Wednesday 16 December 2015

Album Lettering for Paul Carrack's Soul Shadows

It’s been a busy few months and one of the projects I’ve really enjoyed working on is the hand lettering for Paul Carrack’s new album release, Soul Shadows.


The album has come in the wake of Paul Carrack’s time as featured vocalist and keyboard player in Eric Clapton’s band for his UK and international tour, the result of their longtime friendship and mutual respect.

I was commissioned to work on the album title and track list by Ian Ross, an old friend and much respected designer I first worked for over 20 years ago at Bill Smith Design. It was Ian who introduced me to Paul Carrack’s music some years ago, an artist well known in the industry as a ‘musician’s musician’, so I was delighted to have the chance to contribute something to the album design.


With a loose but legible letterform in mind, I decided to work with brush to create a fluid but slightly raw and not ‘too perfect’ line for the lettering. You can see the hand lettered Paul Carrack logo in use on his official website, while the album and track titles are positioned throughout the packaging design in vibrant turquoise to contrast with the soulful greys and blue-blacks of Paul Cox’s moody photography.

You can see more on this project and my hand lettering for the record industry in my music folder.