Chicago IX: Chicago's Greatest Hits Album

Released by Columbia Records in 1975, the 9th Chicago album debuted as the band's first ever greatest hits collection. It had trumendous success and would be their only album to showcase the band members on the cover. The legendary John Berg, who oversaw a great many album designs during his time as Art Director, drew the inital sketch of (what he considers the first of its kind) the Chicago band logo. Taking a look into Berg's design practice as it is modeled through his work with Chicago reflects a great deal of what '70s graphic design is all about.

The ‘70s are considered to be an often glanced over period of design history. It follows late to post modernism but precedes the formation of the strong structure that Swiss influence would bring in the '80s. In this regard, it was a transitional period that experienced a lot of experiementation motivated by concept and purposeful function rather than ornamentation or rigorous form. Simplicity and storytelling was the name of the game which suits the era following the height of the American folkmusic boom. There was a great focus on bright colors, intruiging typrography, utilization of negative space, photography, and the development of bolder illustration styles. 

Chicago IX is recognizably '70s with its inlcusion of the classic yellow-orange pallette, curvy flowing script (inspired by the Coca-Coala logo) with tight kerning, lots of white space, and a handmade/everyday humor and feel. As part of the greater Chicago album collective directed by John Berg, it is one of many iterations of the same layout reimagined over and over. Berg states it was often his goal to spur artists to work with unfamiliar mediums as a way to continually find fresh perspectives and takes on familiar subjects. He pursued graphic integrity and intriuge above all else and reached the audience through compelling visual narrative.  

Anndrea Bahr             IG: mirrosecreates

Artists & Designers that Inspired Berg:

A.M. Cassandre, Henry Wolf, Paul Rand, Reid Miles, Gene Federico, Lou Dorfsman, Milton Glaser, Alvin Lustig, Alex Steinweiss

Sources & References:

Chicago - Chicago IX Chicago’s Greatest Hits, 1975. https://www.discogs.com/master/83144-Chicago-Chicago-IX-Chicagos-Greatest-Hits.

“Chicago IX – Chicago.” Accessed May 1, 2024. https://chicagotheband.com/js_albums/chicago-ix/.

Creative Agency Brisbane | Hello Creative Agency. “Design through the Decades | The 1970’s.” Accessed May 1, 2024. https://www.hellocreativeagency.com/blog/design-through-the-decades-the-1970s.

Daisie Blog. “7 Essential Design Principles of 70s Graphic Design,” June 20, 2023. https://blog.daisie.com/7-essential-design-principles-of-70s-graphic-design/.

Fox, Margalit. “John Berg, Art Director Who Made Album Covers Sing, Dies at 83.” The New York Times, October 13, 2015, sec. Arts. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/13/arts/john-berg-art-director-who-made-album-covers-sing-dies-at-83.html.

“Looking Back: The 1970s.” Accessed May 1, 2024. https://www.ucda.com/looking-back-the-1970s/.

Nini, Paul J. “Across the Graphic Universe: An Interview with John Berg.” Medium (blog), February 4, 2020. https://pjn123.medium.com/across-the-graphic-universe-an-interview-with-john-berg-8b20d4d2c207.

The Cooper Union. “John Berg’s Greatest Hits.” Accessed May 1, 2024. https://cooper.edu/art/news/john-bergs-greatest-hits.

“The New York Graphic Design Scene in the 1970s.” Accessed May 1, 2024. https://www.bgc.bard.edu/research-forum/articles/162/the-new-york-graphic-design.

Wilhelm, Josh. “Judged by the Cover - Chicago Ep. 3.” JW CREATES, March 1, 2023. https://www.jwcreates.com/post/judged-by-the-cover-chicago.