Typography’s relationship with music genres

The use of graphic techniques within the music industry and its promotion are inextricably linked — with the use of colour, shape, and in particular, typography shaping our perception of music genre. Since the first record cover ever printed in 1938 by Alex Steinweiss, design for music has never been the same, with sub-genres and sound diversifying the industry and as a result demanding for new graphic techniques to be used.

Arguably, typography has always been the most identifiable graphic feature for artists, with bespoke type-logos being used to portray their music. This is evident in many instances, shown by artists such as Metallica, AC DC, Slipknot, Eminem, Blossoms and Skrillex to name a few, and of course many, many more. Artists use typography to its full effect to reflect the nature of their music, manipulating letter forms and spacing, creating a synonymous relationship between type and music.

Example typo-logos from a selection of artists

Examples of typographic exploration with

Notable genres often have a set-in-stone typographic aesthetic, making it identifiable for their audience to form a bond between the user and the artist. This relationship is often reinforced by the stamp-like use of typography being printed onto merchandise, building a highly recognisable and coherent association between typography and music.

The examples below outline just a few instances where typography has been used within its respective sub-genre.

These examples show an exploration of typographic variation across music genres and artists, showing that typography serves not just the purpose of function but aesthetics, reflecting the artist's feelings and themes. For instance, in heavy metal the use of distorted and contorted letterforms and layouts are used to reflect the vitriolic themes of the genre. Whereas, with genres such as folk or alternative, the use of typography is often very minimal. With that being said, regardless of the genre, typography’s paramount role cannot be disputed in relation to the expression of music genre.

Do you have a favourite album artwork example? If so we’d love to hear from you!