March 2012 (#198)

The music industry, and in particular album art, has inspired designers for generations. Why? Well, the link between music and design – and indeed any creative pursuit – has always been incredibly strong. Whether for your favourite band or not, album artwork always causes discussion, debate and sometimes controversy amongst us. But with CD sales declining and digital on the rise, are we going to lose this art form? I’ll leave it to our expert contributors – who have designed stunning album artwork for the likes of Coldplay, Bright Eyes and more – to give you an informed opinion in this month’s cover feature.

Stepping away from music and into the world of exhibition graphics, this month we visit A Practice for Everyday Life – or APFEL if you will – to discover, amongst other things, its brilliant work for the V&A’s recent Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970-1990 exhibition. Check out the profile and, of course, the beautifully shot Studio Life documentary on your DVD.

And finally, check out our Creative Skills section for some excellent creative techniques, such as how to design an Instagram-esque photorealistic iOS app icon in Photoshop, how to harness 3D to create a striking ad visual, and a host of shorter walkthroughs (accompanied by videos on the DVD) that you can follow to sharpen your skills in a matter of minutes.

Rob Carney Editor