Blue Note Jazz Album Art vs Mid-Century Modern

Mid-Century Modern is the cross-discipline counterpart of Blue Note Jazz Album Art — the same cool mid-century modernism in the house and on the LP sleeve.

Original specimen in the Blue Note Jazz Album Art style

Blue Note Jazz Album Art

The cool, modern look of Blue Note jazz LP sleeves: duotone photographs, tightly cropped, set against bold sans-serif type and confident asymmetry. Restrained, sophisticated design that looked as modern as the music sounded.

  • Duotone or single-tinted studio photography
  • Bold modernist sans-serif typography
  • Asymmetric layout with generous negative space
  • Dramatic, tight photographic cropping
  • Restricted two- or three-color palettes
Full Blue Note Jazz Album Art guide →
Stahl House (Case Study House #22), Los Angeles — Mid-Century Modern

Mid-Century Modern

Warm, livable modernism — clean lines and flat planes opened up with glass walls that dissolve the boundary between indoors and out.

  • Clean horizontal lines, flat or low-pitched roofs
  • Floor-to-ceiling glass and walls of windows
  • Open floor plans and indoor-outdoor flow
  • Honest use of wood, stone, and brick
  • Integration with the natural site and landscape
Full Mid-Century Modern guide →

At a glance

Blue Note Jazz Album ArtMid-Century Modern
Era1950s–1960s1945–1969
DisciplineGraphic DesignArchitecture
RegionUnited StatesUnited States, Scandinavia
FamilyModernistModernism
Formal traitsduotone, sans-serif, asymmetric, negative-spaceclean-lined, organic, minimal, indoor-outdoor

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