Crafting Vessels for a Soundsmith: Heung-Heung (Chippy) Chin’s Album Designs for John Zorn’s Music
The graphic designer Heung-Heung Chin, aka Chippy, and John Zorn, the musician, composer, and founder of Tzadik, have worked together closely for nearly two decades. Both strongly believe that every aspect of each disk should strive to reflect its creative intention and contribute to the listeners’ experience. Thus, each album’s is never merely packaged; Chippy’s designs are the aesthetic and material extrapolation of Zorn’s lyrical and conceptual artistry. The first part of this article will describe the designer’s background, recounting the beginnings of her collaboration with Zorn and how its evolution over fifteen years into a near symbiotic mutual understanding. The second part will undertake an analysis of several albums’ belonging to the Archival Series.