Vinyl Research

So, today me and Simon Cherry got ourselves to some record shops around town to get some useful primary research for the production of our vinyls. Because he is producing work for his record label, it was mutually beneficial. Here are some key points that have come from the research:

• Vinyls are typically printed on 180gsm stock.
• They don't necessarily have to have the band or collection name on them. However, this does require some recognition prior to release, so I don't think it's appropriate for my project.
• A minimalistic approach to the layout and design tends to be better, in my opinion. The clearer the information is, the better it communicates.
• Sometimes the central circle of the vinyl is cut out to reveal part of the record itself. This part usually has the band name, single/album name & the record label. This could be an approach I take if I decide to design material for the centre of the record.
• Also, some examples we found (in particular 7") had a little indent on the edge of the stock to allow for easy access to the record.
• There are 4 sides, typically labelled A-D. For example A01 would be side A, track 1. D04 - Side D, track 4.

A minimal colour scheme worked the best, in my opinion. There is an example of a White Stripes record, part of the photographs, that has a 2 colour plus stock rule, but in the photographs themselves. The black border also frames the composition beautifully. Although I doubt that I will be taking photographs, the two-colour plus stock rule can still be adhered to. I will experiment with this and see how it translates on my work.

Vinyl Research