Congratulations to Other Lives! They have been selected for the month of April to receive a free logo design from the graphic design studio Alphabet Arm. The band will get to work closely with this group of artists to create the perfect visual accompaniment to their music.
Other Lives is a five piece folk/indie band from Stillwater, Oklahoma. Their music is largely acoustic, featuring multiple stringed instruments which lead to haunting and memorable tunes. The band has had two recent Top Ten finishes on OurStage and was selected by Alphabet Arm for this prize from all high-ranking artists on the site. We took a few moments to speak with Alphabet Arm about why they chose this band and exactly what it is they do over there. Founder and senior designer Aaron Belyea offered us some great answers.
OS: What made you choose Other Lives to receive this prize?
One of Alphabet Arm's creations
AA: There were a number of artists who stood out but there was something about their “alt-country-americana-meets-The-Beatles” aesthetic we really responded to. It spoke to us, the way they put their songs together, especially combining the strings and piano.
OS: We noticed that your Inspiration diagram looks a lot like Honeycomb cereal. Is this a coincidence or is this cereal somehow the key to everything you do? Why Honeycomb and not a more practical cereal like a Cheerio?
AA: Coffee is actually the key to everything we do. Coffee and cereal go hand in hand, so any and all cereals complement our creative process.
OS: How much creative input do artists have whose logos you design? How important is a logo, anyway? Why not just let artists fend for themselves and have lopsided crayon-drawn images represent them to the world?
AA: We view ourselves as part of a team for the band, building the visual component to their music. [We do this] in conjunction or hand-in-hand with the clients. We tell bands that people will often see their album cover or identity long before they actually hear the music. The logo will speak for you when you can’t; how do you want to present yourself? If not a lot of thought goes into it, people might think the same about the music. We find that the stronger the concept, the more unique and visually arresting something is, the more bands are presented with feedback.
OS: Do you find it more challenging to work with artists who have really long names? Do you ever suggest that they change their names to make your job easier? For example, Arctic Monkeys could just become Monkeys. Not to be confused with The Monkees. Then we’d have an entirely different problem…
... and another
AA: We would recommend that they change their name to ArcMo. Just one word but with two capital letters. Sometimes a single word is more challenging, actually. When you have multiple words to work with you can create more of an identity with them; something fun and complementary. We’ve worked with bands with names from Zox to Honest Bob and the Factory-to-Dealer Incentives. We’ve got experience with all of the above. That said, sometimes we do have clients who come to us with a few album titles and ask for our input on what A) makes sense musically and B) makes sense from a visual standpoint.
Thanks to Alphabet Arm for taking time out to answer our questions today. You can learn more about all that Alphabet Arm does here, and don’t forget to check out Other Lives on tour now!
