'Chutes Too Narrow' Artwork by Jesse LeDoux

Jesse LeDoux was nominated for a grammy for this artwork for 'The Shins' album 'Chutes Too Narrow'.

Above is the original folding mock-up “sketch” for the album design. It was made while Jesse LeDoux's bus was stuck in gridlock on the viaduct on my way to work one morning. All he had on him was that week’s Stranger, so he ripped it out and started cutting it up. By the time the traffic started flowing and he got to work, he pretty much had the concept set.

Although the Chutes Too Narrow package would have initially been cheaper to produce without the die-cut booklet, the die-cut helped it to stand out from the rest of the albums on the record store shelves.

It is interesting to follow how artists have tried to differentiate their albums during the decline of the CD and the rise of downloads. A definitive example would have to be when Radiohead gave fans the opportunity to go online and choose how much they want to pay for the album, 'In rainbows'.