When an artist announces that they’re going to drop new music, I get excited over the idea of a new melody, new lyrics, and a new rhythm that’s going to be presented to the world soon. However, what I look forward to the most is the cover of the album. When an artist reveals the cover of their new album, it reveals either something meaningful or aesthetical from the artist’s creative thoughts. A cover of an album can also unveil an era that the artist is going to embark on. Before, I didn’t realize how much meaning an album cover can have and what it signals to the audience. But now, noticing the significance behind the art of an album cover enhances my excitement for the artist’s music.
It’s fascinating to look at an artist’s new album cover. But what’s even more interesting is how the album cover came to be. When I look at an album cover, I wonder, “How did the musician land on this idea? Did the musician come up with the design of the album’s cover or did they go to an artist?” The main question overall is: who created/designed the album’s cover?
There are so many amazing aesthetically pleasing album covers to name. But here are a few that excite me to do some research upon the artist behind the creation of the album cover and the meaning behind it.
motomami by rosalía
When Rosalía unveiled the album cover for Motomami back in March 2022, I immediately fell in love with the Motomami logo — so much that I started drawing it everywhere such as on my planner, notebooks, and whiteboard. Rosalía included her passion for motorcycling and her interpretation of what butterflies mean to her, which is the concept of metamorphosis, into her album’s cover. The Motomami graffiti on the album cover was designed by Viktor Hammarberg. Both Rosalía and Hammarberg worked together to bring the Motomami logo to existence.
Un Verano Sin Ti by Bad Bunny
Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti album cover was an art piece I couldn’t stop seeing. I would see how people would get a tattoo of the unhappy little red heart, how it’d be the theme of a birthday party, etc. Because of how big of an influence Bad Bunny’s album cover had on many of his listeners, I was very interested to know who designed this album cover. The artist behind the design of the album is Adrian Hernandez, artistically known as “Ugly Primo.” Bad Bunny described his idea to him and gave Hernandez a drawing of what he wanted the album to look like. Hernandez made about seven different designs, and Bad Bunny chose the design below and what came to be the official album cover of Un Verano Sin Ti.
There are so many album covers that have an interesting story, such as the meaning behind it and what the process was like. If there’s an album cover that you love, I suggest you do a little research behind its artist and read more about its significance. It might surprise you and can introduce you to the artist’s other pieces.