Sound: a physical medium

This weekend I was able to attend Record Store Day 2018. This is a national event held by independent local record stores. Each store has stock of limited or exclusive records only released on April 21st. Customers line up out the door like Black Friday and camp overnight. But instead of the motivation being a lower price tag, the appeal are releases of never before produced, limited number, or exclusively colored vinyl.

Vinyl records as an industry, has been on the rise as music listeners have grown to prefer owning a physical medium of their favorite tunes. There is something incredibly powerful to an analog playback, a mystery how music can be embedded into a groove.

Many important design elements come together on a record. Album art, vinyl color, and inner inserts. Each is an opportunity to physically express their artistry in a way that complements the music itself. Vinyl records are here to stay.