This isn’t really a rant against stock photography nor a critique on a particular style of book cover design — it’s just something I’ve been noticing. We all know the perils & pitfalls and yes, the advantages, of instant stock imagery but in the long run, perhaps it’s best to have your own unique, original imagery and if you can’t afford that then a really good designer. The same can be applied to brand building and the layers of meaning attached to a logo or a product. Visual positioning is essential for brands and, let’s be honest here, we do judge books by their covers, don’t we?
In most cases the image on the right is the most recent version. Thank to the internet for all sourced imagery.
Flipping the image — no one would notice, would they?
At least there was a little color adjustment going on here.
The transparent overlay of skyscraper and clouds really didn’t ‘cover’ this.
It’s all a bit grotty 70′s motel, but at least Peter Handke’s original story DID come out in 1974.
No comment.
Adding illustration, flipping the image and increasing color saturation helps, but it’s not really new, is it? Even the titles are in the same place.
Apparently these two almost identical books came out barely a month apart.
Hardly a week goes by without shocking reminders how important it is for companies to align internal and external audiences with brand, values and organizational strategies.
Think Penn State and the NCAA, Bank of America, Herman Cain, your local (you name it).
Internally, studies indicate only one in five employees understands how their work contributes to the overall strategic direction. This lack of clarity is exacerbated by a daily bombardment of information, which interrupts focus and impedes innovation. Companies that neglect to connect with employees, customers, investors and the public stifle growth and risk backlash and irrelevance.
As brand ambassadors, everyone involved with an organization must fully believe their support is relevant to the mission. This extends from the investors, board of directors and employees to the customers and vendors. In order to achieve buy-in, to energize and motivate, organizations must communicate openly and honestly about their corporate strategy. The four most effective ways to do this are through storytelling, using vivid pictures, engaging in discussions and by walking their talk.
Strategy in Storytelling
A brand’s strength derives from authentic colorful stories. At its core, emotive branding is concerned with storytelling that forms a bond with people. Your supporters must not only be invested in what is currently happening with the company but also what occurred in the past and what transpires next. Apple’s phenomenal success, for example, was intertwined with each victory achieved by Steve Jobs. Disney has its magic. Virgin Airlines has Richard Branson. When I worked at the biotech company Cephalon, we had Frank Baldino.
I love the way my friend Gary Baker of Baker Brand Communications describes storytelling as the essence of a brand. Successful branding relies on portraying authentic attributes that accurately reflect an organization’s fundamental strategies. The elements of a good story − analogies and metaphors – encourage people to invest in your company, work for you and buy your products.
Strategy in Pictures
I am a visual thinker. Before I engage, I envision an activity, outcome or relationship. I prefer to be pulled by a vision rather than be pushed by a plan. Making an emotive connection in the multimedia world in which we live requires vivid images that play upon the senses. People should feel your brand. They should see in their mind’s eye how their life will improve by doing business with you. Visual intimacy, emotive images and immediacy are why YouTube receives more than two billion hits each day.
Strategy in Discussion
We must also engage with whoever wants to talk with us, wherever they are, anytime they choose. This is especially important in the social media age, where anything is said regardless of accuracy. The inescapable fact in today’s world is employees, customers, investors and the public talk about your brand and strategy whether or not you join the conversation.
Strategy in Action
Finally, success also depends on a company staying true to its words through its actions. The media are full of examples of executives, celebrities, and politicians saying one thing and doing another. Inappropriate actions – and inaction when decisive action is needed – come at a steep price to brands and reputations. When trust is broken, it is somewhere between difficult and impossible to recover. You do have to talk the talk and walk the walk.
But for every Apple, Disney and Virgin Atlantic, there are dozens of other organizations that find storytelling, the use of inspiring and authentic imagery, personal engagement and “walking the talk” an awkward process, at best. Those often-used words “transparency” and “authenticity” require gut-churning change for many, but both are essential to executing strategies and building solid brands and reputations.
Organizations that ignore the imperative to change how they communicate are going to like irrelevancy even less.
Robert Grupp is a guest contributor for our blog. He is a talented corporate communications executive and public relations professional who understands how to channel the energy created by an organization’s brand identity. He has more than 25 years experience in science-driven businesses and trade associations operating in the US, Europe and Asia. We partnered with Bob to articulate and design a corporate brand for Cephalon, when Bob was Vice President of Corporate Affairs. Bob is a leader who sees both challenges and opportunities and applies strategies and tactics to maneuver through an often-complicated environment to find solutions and a path forward.
Branding is creating distinction, and there’s a point in a branding exercise when a company’s unique personality traits are devised. It’s as if a human being is being built—a living, breathing brand. It’s a part of the process I particularly enjoy.
While flipping through photos I’ve shot in various cities, I was drawn to images of Rome—specifically the distinctive storefront signage so abundant there. You see, I love cities. They’re the result of a massive collective endeavor, with their own unique complexities, histories and discoveries. Cities are rich in detail and no two are alike.
I was struck by the thought of how a city attains its personality without even trying. It just happens with time. In the case of Rome, its signage creates a singularly distinct and beautiful voice. I wonder how Romans would characterize their city.
As a designer, I’m drawn to this sort of detail. And I love typography. I haven’t seen anything else quite like it—in Italy or any other place.
“Since the early days of Modernism, the interplay between art and music has given considerable impetus to the development of new art forms.” And so begins Barbara Johns’ highly illuminating essay about that very interplay, although she really could have given a tip of the hat to Alex Steinweiss who passed away this week at 94. A large contributor to 20th-century audio-visual culture, he revolutionized how albums were packaged and sold by simply putting covers on them. It’s hard to imagine nowadays, where image is everything and manipulated for the hard sell, but this innovation saw massive sales increases. As Eye magazine notes, “He was just as much a pioneer of corporate branding insofar as he gave a major recording company a distinctive identity.” Alex Steinweiss changed the way people saw music, forever.
Back in 1939, those hard shellacked 78s were covered in brown, tan or green paper and in the words of Alex (how auspicious of him!), “Who the hell’s going to buy this stuff? There’s no push to it. There’s no attractiveness. There’s no sales appeal. So I told them I’d like to start designing covers.’’ And he did—thousands of them. The art of the record sleeve had been born. His eye-catching covers, initially only for Columbia Records, used stylized imagery combining motifs from folk art, art deco and cubism as well as his own hand-drawn lettering. He single-handedly started a whole new design form and industry.
His account of starting out is fascinating, even inspiring and his influence is still with us. As Art Director for Columbia, he hired Jim Flora as a commercial artist who himself defined the 1940s-50s-era jazz album cover like no other. Today’s pop surrealists/low-brow artists such as Tim Biskup, Mark Ryden, Shag, Shepard Fairey, to name but a few, can trace their artistic evolution back to the Steinweiss/Flora era. Not to mention album art began to be taken seriously in other musical genres. Where would we be without classic rock covers of Storm Thorgerson and Hipgnosis, Peter Saville’s iconic images for Joy Division and New Order or the countless sleeve designers whose visions populate so many fabulous Best of and Worst of lists alike?
The Steinweiss legacy lives on, Taschen produced a weighty retrospective and an “art-star tribute exhibition” was shown not that long ago, acknowledging that these early commercial artists created something that deserved to be enjoyed on its own terms—as fine art. In the age of intangible downloads and music-streaming, long live Alex Steinweiss—the original music image-maker.
