John Mayer Album and Vinyl Design
John Mayer has undoubtedly played a huge role in the music industry, shaping what many of us have come to know as acoustic rock. While the illustrious singer has amassed millions of fans, few know the true inspiration and reasoning behind many of his songs.
Diagnosed with both Panic and Anxiety Disorders, Mayer has shared that music has often been an escape for him. Symptoms of these disorders include feeling frozen, paralyzed, and fractured within peak moments. To honor these traits, I designed the album to exhibit a fragmented glitching effect to promote these feelings in the viewer as if Mayer is suspended in time, both revered and restless.
In addition to his preceding conditions, Mayer has also reported having symptoms of synesthesia: a neurological condition where the brain misinterprets stimuli from two areas of the body. This disorder ultimately causes the recipient to see color when they hear sound. For this, I created a blocked hue effect surrounding the songwriter to emulate color radiating from both he and his instrument as the music is played.
The remaining image has been treated as black and white to pay homage to the first line of the Title Track, Stop This Train, reading, “No, I am not colorblind, I know the world is black and white”. This effect not only creates a dichotomy between the two elements but also brings awareness to the often somber language used by the artist.
To stay consistent with the pre-existing brand, the record design includes a similar typeface and font, muted tones, and of course, both Mayer and his guitar. In previous covers, the artist has been portrayed in more natural backgrounds; for this, the back of the album depicts a single tree, standing alone in a field, to allude to his past work in addition to the sense of loneliness the artist has reported feeling due to his neurological conditions.
The most recent, Sob Rock album changed course from his previous work by offering a ‘retro’ feel pulling in neon colors; these same colors were used to design the synthetic effect mentioned above as well as the chrome effect used on the vinyl itself. With signed albums becoming more accessible to the masses, Mayer’s signature was added to both the packaging and vinyl to maintain a competitive edge in the market.
