3 cover stories in our archive
Behind the Covers' archive includes 3 album covers documented under the "analog" design theme, spanning the 1980s, 2000s, 2010s. These covers sit within the r&b, soul, funk, electronic, rock, alternative tradition and feature work by Childish Gambino, The Avalanches, Pixies. 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.
A single polaroid snapshot of Donald Glover's face becomes one of hip-hop's most intimate album covers. Shot by frequent collaborator Ibra Ake, the deliberately low-fi image captures Glover mid-transformation into his funk alter ego.
Designer Jonathan Zawada created a dreamlike collage of vintage airline imagery that perfectly captured The Avalanches' sample-based sound. The cover became an instant classic of early 2000s electronic music design.
Simon Larbalestier's heavily manipulated photograph of a macaque — distorted through multiple exposures and analog techniques — captures the Pixies' surrealist sensibility, connecting to the album's themes of nature, primitivism, and the relationship between humans and animals.