‘THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL’ - NINE INCH NAILS SINGLE ARTWORK : IDEAS DEVELOPMENTTRACK 10:

‘THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL’ - NINE INCH NAILS 

SINGLE ARTWORK : IDEAS DEVELOPMENT

TRACK 10: A WARM PLACE

I had a very hard time figuring out what worked best for this cover. I had taken many arguably “better” photos, or at least ones that would make more sense as a cover. But this one had the most significance to me in light of the subject matter. 

I had taken this photo lying on the floor within the walls of what remained of the Maamtrasna home of John Joyce and his family. I wanted to lie down on the ground and get a sense of what they must have felt in their final moments. Everything suddenly became very real to me and I was very overwhelmed with emotion. 

Even now I feel a sense of loss looking at this image, but visiting just as spring was setting in gave me a sense of hope as I look at all of the life sprouting from the ground. Sometimes it can be easy to forget about hope, but it’s always there. 

My issue was not regarding the picture itself. I knew as soon as I took the photo that this would be the one. My fear was obscuring it with the logo and text. I am studying graphic design at the end of the day, and not photography, so I had to find a way around this problem. I knew I wanted to align it on the left hand side if not the middle ( I had already used the right hand side for “I Do Not Want This” and didn’t feel like repeating myself ) 

After moving the logo and text around for WAY too long, it finally occurred to me to lower the opacity of the logo and text so as to make it slightly transparent. I was then able to find a good middle ground between making the logo and title legible, but also keeping the integrity of the image. 

I’m happy with my decision to use this image, and it probably stands as the thing I am most proud of and emotionally connected to throughout this project.