Seeing an Album

When I listen to music, I see just as much as I hear.

Maybe it’s because I’m an incredibly visual person, or maybe its something that’s not so specific to me, but the artwork a band creates for an album has a massive impact on how I hear that album.  The color pallet specifically influences the time of year I listen to albums more. 

The orange in this cover of Blink-182’s “Dude Ranch” as well as bright blue sky make me gravitate more towards this album on an early fall day.

Where as this desaturated cover for Kanye West’s “808’s and Heartbreak” makes the album seem perfect to throw on a cold, still winter evening.

I kept this in mind when designing the cover artwork for “I Hope This Helps” and EP by my band, The Directive.  I wanted to evoke the same fall feeling as Dude Ranch, but in a bit more of a subdued manner, to compliment the more reflective, nostalgic nature of the songs. 

What is some of your favorite album artwork? Let me know in the comments!