Manly Design: Record Album Cover Art

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by Scott Heffernan:

When my wife, Aimee, and I got married, we wanted to have some art that combined our interests. We really connect on music and thought it would be fun to put some of our favorite albums on our wall. I liked the idea of a 3x3 square, so we each chose four albums, then agreed on a ninth together.

There are a few things to consider when choosing what to put in the frames. Love of the album, first and foremost. But the album cover art has to be good. And in some cases, really good album art wins out over a great album with poor cover art. We got married in 2006. Here's what we went with:

Manly Design: Type Drawer Figures

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by Scott Heffernan:

I thought this would be a fun series. Stereotypically home decor is largely left up to the ladies, but men have some good ideas too and I think it's time we stepped up. I hope other contributors and guest posters will send in their own Manly Design Tips.

A vintage type drawer filled in with small toy figures—this is hanging on my wall at the bottom of the stairs.

I’m sure I’m not the only person who is nostalgic for their childhood toys. This seemed like a good way to make them into an art piece. Type drawers were used by typesetters to store and sort their font letters. You can find them on eBay or sometimes at garage sales. I got this one for $15 from a garage sale that advertised on Craigslist that they’d be selling drawers. The little compartments are perfect for holding plastic army men. I tried to incorporate a wide variety of figures. I chose to fill the larger slots with G.I. Joe action figures, my favorite toy line growing up.

Makes for good conversation and the kids love it.

Scott Heffernan is an artist, designer, and photographer living in Seattle. He works on the creative team at Archie McPhee, doing all manner of strange things. He grew up a child of the 80s in Salt Lake City and loves skateboarding, toys, and thrifting. He served a mission in England/Wales and has a degree in American Sign Language from the University of Utah. He has one wife and two kids. Twitter: @ScottHeffernan. Tumblr: ScottHeff.tumblr.com.
 Images by Scott Heffernan.