How do you embody the vibe of any album in just one arresting image? What does cover art say about the music inside and vice-versa? To get the low-down on how to be a artiste extraordinaire and design the perfect cover-art for your album, we chat to graphic designer (and talented muso) Mikael Sandstrom.
What really makes a cracking cover for me is simplicity. I like covers you can draw really quickly on a napkin to show a friend; in the same way you would a logo mark. Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd is one of those albums. Numbingly simple. At the same time, it’s a beautiful image and one that both scientists and rockers can both relate to.
Then there are those albums that are so detailed that your friend will ask if you are ok while you stare at it for the duration of the album. Fleet Foxes debut was a a Pieter Brughel artwork from the 16th century, almost like a vintage “Where’s Wally.” It was a perfect choice for a band once described as was half 1560, half 1960. They are a bunch of renaissance-like, hairy, hard-core folkers so it makes perfect sense!
Sometimes it seems my favourite covers are the ones that are totally unrelated to those images that pop up in my head from hours of pumping out my favourite records. Exhibit A: Nirvana, Nevermind. A baby in a pool, swimming after a dollar bill. Genius! In no way related to Seattle grunge; but the vibe is there. And the best thing is that no matter how hard you try – you’ll never forget that image. The simplicity is branded into your skull for life. Your kids will be talking about that image, when they are rocking out to Nirvana on some kind of hologram iPod in the future.
I know the best cover art designers aurally feast on the music they are packaging. On top of that, they actually clearly love music. These designers evoke the bands sound in one image so effectively, that it seems the skill of creating a good cover for bands as diverse as Cloud Control, The Rolling Stones and Megan Washington is half music love, half design skill.
What makes a good cover? Simplicity, a designer who manifests their genuine love of music on paper and the realisation that, just like Bobby Dylan said; “there are no rules.”
