A new release for Hawksmoor on the Spun Out Of Control label that I had the pleasure to design recently. Their first CD, it comes in a 4 panel digipak with a 12 pg booklet. The 11 track album centres around the alignment of the town of Milton Keynes with the summer solstice.
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Pictured above are work in progress images including mood boards at various stages of the design of the album. A few of these I like as much as the finished version so I thought I’d share them here.

Initial picture research and ideas started in February, based around the new town of Milton Keynes and the architectural team altering the position of the town by a few degrees so that the main boulevards would align with the summer solstice sunset (all true).

Photography of local landmarks, maps, logos and road signage were all considered for a retro 70s look. If you search online there’s some amazing concept artwork dating back to the town’s initial conception. The light pyramid on the cover was a strong image that had to feature prominently, the roundabouts and maze too.

First layouts arrived mid Feb but a rethink was needed, a heavy workload elsewhere meant it was mid March before we started to get the initial look we ended up with. At each step I worked with James Hawksmoor and Gavin for SOOC to refine the designs to their taste. By April we’d nailed it aside from the fine detail but a trip to MK to photograph content for the booklet (not shown here) was needed to which Gavin gamely stepped up.

More tinkering through a busy May and into June to refine the last details and it was done. Thankfully it will take weeks rather than months to manufacture due to it being the label’s first CD.