10 Band Name Opposite Album Mashups & The Process of Font Identification

Ever wondered what the album covers of some of the world’s well known musical artists would look like if their name was changed to its polar opposite?

Flicking through my iPod I came up with a few ideas for alternative (opposite) names.

From there I created new album cover mashups.

The 10 Band Name Opposite Album Mashups

1. Nirvana > Samsara

In the Buddhist, Hindu (and other Indian) faiths, Samsara is often recognised as the opposite of Nirvana.

Album Opposite Mashup: Nirvana Cover. N.Hayter.

2. Red Hot Chili Peppers > Blue Cold Milk Salts

Milk has long been considered the antidote for the spiciness of Chili.

3. The B-52s > The MiG-21’s

The band might have been named after the beehive hairstyle type of B-52, rather than the plane. But the MiG-21’s were one of the enemy craft of the American B-52’s during the Vietnam War. MiG-21’s were used by the Vietnam People’s Air Force.

Album Opposite Mashup: The B-52's Cover. N.Hayter.

4. The Who > The What

Album Opposite Mashup: The Who Cover. N.Hayter.

5. Destiny’s Child > Fate’s Parent

Album Opposite Mashup: Destiny's Child Cover. N.Hayter.

6. No Doubt > Yes Certainty

Album Opposite Mashup: No Doubt Cover. N.Hayter.

7. The Cardigans > The Pembrokes

There are two types of dogs in the Corgi breed – Cardigans and Pembrokes. I used to own a Pembroke Corgi X.

Album Opposite Mashup: The Cardigans Cover. N.Hayter

8. Vanilla Ice > Chocolate Water

Album Opposite Mashup: Vanilla Ice Cover. N.Hayter.

9. Ace of Base > Dunce of Top

Album Opposite Mashup: Ace of Base Cover. N.Hayter.

10. Crowded House > Deserted Apartment

Album Opposite Mashup: Crowded House Cover. N.Hayter

The Making Of…

Finding the Fonts
The hardest part of this project was finding similar fonts / typography to that used on the album covers. You can generally get a rough idea of what family it might be from and start a process of elimination. Is it Serif or Sans-Serif? What is the shape of the letter tails?

A Little Help
To save time I like to use the What the Font uploader tool. You upload an image of the font used and the online app uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to suggest possible font matches. It’s not perfect and most of the fonts they suggest are ones you have to buy through their site. However, with this information you can look for free alternatives on sites such as dafont.com.

The Best Things in Life Are Free
Failing this, you can always pick the brains of the Internet’s expert typographers on the WhattheFont Forum. Post your font image and wait for the font suggestions to roll in. I’ve always had a resolution using this service which is best of all, free.

I’ve listed the fonts and images I used for the album covers at the bottom of this post.

Relevance for the Web Designer
Often as a Web Designer, you’ll be given an existing logo or marketing collateral for which there is no font name supplied. This can happen when agencies are over protective of their original master designs and want any future work or changes to be done through them. To avoid this monopoly, you can save the day for your client by identifying the font and finding a free alternative to use in their website designs.

Sources:
1. Nirvana. Font: Nirvana (free).
Image: http://dkpresents.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/nirvana_nevermind_cover.jpg
2. Red Hot Chili Peppers. Font: Courier New (free).
Image: http://i41.tinypic.com/34hamoo.jpg
3. The B-52's. Font: ComicBook (free).
Image: http://jackshigh.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/rock-lobster1.jpg
4. The Who. Font: Arial Bold (free).
Image: http://www.newreleasesnow.com/art/TheWho-GreatestHits.jpg
5. Destiny's Child. Font: Arkitech (free).
Image: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_JcQs_1bZoJo/SXsM3FQRGrI/ AAAAAAAAAVM/C0FNzmd-SjQ/s400/DC_Destiny_Fulfilled_low.jpg
6. No Doubt. Font: Old English Text (free).
Image: http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2008/12/no-doubt-singles-490.jpg
7. The Cardigans. Font: Arial (free).
Image: http://www.ehlel.com/imageup/upload/cardigans_-best_of.jpg
8. Vanilla Ice. Font: Franklin Gothic Demi (free) with Craquelure filter overlay
Image: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_JREJCTYepo8/SZSJfGalihI/AAAAAAAABew/ ZdRMVtuW-x8/s400/The-Best-Of-Vanilla-Ice.jpg
9. Ace of Base. Font: Mekanik LET (free).
Image: http://i35.tinypic.com/2vc9wdh.jpg
10. Crowded House. Font: Alte Haas Grotesque.
Image: http://img.sharedmp3.net/files/pics/643/642275/img_1_pr.jpg

3 Comments

Karen A says:

November 28, 2011 at 7:30 PM

That’s clever! Had a good little giggle .. ;-P

free fonts says:

November 29, 2011 at 4:38 PM

I’ve used OmniPage to identify the cover font.
My system had thousand of font installed already. So works fine.

1. Natalie says:
  
  November 30, 2011 at 3:07 PM
  
  Cool thanks for the tip.