Blue Note Records - Graphic Designers

The Early Years

 * Frank Wolff's extraordinarily sensitive and atmospheric photos and graphic artists Paul Bacon, Gil Melle and John Hermansader gave Blue Note its original look that was both distinctive and evocative of the "cool" of the sound.

The Miles Era

 * [[Image:ReidMiles.jpg||right|100px|]]Reid Miles, who met Wolff in the late 1950s, was the genius whose Bauhaus-style-influenced album cover designs redefined Blue Note album art, and influenced not only a generation of jazz fans, but inspired graphic artists to push the envelope of commercial design that would explode in the 1960s Rock and Folk genres.


 * Read more about Miles, a guy who created some of the most influential artwork in jazz history, but didn't like jazz all that much. (Really!)

Conclusion

 * Their designs were a key graphic form in the evolution of both BeBop and the art of the Beat Generation of the 1950s. From a commercial standpoint, their album covers were the last part of the puzzle that gave the "Blue Note Sound" a distinctive Blue Note look and feel that became hugely popular with fans and widely imitated by competitors.