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OUGD406 DESIGN PRACTICE- Design is about doing

These are some of NAS's previous album covers, because they aren't singles they don't relly relate to any of his songs but they all seem to feature either the ghetto or wealth and power. I'm not a fan of the designs at all, for one they're photographic which really isn't to my taste. But I just think they're like every other rap album, trying to com across wealthy, showing power and how intimidating they can be. I think the majority of rap covers are about the same tacky subject women, money and ghetto, they don't really follow any structure or have any meaning apart the obvious.








OUGD406 DESIGN PRACTICE- Design is about doing

These are just a couple of images I think represent the Don based of my understanding and the definition




 This one is quite an obvious response to the title of the song, but I have chosen it because it is such an iconic image that is recognised around the world and will easily be associated with the word The Don even if all the detail is not shown.

As I looking into more depth about the word 'don' and its associations I thought of guns, crime, gangsters, suits, power, hierarchy etc... The image above is what I think represents the majority of those words. The gun barrel to me symbolises crime, power, death, murder and depending on the type of gun it could easily be related to the mafia and the don. I think the idea of using a gun barrel is fitting for a record sleeve as well because it could tie in with the vinyl itself or be centred in the sleeve to look like the centre of the record. Also if you look on the original single cover for 'The Don' you'll notice the main feature, his ring, is a gun barrel which further ties in the gun barrel to the song as well as representing power.

Another statement repeated in the chorus is New York City and because of this I have researched into iconic visuals of NYC and what people instantly associate with NYC. When I think of NYC is think of two things; skylines full of iconic buildings and the yellow cab. Therefore I have focused on these two as the basis of my research.


This image doesn't scream NYC it scream more San Fransico and hills to me but I love the simplicity of the design and how the buildings/skyline have been created using minimal geometric shapes. This could be easily turned into NYC by adding some more iconic building like the empire states building, twin towers etc...


This skyline is more suiting to NYC because it based on flat ground as opposed to looking at a bung of building and skyscrapers positioned on a hillside. These buildings have a lot more detail than the other image, this is both a bad and a good thing. More detail adds depth to image but this could also over complicate the design when positioned on such a small area.


This image is pretty straight forward and simple to understand, the skylines perspective would look amazing on a record sleeve because it draws ones eyes into the centre of the image where something could be positioned that relates to the record. However none of these images completely represent the song and it's meaning I think they're no where near as strong as the Don images at representing the song.

 The two images below are more visual representations of NYC, the first is most definitely the stronger of the two because it includes more iconic buildings but still none them fit the style of the music and the song. To me they're just buildings which signify a place but nothing more but the guns and suit encapsulate everything the song stands for; wealth, power etc...










OUGD406 DESIGN PRACTICE- Design is about doing

The brief is to design 5 visual variations of 7" record sleeves for one of the artists provided on the secret 7 website and must not contain any type relating to the artist or the song. There was quite a variation of artists to choose from so instead of choosing my favourite song or artist I decided to choose the song I found easiest to visually represent, which turned out to be NAS 'The Don'.

Song Background

The song is called “The Don” in homage to The Godfather’s 40th anniversary (Nas' favorite film). The hard hitting, grimy dancehall tinged production is credited to Salaam Remi, Da Internz and Heavy D and contains multiple Supa Cat samples from “Dance Inna New York:”

I have also found this amazing lyrics website that provides definitions but also translates the songs lyrics into laymans terms and makes it very easy to grasp an understanding of all the terms but also emotions.


I think the whole song would be quite dificult to visually represent because there is so much actually happening in the song. I want to try and focus on one section of the song to make it easier but the section will have to encapsulate the song and it's meaning therefore I think the chorus will probably work best because i's the message that is constantly repeated throughout the song.

'Nas the Don, Nas the Don, Nas the Don, 
Nas the Don
Nas the Don, Nas the Don, Nas the Don, Nas the Don
Inna New York City, inna New York City
Inna New York City, inna New York City'

The chorus is pretty straight forward and simple because there are two statements that seem to reiterated 'Nas the Don' and Inna New York City'. I think the next step from here would be to first of all look at the existing artwork and see how the original artist approached it. But then I need to look into visual representations of the don and new york city as well 7"single sleeves that use imagery instead of words to convey the message of the song. 

The Original Cover


This is the original single cover for the song, when I initially looked at it I couldn't grasp what it represented. But after a lot of thinking and staring the ring seems to be the focus because it's the only thing in colour but also because it is so big compared to his finger, this accompanied with the image of his firmly placed down and the cuff of a suit being shown I interpreted the cover to signify power and control similar to that of a Don.

OUGD406 DESIGN PRACTICE- Horse research




  • Worldwide, horses play a role within human cultures and have done so for millennia. Horses are used for leisure activities, sports, and working purposes. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that in 2008, there were almost 59,000,000 horses in the world, with around 33,500,000 in the Americas, 13,800,000 in Asia and 6,300,000 in Europe and smaller portions in Africa and Oceania. There are estimated to be 9,500,000 horses in the United States alone. The American Horse Council estimates that horse-related activities have a direct impact on the economy of the United States of over $39 billion, and when indirect spending is considered, the impact is over $102 billion. In a 2004 "poll" conducted by Animal Planet, more than 50,000 viewers from 73 countries voted for the horse as the world's 4th favorite animal.
  • Communication between human and horse is paramount in any equestrian activity; to aid this process horses are usually ridden with a saddle on their backs to assist the rider with balance and positioning, and a bridle or related headgear to assist the rider in maintaining control. Sometimes horses are ridden without a saddle, and occasionally, horses are trained to perform without a bridle or other headgear. Many horses are also driven, which requires a harness, bridle, and some type of vehicle.
  • The horse is an animal long prized for its strength, speed, and beauty. Horses have served man in battle, at work, on the hunt, and in sports. Stone Age man drew pictures of horses on cave walls, and from the days of ancient civilizations to modern times horses have been among the most popular of all subjects for paintings, sculpture, and tapestries. The horse also has a prominent place in mythology and literature.
  • Even after death the horse serves man. Horsehide provides a fine quality leather. Hair from the mane and tail is used for stuffing furniture and can be woven into a stiff fabric used in tailoring. Horse meat is made into food for dogs and cats, and is eaten by people in some parts of the world. Other products derived from horses are gelatin, glue, and medical serums.
  • Horses and humans interact in a wide variety of sport competitions and non-competitive recreational pursuits, as well as in working activities such as police work, agriculture, entertainment, and therapy. Horses were historically used in warfare, from which a wide variety of riding and driving techniques developed, using many different styles of equipment and methods of control. Many products are derived from horses, including meat, milk, hide, hair, bone, and pharmaceuticals extracted from the urine of pregnant mares. Humans provide domesticated horses with food, water and shelter, as well as attention from specialists such as veterinarians and farriers.
  • Facts; Horses spend more energy lying down and "Old Billy," was the oldest recorded horse that lived to be 62.











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