Alex Steinweiss: The Steinweiss Scrawl

Alex Steinweiss, a visionary in the realm of graphic design, revolutionized the music industry with his pioneering work as Columbia Records’ art director in the 1940s. Recognized as the inventor of the album cover, Steinweiss proposed a groundbreaking idea in 1940: replacing the mundane, plain brown record sleeves with captivating illustrations. Columbia Records took a risk, and the outcome was spectacular—record sales soared by over 800 percent within months.

Steinweiss’s distinctive album covers for Columbia, characterized by a fusion of bold typography and elegant illustrations, set the stage for the golden age of album cover design. His innovative approach transformed how records were marketed and sold, leaving an indelible mark on the industry. Among his many contributions was the creation of the “Steinweiss Scrawl,” a hand-lettered alphabet that became a signature element on his covers. This curly script, resembling the whimsical cursive of a playful 9-year-old, proved to be a masterstroke in design.

The Steinweiss Scrawl served a dual purpose—including extensive information about the recording while maintaining a sense of airy lightness. Steinweiss resorted to hand-lettering when he had limited access to typefaces or metal type; he developed it into a signature hand-lettering style. Steinweiss seamlessly integrated the hand-lettering into the overall visual composition, offering a fresh and visually striking aesthetic. His hand-lettered alphabet was so influential that it was later formalized and adopted by Photo-Lettering Inc.. This leading New York service supplied a variety of alphabets to designers.
 

Beyond album covers, Steinweiss’s creative reach extended to posters for the U.S. Navy, packaging and label design for liquor companies, film title sequences, and fine art. His legacy lives on through the Steinweiss Scrawl, revived and adapted by contemporary designers, capturing the spirit of his iconic album covers. Today, various typefaces like Hairspray, Whitestone Crawl, and Steinweiss Script pay homage to his innovative lettering style, ensuring that Alex Steinweiss’s impact on graphic design endures across generations.