Aretha Franklin - One Step Ahead

ALBUM COVER
for SECRET 7"
2020

As an entry into the 2020 Secret 7" exhibition I created an album cover for the classic Aretha Franklin tune One Step Ahead released in 1965. I expanded it into a full record sleeve by designing the back cover, and center of the LP as well.

For the design I took inspiration in the narrative hinted at in the song lyrics. The narrator wants to leave a relationship that has caused them heartbreak and misery, but is unsure if they have the strength to do so, or they'll eventually fall back into old habits.

I wanted to convey the proragonist's strength and fragility, and evoke the time period in the use of colors and type, while creating something I think would work today.

View the process and final product in the photo gallery below

marcus melo, 2020