I was commissioned by Sony Music/columbia records, New York to design an album cover for John Mayer, the American pop and blues rock musician. The album is called Born and Raised. John as you know, is a singer-songwriter, recording artist and music producer.
Working with John on the brief of the artwork, he asked me to include coins, watches, flowers, and ribbons. I had a great start because of his direction and experience in graphic design and knew this would go smoothly. He also has a great eye for detail and design.
The artwork took roughly one month to complete, drawings were made separately in this time, but most of the artwork from Vectoring and finishing in Photoshop took just short of 28 days. This has without a doubt been one of the most enjoyable projects I have been involved with due to the person I was working for.
The album is out now on iTunes and has also been made as a traditional LP with full cover jacket and internal artwork. The work was commissioned by Sony Music and Columbia Records, New York at the beginning of 2012.
It appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres show on the 14th May 2012 in Chicago and David Letterman Show on the 17th May in New York 2012. and many more international shows. The images below show step by step artwork of the cover along with other ideas presented to John back in December 2011
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- Born and Raised. on ITunes
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- Born and Raised posters Reed store ,New York
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- Born and Raised posters Reed store ,New York
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- Born and Raised store
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- Born and Raised store
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- Born and Raised store
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- Born and Raised store
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- Born and Raised store
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- Window display Born and Raised
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- Born and Raised store
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- Trade card designed for John Mayer merchandise
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- john signing at Reed store
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- John Mayer.at the opening of the Born and Raised store New York
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- posters in reed store New York
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- posters in reed store New York
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- Trade card artwork
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- John Mayer
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- back cover artwork
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- finished work in LP format
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- New York- Manhatton. large posters in shops promoting Born and Raised
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- Born-and-Raised-Sketch
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- Queen-of-California artwork
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- John’s l idea that he sketched in his hotel room
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- Duane sketch
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- Fans of John Mayer with my artwork
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- ellen degeneres show 2012. John Mayer Interview with my artwork in the background
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- Artwork made it into the main NewsPapers of New Zealand.
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- clock detail.
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- British Airways on board music
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- Band members on the coins
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- Born and Raised Song titles in the Mayer Font
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- Born and Raised Song titles in the Mayer Font
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- Iphone case JCM&Co go to www.johnmayer.com to purchase this item
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- Embossed Moleskine Notebooks
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- custom notebook design for Born and Raised
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- hand crafted design
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- Embossed Moleskine design
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- Born and Raised thumbnail sketch
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- Thumbnail Original design.
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- Born and Raised detail
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- Born and Raised idea 4
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- second idea for Born and Raised
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- John Mayer sketch Original artwork
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- black and white drawing
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- coins and medal detail
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- Hand drawn artwork
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- Hand drawn details
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- Born and Raised album original drawing
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- Artwork detail
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- Black and White version. Born and Raised.
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- Colour version of the original design
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- Album Cover Born and Raised, muted colours
Tags: Album Cover, album covers, artwork, band, Born and Raised, columbia records, crossroads, design, Embossed, famous, flowers, graphic, graphic design, guitarist, heritage, John Mayer, lyrics, Moleskine, Music, Queen of California, rock star, Something called olivia, sony music, steampunk, trade card. ephemera, victorian
[...] about master illustrator David Smith creating an album cover for John Mayer. Now David has posted a gallery of illustrations & photos from the project on his site. var addthis_options = "facebook,twitter,igoogle"; var addthis_config [...]
David, I just watched your video “The Making of John Mayer’s “Born and Raised’ Artwork” and I am speechless. I remember seeing the album cover for the first time in my local record store and I was blown away by how amazing it looked. I can’t even wrap my head around that level of talent! What an incredible gift you have! Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!
Hello David,
I’m sure you’ve heard this a hundred times by now, but I was blown away by your work on the John Mayer album and subsequently by your other works. It’s brilliant to see someone work with such a passion and gift these days. You’re an amazingly talented artist and craftsman.
Wishing you all the best in the future, your friend in germany,
Sascha
David,
Followed a link offered in the latest edition of SmashingMagazine regarding cover for John Mayer album. Then to your site. FANTASTIC collection of work! David, your work truly inspires (regardless of the tools you use) and thank you for sharing so much info on your process.
I work as a designer in web and mobile. The work does have its rewards and challenges. Viewing your work reminds me though, to take time to pursue the traditional skills even if just for myself. The pencils, colored inks and watercolors languishing in the corner are not going to put themselves on paper.
Thank you again for the look at your studio.
Best,
Keith D
This post just blew my mind. I still don’t understand how you vectorised everything so tightly but its just stunning. <3 <3 <3
[...] artist, who has recently collaborated with musician John Mayer to design his new album cover, is one of a handful left in the world who can do this tricky Victorian style of artwork. The [...]
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Many thanks, I appreciate it!
LOVE your work, I’ve always appreciated this genre of illustrating and reverse glass work, yours is exemplary…
I seldom leave a response, but i did some searching and wound up here Born & Raised Album Cover – John Mayer