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Louis Armstrong

Day 97
#6 – Louis Armstrong (1901–1971), nicknamed Satchmo or Pops. American jazz trumpeter and singer. Recordings include: West End Blues (1928), What a Wonderful World (1968) and albums; The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings (1925–29) and Complete New York Town Hall and Boston Symphony Hall Concerts (1947).

His nickname is so unusual, I decided to use that as a starting point. His success was not just down to him being a great musician, he had a warm personality and a big smile, so I wanted to find a typeface to suit. I settled on Tiffany and looked at ways of adding something extra. Using the ‘O’ to suggest the trumpet was one possibility, but I had used this before. Looking again at the photographs, what was more distinctive was his smile and whilst I liked the use of the big type, the smile said more.

1.5 hours

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An early design idea – a more successful layout than the final chosen design.

Listen…

to excerpts from ‘The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings’

 
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96. Glenn Miller

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98. Art Blakey