Features

Due to advances in the music industry with mp3s, ipods & music on your mobile, we can now sound track our lives like never before.

Digital design has taken on new formats such as websites, MySpace, blogs, Youtube, podcasts and content for mobiles.

New/young bands are able to promote themselves particularly through the use of Youtube & MySpace.

It's no longer just about the music, but the art and promotional campaign that goes with it, resulting in the music industry becoming a brilliant creative platform for graphic designers.

For this reason I chose to do the artwork for an unsigned artist for my final major project  for my HND in Graphic Design & Multimedia at Gloucestershire College.

Sam Isaac album design, by Cathie Uff (2008)

My tutor, Rachel Johnson, put me in contact with the young, talented, unsigned singer/songwriter Sam Isaac.

Some of Sams' successes include playing at Glastonbury, the BBC Electric Proms and he has also had his songs played on BBC Radio 1 by Jo Whiley, Zane Lowe & Colin Murry.

Sam said, "It's like an indie cottage industry. Friends do my artwork, play in my band, make my recordings and run around with my mailing list".

Sam was an ideal candidate for me to work with, he does a lot of self-promotion via his website, MySpace and Facebook.

The brief was left pretty open to me. I designed an interactive, limited edition CD packaging and a low budget promo video for Sams 'A Cinematic Low'.

I really enjoyed doing this project and am very pleased with what I learnt doing throughout (even if at some points it seemed like it would never get finished in time!), but I'm particularly happy that Sam liked it.