Dialog – Run Silent, Run Deep CD artwork
2008: Dialog – Run silent, run deep – CD artwork (Personal work, taoyoyo)
Spare us the Kraken.
2008 – taoyoyo
Client: Dialog
Role: Art direction, design, production
When my good friend Andy Smith approached me to design the CD artwork for the second Dialog album, he told me that it was a concept album of sorts. The album was composed almost ritualistically as a way to work through a personal issue from years ago that had recently resurfaced. The title was borrowed from the movie of the same name, released in 1958 and set aboard a navy submarine.
The element of water had already been established as a metaphor for the unconscious mind. I felt drawn to Kraken mythology (which some say was actually a symbol of 'the forces that lurk beneath' rather than a 'real sea monster'). One theory is that the Kraken was actually a giant squid and with that I had all the conceptual elements I needed to begin work.
I decided on a playful, illustrative approach as a direct counterpoint to the seriousness of the concept, with album artwork for releases by The Beloved, Gel-Sol and Lemon Jelly used as early examples of the 'vibe'.
The artwork, both inside and out, wraps around to form a continuous design. We chose a clear case in order to have the eye of the squid visible behind the center hole of the CD when in place.
