Craig Braun

Craig Braun (born June 1, 1939) is an American actor and former graphic designer. Famous for his album covers with Andy Warhol and Tom Wilkes, he and Wilkes won a Grammy in 1974 for Tommy, an award Braun had been nominated for twice previously. His first nomination was with Warhol for the Sticky Fingers design that included Braun's contributions to the Rolling Stones' tongue and lips logo. He also designed the logo for the Carpenters. Braun is said to have transformed the medium of album covers from two-dimensional works to creative, interactive experiences during the golden age of vinyl.

Early and personal life Craig Braun was born in 1939 to a working-class family in Chicago. He became friends with Marshall Chess as children in Chicago; Chess became a record executive and the two would later work together. Braun went to university. He sent Tim to the Malcolm Gordon School boys' boarding school. Tim Braun was a producer of Good Morning America and later founded Braun Production; Nicholas appeared on Good Morning America as a child and is an Emmy-nominated actor (for Succession in 2020). Braun introduced Nick to acting and coached him through the Meisner technique "as though it was a sport". Deyo is an indie musician, and has created R&B music with Nicholas under the stage name BRAUN.

Design 1964–1971: Sound Packaging Corporation, Craig Braun Inc. Braun began his design career in 1964,

He designed his first major cover when MGM Records approached him to assist Andy Warhol with the removable banana peel featured on the cover of The Velvet Underground & Nico; In 1970, he created the moving parts of the Zacron-designed packaging for Led Zeppelin III. When John Pasche faxed his design for the band's tongue and lips logo to Braun for the back cover, it had become grainy and had no color; Braun "slightly modified" the design to make it printworthy. He elongated the logo and added highlights, which is the version officially used. Craig Braun, Inc. Braun and Warhol were nominated for a Grammy for Best Recording Package for the album in 1972; Braun was incredulous when it did not win, and went to the bathroom to take drugs to console himself. and the Carpenters' third album, Carpenters. Braun's design for Carpenters stylized the duo's name and album title, and Richard Carpenter decided to use it as their logo going forward. Braun had also designed a crate-like stand to display the Carpenters record by cash registers, though A&M Records did not go with it.

1972–1974: Wilkes & Braun Braun began working with Tom Wilkes as Wilkes & Braun in 1972, changing the direction of his corporations to offer more services to music companies, specifically in marketing. He scaled back his operations in New York to work more in Los Angeles, telling Billboard that it was the new center of the recording industry. The new company took on Braun's existing clients and record commitments, with Braun saying at the time that the merger would not mean they would take on more or bigger clients, instead planning to offer a bespoke service. Rockreations began producing non-musician celebrity merchandise, while Wilkes & Braun also took on graphic design for the Robert Altman film The Long Goodbye. Wilkes & Braun were nominated for the Best Recording Package Grammy in 1973 for School's Out, Braun's original packaging for School's Out included a pair of paper underwear, which had to be recalled for being a fire hazard.

With Wilkes, Braun won the Best Recording Package Grammy in 1974 for the London Symphony Orchestra version of Tommy, By 1984, he owned video company Braun Communications, Inc., which was still operational as Craig Braun, Inc. again, and a member of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, in 1989.

When the music industry became corporate in the 1980s, Braun was hired to head the marketing department of Warner-Elektra-Atlantic. Though he did contribute to promotion and advertising, they wanted him more to design special edition CDs; Braun said he sees this era as a separate career from when he had his own company and could focus on design and having fun.

Acting After taking early retirement in 2001 from Warner Music Group, leaving as Creative and Marketing Director, Braun became an actor and lifetime member of The Actors Studio, working in stage, film and television. He is based in Los Angeles.