Alex Steinweiss (b.1917, d.2011)
Beginning his design career with Columbia Records (1939), Alexander Steinweiss was mostly known for his album cover designs. Born in Brooklyn, New York, and receiving education from Abraham Lincoln High and Parsons School of Design, Alex was Columbia Records’ first art director.
Recently after landing a job position with Columbia Records, a job opening was published by CBS, whose advertising manager was looking for a designer. Steinweiss disregarded this offer, continuing to work for Columbia Records.
Alex established his position in design history with the first-ever album cover, produced alongside a photographer to make a cover out of the New York Imperial Theatre’s marquee sign. Steinweiss’ motivation was the awful, plain sleeve covers, record disks were packaged in before his breakthrough.
Steinweiss experimented with layout, colour, type and illustration cohesively in a modernist style. Involving elegant type, and vibrant, and eye-catching geometric patterns and symbolic folk art.
By 1937, Steinweiss had created over two thousand covers, mostly by hand.
Steinweiss’ body of work displayed prominence during the 1940s, where music enthusiasts quickly grew fond of music records now packaged in art album covers. A now, a common staple in the music industry, through the unwavering innovation of Alex Steinweiss.
WORKS CITED
AIGA. “Alex Steinweiss.” AIGA, 5 Sept. 2004, www.aiga.org/medalist-alexsteinweiss. Accessed 17 Feb. 2020
Kennedy, Philip. “Alex Steinweiss and the World’s First Record Cover.” Illustration Chronicles, Illustration Chronicles, June 2016, illustrationchronicles.com/Alex-Steinweiss-and-the-World-s-First-Record-Cover. Accessed 17 Feb. 2020
IMAGES OBTAINED FROM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Steinweiss
illustrationchronicles.com/Alex-Steinweiss-and-the-World-s-First-Record-Cover
https://thevinylfactory.com/features/alex-steinweiss-the-story-of-the-worlds-first-record-sleeve-artist/