The final idea for Autobahn is heavily inspired from a piece of research in my essay about Hitlers view on his prioritised project. I discovered that it was claimed ‘Hitler regarded these highways above all as aesthetic monuments’ (Albiez and Pattie, 2011) Therefore, for this idea I literally wanted to reimagine the graphic on the cover as a aesthetic monument. This comes in the form of a highway line illustration with polka dot detail . It shows the foundations as well as the road surface to show the scale of the Autobahn.
I added little details like the A555 Autobahn sign to the spine which is an obvious influence from motorway/highway visual culture. Additionally, smaller details can be portrayed in the cover as I wanted the album title and artist title to visualise some sort of motion. I aimed to use the straight line between 'Autobahn' and 'Kraftwerk' as a motorway barrier separating two directions of traffic, with 'Kraftwerk' going in one direction while 'Autobahn' goes in another.
For Autobahn I decided to not design a flip side, as the tracks dont have any lyrics unlike the other two albums. So to design a flip side for the cover, would be pointless as I couldn't think of anymore content to add.
The sticker designs for each cassette are using a template I found online which is suitbale for the tapes I have for the project.
For the sticker design I wanted something simple while still carrying on the signage style. I continued to look at German road signage to influence the design and liked the idea of using an arrowed shape for the stickers to help fill a awkward space.
The final Trans Europe Express idea is heavily inspired by the railways advertising artwork from mainly the 70s. I looked into the artwork earlier on in research and found the work inspiring, some of its typically Swiss but others represent current styles of each country the TEE operated in. Each artwork always included a TEE wagon so this had to be key element of the design, along with choosing a suitable colour which related back to the TEE, which is the yellow used which worked alongside red on the TEE wagons.
One alteration I made is the change of white type to blue, as the 6pt white type contrasted to the vibrant yellow which made it illegible.
The flip side of the cover includes all the songs lyrics along with the tracks producers. In the left over space I decided to further celebrate the TEE by having a selection of images showcasing the service, along with small descriptions.
The cassette sticker is straightforward and minimal, as I don't believe it needed anymore added detail as the cover alone is complex.
Additionally, I also feel this idea embraces constructivist features although it is more contemporary and doesn't direct its focus simply on geometric shapes and soviet inspired typography.
I also like the image I used which was gathered from a Guardian interview with Ralf Hutter in research. The image is clearly a mannequin figure which furthers the albums concept of whether or not technology has left us a little bit man machine. Even more so, the original The Man Machine cover contrasted to the other albums aesthetically. So this is another reason I felt the need to use an idea with a difference to the others. In contrast, to this the TEE and Autobahn covers step away from pictures that normally adorn techno albums today.
The flip side cover features all tracks and lyrics, then the typographical treatment is more informed by angled lines and type of constructivism by angling a key line from the track 'The Man Machine'.
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