Dissertation

CHAPTER 3
Another example of a contemporary artist
pushing boundaries is, Björk. Björk has been
at the forefront for music visualisation and has
experimented in a sensory domain to express
her music outside of a 7” vinyl square record
cover or a music video. Björk has created full
immersive experiences for the audience. Björk
|uses mediums such as moving images, animation
and virtual reality. Creative Director, Rochelle
Nembhard (2016) stated that Björk’s album cover,
Homogenic designed by Alexander McQueen
‘…[shows all] aspects of her. The visual aspect
of music, the album cover, is important, because
it is a picture of the music, depicting the sound.
It should be so much more than just a onedimensional
image – it has to be the face of
the music. ’ One of the designers to help Björk
fortify her identity has been M/M Paris, they
have forged a strong individual image for the
Björk brand while working with Björk over
15 years. One half of M/M Paris design studio,
Mathias Augustyniak (2016) discusses their
visual relationship with Björk in an interview
with Dazed magazine. Augustyniak stated,
‘I think in the contemporary world, if you
don’t manage your image then you disappear.’
Augustyniak understands the contemporary
pressures of the visual important for branding a
musician in the mainstream music industry today.
David Bowie had created an elusive catalogue
of stage characters. Bowie was aware of the
changing styles of the eras and how to benefit
from changing style.
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