JUNO AWARD WINNING GRAPHIC
DESIGN FOR MUSIC
hello... michael here
i am a graphic designer / art director / photographer who specializes in music!
some say "album designer" or "cd
package designer" but it goes much further than that.
welcome to my lo-fi no buzzers, buttons or blinkers website or in other words... my very partial online portfolio
just use the scroll bar over there on the right to scroll down to see
a selection of album covers (cd packages), posters and other musical ephemera as well as some assorted non-music thangs
this is mostly recent work (the last 4 years) and i have thrown in a few favourites from the last 5-6 years
there are currently about 236 pieces of misc work up here but i've done about 444 album designs to date
plus hundreds of pieces of assorted
paraphenalia: posters, postcards, press kits, promotions etc (man i love
alliteration)
some of the work here uses my photography or illustrations but most of the work here is a collaboration between myself as art director, designer
and some of the most talented photographers and illustrators in the world.
i love to work with a musical artist
and / or band from the initial concept right through to finished art
i should also mention that i proudly hold one Juno Award and five Juno Award Nominations all for album design
as well as two (American) Independent Music Awards and four IMA Award nominations for album design and poster design
and i was recently awarded a Hamilton
Music Award for Album Art
one last thing before you go spelunking
this website...
i also produce several multi-artist
tribute concerts a year at hugh's room in toronto.
you'll see the occasional poster
for these shows down below.
hugh's room is a fantastic intimate
concert venue... do yourself a favour and go check out the hugh's room
website www.hughsroom.com
damn! i love my job.
if you want to contact me just click on my e-mail link below
or if you have trouble... copy and paste in the following e-addy
michaelwrycraft@rogers.com
or, still my preferred method of communication, just call me...
(416) 516-2477
(old-school... low-tech... yes...
but effective.... i am a very no-pressure user friendly kinda guy
this holdout is still not texting,
twittering, tweating or using a cellphone)
cheers, Michael Wrycraft
Last updated October 26th,
2011
***BLASTS FROM THE PAST!
my website basically shows my work chronologically as it is created.
over the next few months i am combing
through my physical and digital art and design archives
preparing to transfer work to McMaster
University where they are setting up the brand new Man Called Wrycraft
Art Archive!
so i will be throwing up a few
"blasts from the past" out of chronological order just to relive a few
greatest hits and near misses.
hope you like 'em.
cheers
New Poster
October 26th, 2011
(yes... it's yet another one of
my Tribute Shows. I produce about 5 a year @ Hugh's Room in Toronto)
Here's some blatant self-promotion
I'm shaking up the line-up a bit for the new year. But the same eclectic, electric and exciting tribute shows
Friday, January 6th, 2012 - Carole King Tribute
Friday, March 9th, 2012 - Randy Newman Tribute
Saturday, June, 23rd - 2nd annual Johnny Cash Tribute
Friday, August 31st, 2012 (Labour Day Weekend) - Pink Floyd Tribute... yes... Pink Floyd
Friday, November 24th, 2012 - 7th
annual Tom Waits
Tribute
Brand New Logo
September 23rd, 2011
My lovely friend, Miles Wilkinson - Toronto-born/Nashville-based
producer/engineer/mixer (emmy lou harris, guy clark)- has spent many years
traveling atound the U.S. and Canada
to festivals, concert halls and various musicvenues
recording some of the best live roots/americana/canadiana music out there.
For the last 3 years he has been developing a
radio show to syndicate to american public radio (PBS) and after working
with a crack team of radio profesionals
and hiring two of the best hosts working today
(yours truly got to "voice-audition but didn't make the cut), he is a hairs-breadth
away from hitting the air.
here is my logo for his brand new, wonderful, live-music radio show:
Troubadour Sedan
"Takes you where the music's playing"
Just for fun... take a peek at the logo that didn't make the cut.
Miles was looking for an americana kinda flavour which you will see
that the rejected logo has in spades.
The chosen logo has more of a roadhouse sign kinda flavour which suits
the tone of the show perfectly.
New Album Package
September 20th, 2011
This is number one in a series of newly remastered,
redesigned and repackaged Stan Rogers Classic Albums
being released by Borealis Records
Album Package - Redesign
August 29th, 2011
Originally released 6/24/2002 as a jewelcase,
now converted to a cardboard digipak.
New Album Package
August 26th, 2011
New Poster
August 10th, 2011
New Poster
August 8th, 2011
(this is one of my Tribute Shows
I produce @ Hugh's Room in Toronto)
New Album Package & Poster
August 3rd, 2011
New Poster
August 1st, 2011
(This is my 3rd 18" by 24" "merch
poster" for Blackie.
We print them on a heavier-than-usual-poster
card stock to make them one-of-a-kind art pieces which they sell by the
boatload at shows & festivals.
New Album Package
July 28th, 2011
New Album Package
June 27th, 2011
New Logo
June 1st, 2011
New Album Package
May 20th, 2011
A BLAST FROM THE PAST!
Designed 6/2002
Posted May 20th, 2011
going
through my own digital archives i recently stumbled upon this and i had
to laugh.
this is a poster designed for my
lovely friend the late oliver schroer... high priest of freak fiddle!
i designed some 14 albums and countless
posters, promo etc for my innovative fiddle-pal and it was always a blast
as we
have the same highly skewed sense
of humour.
oliver was the man who warmly welcomed
me into the
great canadian roots music and
festival scene i am currently so passionately involved in.
New Album Package
May 8th, 2011
New Album Package
April 27th, 2011
New Poster
April 27th, 2011
(this is one of my Tribute Shows
I produce @ Hugh's Room in Toronto)
New Album Package & Poster
March 21st, 2011
New Album Package
March 10 th, 2011
New Album Package
February 28th, 2011
A BLAST FROM THE PAST!
Designed 5/2001
Posted February 20th, 2011
going
through my own digital archives i recently stumbled upon this and i had
fogotten all about it.
this is a poster i designed for
the Fifth anniversary of Borealis Records, the best damn folk label in
Canada.
They just celebrated their Fifteenth
Anniversary!... here's to another fifteen!
(yes that is MY mouth in the squeezy
"Q")
New Album Package & Poster
February 14th, 2011
New Album Package
January 21st, 2011
New Album Package & Poster
December 20th, 2010
New Album Package
December 20th, 2010
New Album Package
December 10th, 2010
New Album Package*
November 20th, 2010
This was the Trews new album cover... for about
3 weeks.
i was hired to design the new package and after a few weeks of tinkering and playing we ended up here.
i loved it... they loved it... we all loved it. it was approved. i sent out the promo jpgs for marketing etc etc etc
but the band is a VERY democratic band and and as time went by they decided that they had innocently enough led us down the wrong path
as the band decided they didn't like the original photographic concept you see here and decided to scrap everything
and clean house with apologies and respect to andrew macnaughtan (the excellent photographer) and myself they moved on to something else
we all got paid and all is good but if you want to see the album cover they ended up with just google "hope and ruin"
it's an interesting broken glass motif... cool enough but i think it lacks the impact that this one had.
it's just one of those funny music biz stories that happens everyday.
i had a blast though! and the album rocks... the
boys sound great!
New Posters
November 3rd, 2010
three more posters from shows i put on annually
at hugh's room in toronto
New Album Package & Poster
October 22nd, 2010
New Album Package
October 21st, 2010
New Poster
October 10th, 2010
this is a christmas show in story and song that james will be touring every december
this is the poster shell he will send out to presenters
ti fill in the details
New Album Package & Poster
September 15th, 2010
New Album Package & Poster
September 10th, 2010
New Album Package
August 16th, 2010
New Logo / Ad Format
July 27th, 2010
New Album Package
July 24th, 2010
New DVD Package
July 18th, 2010
New Album Package
June 28th, 2010
New Album Package & Poster
June 8th, 2010
New Album Package
May 21st, 2010
New Logo
April 28 th, 2010
New Album Package & Poster
April 27 th, 2010
New Album Package
April 8 th, 2010
New Album Package & Poster
March 24 th, 2010
New Poster
February 12 th, 2010
(I occasionally present concerts at Hugh's Room
in Toronto... this is one)
New Poster
December 10 th, 2010
(I occasionally present concerts at Hugh's Room
in Toronto... this is another)
Brand New Package: Born February 12 th, 2010
Brand New Poster design: Born Saturday, January
30 th, 2010
Brand New Logo / T-Shirt design: Born Tuesday,
January 27 th, 2010
Brand New Package: Born Tuesday, January 22nd,
2010
Brand New Package (and logo): Born Friday, January
18 th, 2010
Brand New Logo design: Born Tuesday, January 5
th, 2010
Brand New Poster: Born Tuesday, January 5 th,
2010
Brand New Cover: Born Tuesday, January 5 th, 2010
Brand New Poster: Born Sunday, January 3 rd, 2010
Brand New Poster: Born Saturday, November 5 th,
2009
My own brand new Logo / T-shirt for 2010 - B&W and Colour
Born Thursday, November 3 rd, 2009
Brand New Cover: Born Thursday, October 29 th,
2009
Brand New Cover: Born Tuesday, October 20 th,
2009
Brand New Cover: Born Tuesday, October 13 th,
2009
Brand New Cover: Born Tuesday, September 22 nd,
2009
Brand New Logo: Born Tuesday, August 8 th, 2009
Brand New Cover: Born Thursday, August 3 rd, 2009
Brand New Cover: Born Thursday, August 27 th,
2009
Brand New Cover: Born Sunday, August 23 rd, 2009
Brand New Cover: Born Sunday, August 23 rd, 2009
Brand New Cover: Born Monday, July 20 th, 2009
Brand New Cover: Born Monday, June 8 th, 2009
Brand New Logo: Born Monday, June 1st, 2009
Spring 2009 seems to have brought an early poster harvest to Wrycraft Laboratories
Brand New Poster Set: Born Sunday, April 26 th,
2009
Brand New Poster: Born Monday, April 27 th, 2009
Brand New Poster Set: Born Sunday, April 26 th,
2009
Brand New Poster: Born Tuesday, April 21st, 2009
Brand New Poster Set: Born Sunday, April 26 th,
2009
Brand New Cover: Born Sunday, April 26 th, 2009
Brand New Cover: Born Thursday, April 9 th, 2009
Brand New Poster: Born Tuesday, April 7 th, 2009
This poster is 68" high and 46" wide and will be in 12 bus shelters for 3 weeks in downtown Vancouver
Yaaaaaay!
Check it out... here it is fresh up in a transit
shelter on Commercial Drive in Vancouver
Brand New Poster: Born Tuesday, April 7 th, 2009
This poster is 68" high and 46" wide and will be in 12 bus shelters for 3 weeks in downtown Vancouver
Yaaaaaay!
Brand New Cover: Born Tuesday, April 7 th, 2009
Brand New Cover: Born Tuesday, April 7 th, 2009
Click here for
PAGE 2
to see a few more
snazzy projects from 2008/2009