Chess

As Chess Records allowed Etta to produce 'At last' during a time whereby racial prejudice was strong I feel that they deserve some recognition, and thus an involvement of chess pieces was displayed within this interpretation. The two counters seem to be battling some another, which could be referred to the battle to equality, in which the forward facing counter won. 

To embed Etta's involvement within the civil rights movement further, the chess piece was positioned alongside the words 'funky testifying'. Although this works well, I feel that it draws attention away from the chess piece, which in its own rights is truly representative of Etta's involvement and thus no type is necessary.

Although the context behind the designs were strong, I felt that they did not represent this aesthetically and thus began to think about segregation, and how it could be interpreted through image. A divide between the two pieces focused upon the sectioning of the time, and thus one of the hardest times for black people within American history. This sentiment was strong but I wanted to depict a merging of the two races within a similar format.

 

To show a clear merging of races, I decided to incorporate both colours within one segment. This not only depicting Chess Records and segregation but also equality. 

Type was experimented with, but overall I felt that the image was able to clearly communicate the chosen message without an influence of type. As I personally perceived the text to be a distraction in which takes away the simplistic beauty of the chess piece.

The chess approach was constructed using C.A.D in order to express the smooth and sleek nature of Etta's voice. Chess Records was the main basis for this design, as they pushed Etta as an artist through a period of discrimination against blacks, thus making black talent a prominent occurrence within the average day life of a white person. This in turn destroying the stereotypes attached to black people of the time. The usage of one chess piece being segregated within this design termines equality, as they are both of the same scale, and stamina. The combined pieces also suggest a time in which black and whites have mutual respect for one another, something in which could be determined to be influenced by Chess Records.