Dick Stusso Album Art
Album layout for a honey-toned classic about a modern day cowboy trying to make his Nashville dreams come true
Graphic Design
Vacant Stare Records commissioned a design for their limited vinyl release of Dick Stusso's heartstring-pulling Nashville Dreams/Sings the Blues double EP, originally released only on cassette.
In search of inspiration, I headed over to the legendary Amoeba Records on Haight Street. In the country section I dug up a few of the best old record covers that had one thing in common, a portrait of 'the lone musician' with bold title text projecting their name and album title (I like to imagine each title proclaimed in a southern drawl).
I hurried home and opened my laptop to start experimenting. I gathered up a few fonts that would complement Stusso's daydream gaze and honey-toned voice. Before long, I had three different concepts created, each featuring a different portrait of the singer I'd been provided along with subtle image adjustments concocted in Photoshop.
Once a concept was agreed upon, I continued onto the backside layout and center labels. Utilizing layout templates insured that I knew exactly where the artwork would be cropped when it came time to print. The final design features Nic Russo's wistful stare accompanied by his moniker in canary yellow letters as wide as a Montana sky. Listen to the double EP here.
