If you happen to be in one of the few places out there that still sells albums, and you spot the CD by the supergroup Chickenfoot, you will probably notice that it resembles a color-washed version of that Ryan Adams and the Cardinals album from a few months back, only with a little bit of flip-flopped lettering:





But just look what happens when you pick it up!





Ahh, thermostatic ink. What a treat for the people who still want to buy albums, let alone indulgent projects by guys who didn’t have much to do between rock and roll fantasy camp runnings! The designer of the packaging speaks:

“The band and I agreed that the design had to be bold, iconic and layered with texture like the music they recorded. It had to have a visual ‘aaahhh-ha!’ factor that pulled it all together. To achieve this, I knew I had to experiment with some kind of special packaging treatment.


“When I explored the possibilities of thermochromic ink, all the pieces fell into place. The band had their bold album cover, I had my ‘aaahhh-ha!’ moment and the consumer will get to experience a different album package every time they pick it up.”

I can understand Sammy Hagar embracing the whole concept behind Hypercolor, what with his penchant for white-hot colors. But could this all really be a test by Satriani to see if Coldplay will bite his style one more time?


Chickenfoot launch album with ‘heat-sensitive’ packaging [MusicRadar]