October 29, 2006

Grand Design: switchfoot.com



(click for actual site)

Switchfoot – switchfoot.com

Part of the task of an effective band website is combining a sense of design that can stand alone while properly delivering meaningful content. The newish Switchfoot site, created by Idea Den, is based on the artwork of their forthcoming release, Oh! Gravity, and it’s a good example of this fusion. The middle content area can get chaotic, even without the animations, but the left Flash menu wisely moves with you as you scroll and read.

23 Responses to “Grand Design: switchfoot.com”

  1. On 10/29/06 4:55 PM, Domerini said:

    Is it just me or does Switchfoot suck, Terribly?

  3. On 10/29/06 6:48 PM, Graff said:

    I just checked out this site and it’s really well done. The flash menu matches the ‘gravity’ theme of the content really well and the artwork is great! While I am not familiar with the band, the first thing I heard on the site is ‘Oh Gravity’ and it’s probably the freshest sounding rock song I’ve heard in a while.

  5. On 10/29/06 7:16 PM, miss omaha said:

    ummm….I wouldn’t have guessed this is Switchfoot (that song they released on itunes called Dirty Second hands… amazing). The videos section is really well done with the youtube player, you gotta love a band that doesn’t take themselves too seriously

  7. On 10/29/06 7:21 PM, Hun Wy said:

    This webshite is bananas!!!

  9. On 10/29/06 7:55 PM, Jay said:

    Good points on the gravity thing, Graff. I was too dumb to pick up on that right away.

  11. On 10/29/06 9:48 PM, jake said:

    Wow, “dirty second hands” is decent. Good design too.

  13. On 10/29/06 10:34 PM, thinmatt said:

    this looks strangely a lot like a jet album cover that looks strangely a lot like a beatles album cover… anyone else agree?

  15. On 10/30/06 12:25 AM, LACIE2 said:

    Ha, a Beatles nod for sure!

  17. On 10/30/06 12:31 AM, Graff said:

    I see the similarity for sure, not so much Jet but I think it was the Revolver cover…correct me if I’m wrong. Doesn’t bother me though because the elements are really unique. Anyone know who created the album art? IDea Den is it?

  19. On 10/30/06 12:32 PM, thinmatt said:

    yeah it is the revolver album…

    it is a very unique and cool style to imitate.

  21. On 10/30/06 3:30 PM, Andy K. said:

    This website makes me want to get a coloring book and markers and just go to town.

  23. On 10/30/06 3:34 PM, Bradley Spitzer said:

    Maybe the boys in Switchfoot took a nod from Beck’s last album and this album will come with markers/crayons so that you can color the artwork.

  25. On 10/30/06 5:05 PM, The Theory said:

    I think the design is decent. And I really like the new tracks they’re streaming on the site… especially “Dirty Second Hands.”

  27. On 10/30/06 9:23 PM, rose said:

    Graff – i found out the album artwork is by a guy named Joshua Levy. Pretty cool if you ask me

    and Andy K. – Switchfoot actually has a section on their site where they’re allowing visitors to color in the album artwork and submit it for a chance to have it posted on the site! Cool!

    this band seems/sounds pretty rad

  29. On 11/7/06 10:44 AM, thomas said:

    hey that site is well done. artsy.

    i heard that song “oh gravity” on the radio and i remember thinking the same, thats its the freshest sounding rock song i’ve heard in a while. just downloaded “dirty second hands” and i must say i’m really diggin this band.

    legitimate nod to the beatles, yes.

  31. On 11/7/06 11:43 AM, fmfgh said:

    in reply to your post Domerini, YES IT’S JUST YOU.

  33. On 11/7/06 2:07 PM, SWOL said:

    The moving menu is brilliant

  35. On 11/7/06 3:57 PM, Kelsey said:

    i really love this band and website. switchfoot has been doing a really great job of not sitting still and always changing and building on their success. im really excited for this new album, it sounds like its gonna be great.

  37. On 11/7/06 5:35 PM, waella said:

    Switchfoot is the best band, and I love the new website! At first, it was sort of hard to navigate, but after a few uses, you can really figure it out! I can’t wait for the CD to come out!
    Make sure you check out the daily foot- I get tons of laughs from it.

  39. On 11/7/06 6:26 PM, Oh! Janie. said:

    yes, i agree, Domerini, ITS JUST YOU!! the beatles have always been an influence for switchfoot, so its not suprising that they would do a similar cover. but i love how they included all of their faces into the drawing! and i agree, switchfoot is constantly trying to build on what they’ve done in the past, and i def. think that is what they are doing with O!G. you all need to go check it out! December 26th!!
    p.s. yes, joshua levy is the designer of the cover. here is an interview with him done by the SF fansite, http://www.landofbrokenhearts.cjb.net/

    The Oh! Gravity cover…it’s a curious, gripping piece of art. It tells many stories. Stories that only the creator could tell. I was extremely intrigued by this cover and contacted Joshua Levy, the artist. The following is the result of that contact. There’s not much I can say about this interview. It speaks for itself. In an odd paradox (since I was involved in this interview very little…it was all Josh) this is probably the most personal interview I have ever done. I think you will feel that as you read it. I’d like to thank Jeremy Cowart for connecting me with Josh. And mostly Joshua…thanks for doing this interview has you did.

    Joshua: I am currently an In-House Art Director and Illustrator for Columbia and Epic Records in New York City. I also work freelance if the project is right.I’ve been making this style of ink drawings since around 1998. hey are drawn up quite large on Acid Free Strathmore- most are 19×24″. The trick to these drawings is that they are not made with a pen or brush, but the ink droppers that come on small bottles of Higgins Ink. For “Oh Gravity” they were scanned in and then collaged together in Photoshop along with portraits of the band that they oversaw. Album art is a lost art that I really believe needs to get back…so I worked late night hours to give the fans what they deserve. I can’t tell you how many albums I pick up and I’m like, “that’s it? Where’s all the art???” You know the story. The whole cover gets unfolded as a poster… The cover collage keeps going and It’s an overwhelmingly intense 6 cd panels. A giant maze, it’ll give you something to look at throughout the entire album. Unfortunately I can’t show you, you’ll have to wait for the album to come out- It’s just around the corner now! I can say it’s their best album to date. The band really wanted a hand drawn natural feel to this cover but also wanted themselves to be on the cover. I flew out to San Diego to meet the band in person and there we went through a number of styles and directions for the cover. Really nice out there in San Diego. We also discussed the upcoming photoshoot I directed with Jeremy Cowart, which was a blast. He’s a great photographer. Heard some early cuts in the studio and it just blew me away. It took about a month for us to decide to use the ink drawings and then I had to get it right.A lot of the imagery on the album are objects and symbols that I have used for sometime now… boats, birds, skulls, water, etc. These can sometimes be interpreted in a number of ways- such as the skulls may really be rocks on the beach getting kicked up by waves. A lot of objects, characters and creatures make up other objects and symbols when you start to really look at the big picture. It means that we are all one- the world is one together…How making a big mistake in life can trigger an instant-karmic avalanche, so keep it cool. Life is a giant network, a coaster, and sometimes you just have to hang on and pray that it’s all going to be alright. I usually do these drawings when confused or down & out- The ink allows me to get out my frustrations, everyday pressures and the weight of the world. When starting these drawings, I’m not specifically saying to myself, “Now I’m going to draw this specifically”…It just comes out of me, naturally. Kind of like Keith Richards and a guitar. Not all the drawings are gold, I take a lot of chances… and I’d say more then half get thrown out. But, please don’t raid my garbage.There wasn’t much I could say after that. He answered everything I wanted to know. I did however ask him the following questions:
    LOBH: What was it like working with the guys?
    Joshua: The guys were an absolute pleasure to work with.
    Really some of the best clients I’ve had.
    It’s nice when the work and people involved all click.
    Also, they have a good eye for changes- which helps a lot!
    They really helped make the piece better with their suggestions (most clients kill a nice piece of art).

    LOBH: Where do you get your influences for your drawings?Joshua: Good Music and LifeLOBH: There has been some confusion with the different faces on the album. I can tell who Jon and Tim are but I have a difficult time with the rest. Could you clear that up for me?Joshua: Yes, the face confusion! This will all clear up with the special glasses that come with the first printing of the disc…Put on the glasses at the start of the album and the whole picture changes, clearing up who’s who- Just Kidding! Jerome is up at the top getting hit by a wave next to the title. Chad is between Jon (middle) and Tim who’s under the “Dirty Second Hands” and to the right of the hand trying to catch a serpent. Drew is under the left wing of the giant bird and/or eye, just above Jon.More: The bottom left “boy” with the Switchfoot bolt tattoo- represents the child, the dreamer- the whole cover is coming out of his mind. This is no one specific. Then there’s the big person on the right bottom- almost like when the ship hits the coast/cliff in “King Kong” and its kind of like a face carved in the cliff holding back the land and trees from the over-powering ocean- Maybe Mother Earth. There’s a Magician, Windmills, a dinosaur playing the tamborine, and also… an appearance by the floating cloud-like “Spirit of Picasso” (made that up), who seems frightened by the Bird. Jon is a big Picasso fan and requested this face be recreated for the cover. The hand holding the boat up is a reference that everything will be safe and calm- everything is cool even though things might seem like a disaster. I have used these boats- up and down- depending on how my life is going at the time. Right now things couldn’t be better so the boat is upright. Sometimes I’ll have boats in every direction- means I’m confused and have no clue whether things are all good or not. At the time of drawing up the cover, I had just got back from the shoot with the band, and honestly it’s a really good time for Switchfoot- they are in good spirits. This is their time. LOBH: What is the old man in the top right hand corner doing? We’ve all been discussing it and the general consensus seems to be that he is “relieving himself”. Is that correct?Joshua: Oh boy, glad we had this talk!!! Nope.The Doo-Dah Man takes a wrong turn!!! He’s the guy who sings “the camptown races” song…
    On the way home from the track he steps
    into the wrong neighborhood, sort of a Candyland gone bad.
    He’s actually jumping over the river, or a dam…
    the dam has sort of a carnival face painted on it.
    There’s a dinosaur with a tambourine next to him shakin away…
    kind of like running through the evil forest in the wizard of oz.[In fact] the original drawing actually has a
    Tin Man on the bottom right corner. LOBH: Why is the drawing of Jon crying?Everyone is crying- letting out any pain or happiness-Crying is not necessarily a bad thing-
    Also if no one was crying, what would that
    giant body of water be made out of?
    There’s water throughout pouring down to the Ocean. To check out more of Joshua’s work go here: http://www.joshualevy.com

  41. On 11/7/06 6:49 PM, Alayna said:

    I absolutely LOVE the new design! And ‘Dirty Second Hands’ and ‘Oh! Gravity’(as well as all the others) are both AMAZING songs!!

  43. On 11/7/06 10:27 PM, Dawn said:

    I think the layout is freakin awesome. I personally enjoy how the menu seems to follow you along =)
    Switchfoot totally rocks and I can’t WAIT for that CD to come out.
    You should hear Oh! Gravity live: WoW

  45. On 11/9/06 6:46 AM, thomas said:

    I love how you can play with the two floating forms in the background. If you use your mouse button on them, you can throw them around, and watch them bounce like a ball and finally settle down at the bottom… nice way to show the ‘gravity’ theme.

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