The album was released in November of 1960 The original release contained four of James' hits on the Rhythm and Blues Records Chart between 1960 and 1961
At Last! was ranked at #119 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2012.
The At Last! cover for the iconic album is a simple technicolor image of Etta, in profile. The background is a yellow colour, with bold cap sans for her name, matched with a strong green cursive. I love the aesthetic of this cover. it is clean, simple and in terms of type choice, very reminiscent of the time. This art was created on the verge of the psychedelic movement that picked up in the mid 60s; psychedelic referring to the highs explored with the use of drugs that were popular with the youth culture of the time. Many art styles began to visually show the feeling of 'tripping out'.
However, in the late 1950s there was a beautiful use of type and image created for album covers especially within the genre of jazz, blues and soul. The use of shapes and bright colours is so captivating and a style of art that I really admire. I am limited and cannot use type within my design, however, I still want to celebrate colour and show the same harmony found within the styles of that era.
Alongside these designs were the art works of Saul Bass and Jim Flora, who's style of work was becoming increasingly popular. It involved block, structured yet chaotic bright colours always so harmonious and beautiful. I was very inspired by his use of rectangle shapes seen everywhere in his work. It was striking and simple.
Additionally i was looking into 60s pattern which were brilliant, when fashion & print popularity were growing exponentially. I like the hand-made uniformity of the print making of that time. I think to experiment and perhaps incorporate both bright block colour and subtle patter making into the design with this will be interesting.
