The aim of 314x314 is to invite all the people that helped shape generations of music lovers, artists, photographers and designers for an exhibition in celebration of the 12" record cover and to bring awareness to the dangers of drug and alcohol dependency within the music industry. How this would be achieved is by asking you, the creative force behind some of the most historic sleeve designs past and present to produce an artwork for either an imaginary band, a re-work of a sleeve which you weren't happy with due to outside influences or a sleeve by another designer which you would have loved to have done yourself. It would also be fair to ask the bands/artists themselves to produce an artwork based on the above parameters as without them there would be no-one to design for. We would also like to open this brief to anyone with creative flair who has a passion for music or has had an album sleeve influence their lives.
Once all the artwork has been submitted, an exhibition will take place the Notting Hill Arts Club where all the work produced will be auctioned and the proceeds going to Roadrecovery in NYC. The exhibition will also exhibit in New York before arriving back in the UK for a final event and award the creative judged to be the best by our panel of judges.
For the last 50 years, the record sleeve has been the catalyst of many an aspiring artist, designer or photographer pursuing their creative careers. From purchasing the 12" record, taking it home, putting it on the turntable and perusing every last inch of the sleeve whilst listening intently to every note and lyric exuding from the speakers, this has been the routine for many a teenagers life over the years.
Even today, people still talk about albums that influenced their lives and in the same sentence mention the artwork which accompanied the music, whether it's 'Sgt Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band', 'Dark Side Of The Moon' or 'Blue Monday'. Unfortunately with today's music, the advent of digital downloads and corporate wholesale attitude of the industry has somewhat anaesthetised the art of the record sleeve and the creative process. The record companies priorities seem to lie with the production of the video, while the physical product has become almost an afterthought unless the artist has specifically requested to be involved in the art direction.
Video also has less of an impact in cultivation of creativity for many young graphic designers. The same could be said for the commercial design companies and advertising industry, who have been heavily influenced by the record sleeve designers over the decades. Ironically, a lot of those influential creative geniuses have now had to employ their talents in the commercial world due to the slow demise of the seminal album artwork.
