CASE STUDY

ALICE IN CHAINS
DIRT 30-YEAR ANNIVERSARY BOX SET

ART DIRECTION & DESIGN BY RYAN CLARK
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROCKY SCHENCK AND JILL GREENBERG
7-INCH COVER PHOTOGRAPHY BY RENEE MCMAHON
FIGURINE SCULPT BY ANDY MAIER
ART PRINT ILLUSTRATIONS BY ERIC WOLFE SAHLSTEN, VICTOR MELENDEZ, BRENT MCKEE AND PITCHGRIM
ORIGINAL 1992 RELEASE ART DIRECTION AND FX BY MARY MAURER
ORIGINAL 1992 RELEASE DESIGN BY DOUG ERB
ALICE IN CHAINS LOGO BY DAVID COLEMAN
ICONS BY LAYNE STALEY

The first step in creating the artwork for the Dirt 30-yea anniversary box set was to rebuild the original artwork using fresh assets. After nearly 30 years and multiple represses, some elements of the art were looking a bit fuzzy. We tracked down an original promo flat from 1992 that was in perfect shape, had it professionally photographed, and rebuilt the album cover with a much sharper image and new, clean type.

It was drummer Sean Kinney’s idea to do the metal shavings (much like the Wooly Willy toys of the 1950s) on the box lid. When the lid is opened, an adaptation of the cover is revealed. A metal figurine of the cover model lays buried in a foam fitment as the amber-soaked sky looms in the background. The figurine not only acts as a record weight, but the magnet on the backside of her head allows you to move the metal shavings around on the lid. The accommodating folks at AtoZ Media helped us actualize theses ideas along with everything else included in the box.

This deluxe edition also includes an 80-page hardcover book, five 7-inch records—each in a different transparent color with Layne Staley-created icons screen printed on each B side, a recreated setlist, four 11x17 show posters, four art prints, a foldout poster, an 8x10 glossy, tour laminate, and of course album in both vinyl and CD formats.