3 cover stories in our archive
Behind the Covers' archive includes 3 album covers documented under the "2010s" design theme, all from the 2010s. These covers sit within the alternative, rock, electronic, pop, r&b, soul tradition and feature work by Pixies, Grimes, Janelle Monáe. Each entry below includes the cover artwork, the designers and photographers behind it, and a short story about the visual choices that defined the release.
Nearly three decades after he first gave Pixies a visual language at 4AD, Vaughan Oliver returned for Head Carrier with illustrator Ian Pollock and young designer Joshua Price. The orange, uncanny front cover combines lyric-driven imagery with handmade wooden lettering, making the reunion-era record feel connected to the band's past without simply imitating it.
Grimes drew the Visions cover herself in a two-day burst, aiming for something beautiful, violent and dense enough to reward close looking. Claire Boucher filled the sleeve with skulls, eyes, symbols, text and science-fiction imagery, turning the album into an audio-visual world rather than a record with a decorative front.
The ArchAndroid turns Janelle Monáe into the futuristic messiah at the center of her Metropolis saga. Chad Weatherford and Chuck Lightning art-directed the world around Andrew Zaeh's portrait, while Weatherford designed the crown-and-armor look that makes Monáe appear part woman, part machine and part city.