't it be as good a topic as anything else we are discussing here?

Now back to why the album cover is important... It is not just the cover that we should be discussing here, because the cover is obviously an indicator on how U2's graphic profile will look now and for a time in the future (tour, dvds etc). The graphic profile is (as anyone of the artmajors posting here has to agree on) important for how your communication works with the reciever. It will be the wrapping of everything U2 does commercially for this album, we have already seen it on TOTP where the stripes and Vertigo target where projected at the buildings behind the scene.

The design will probably have a atomic bomb theme to it. The red stripes to me looks like a warning sign, hazardous environment or something like that, and we have the Vertigo target... We'll see how they use that in the coming video.

I can imagine the keywords they used when coming up with the design, words like selfconfidence, raw and simplicity.

Now to my opinion of the cover. I like it now but at first i didn't. I like that the band members are sitting down, they look selfconfident: "we have been in this business a long time, we know what we are doing".

The red colour stripes are cool and they communicates danger. What i don't really understand is why did they use Clarendon as a font? Because they used it on Slane dvd? How tired it that? Maybe would a sans-serif fit better, or a mekan? I just don't see selfconfidence and rawness coming from a serif font like Clarendon.

I think the cover will stand out in the recordstore and that is always good. It is important to be seen, just think of how important apperence is for how you percieve people you meet for the first time.

It is not cluttered like other stuff around, and Bono said the new video will go in a similar "uncluttered" theme, so this is probably the new style.


ps: this is not a discussion of which is more important, the design or the music of the new album, of course it's the music, but the design IS important.

Now that's a great post!

I'm tired of those rednecks who think artwork isn't relevant...What a bunch of...

 

[intedomine]

I'm not really a fan of the cover, i love the red bars and the text used for 'u2' and the album title, but the picture just looks cheesy!

I was hoping for u2 to have their
SGT PEPPERS LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND cover, but alas no.....

I say keep the bars and the text as it is, but the massice photo is just dull and silly and ordinary

Although, i do like the colour theme of black red and white. Wouldnt mind seeing something orangey or even beigey

Is this the worst cover? I've never really been a fan of the R&H cover, yet this is not much better. October is a lot better.

Maybe i will grow to like the cover if it matches the mood of the songs

 

[Aardvark747]

From the view of a neutral, that IS a very good post radioskugga.

 

[mofo82]

I'm tired of these posts where someone says what other people should discuss or not! This is a U2 forum, and the cover for their new album is official, and why shouldn't it be as good a topic as anything else we are discussing here?

AMEN!!!

I can imagine the keywords they used when coming up with the design, words like selfconfidence, raw and simplicity.

Now to my opinion of the cover. I like it now but at first i didn't. I like that the band members are sitting down, they look selfconfident: "we have been in this business a long time, we know what we are doing".

Reading that explanation helps me understand the photo a little bit more, I just think there could have been other poses or ways to show self-condifdence and rawness then sitting down. Even though they want a simpler, less cluttered approach, even them standing in the middle of a deserted city thats been evacuated crossed my mind as a photo idea.

The red colour stripes are cool and they communicates danger. What i don't really understand is why did they use Clarendon as a font? Because they used it on Slane dvd? How tired it that? Maybe would a sans-serif fit better, or a mekan? I just don't see selfconfidence and rawness coming from a serif font like Clarendon.

The font throws me off too. The facts that it's the same as the Slane dvd bothers me too because you would think since it was a different tour that it should have a different identity. Clarendon is such a normal, legal-like font. My guess is that they needed to choose a font that is business friendly so they can promote on such a wide range of products, like the Ipod. Otherwise, the title could easily have been in a style like 'Achtung Baby'.

Good read radioskugga

 

[Roland of Gilead]

I love the attitude in this cover. It says "F-off and take the damn picture so we can get on with it." Very punk and full of confidence.

 

[Matthew_Page2000]

I love the attitude in this cover. It says "F-off and take the damn picture so we can get on with it." Very punk and full of confidence.

I'm inclined to agree. Am I the only person who found the ATYCLB cover dull?
It did nothing for me. At least this one looks different from their past album covers.

Do we really need another heroic shot of Bono and the boys looking glum with a Castle or Tree in the background?
Please God, no.

 

[boosterjuice]

first off, i would never elevate myself to believe that it should be targeted to art majors. why would you say something like that? i know there are some people that are full of themselves, but come on...

granted, we don't know the connection from the cover to the lyrics, but it really looks generic. is this a subliminal message from bono for the big countries to go generic and get cheaper meds to the poorer countires that need them that badly? maybe, maybe not.

see, i welcome the arguments of all. if i liked it, i wouldnt tell others to like it too. theres alot of assuming goin on here that we who dont like the album want you to not like it too. thats not the case. if one can't voice their opinion, then what can you do here?

btw, i agree with you about the best of 90-00 cover. the colliding buffalos image was such a huge symbol of the decade, then to have them in the image of the fly glasses is unbelievable... anyone ever notice that...if you havent check it out

I hear what you're saying. My main point is that I think this is a smart cover from a marketing perspective because it is attention grabbing.