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Single Cover Design: "Swords" by Leftfield
Design a cover for a digital audio product (a music album, podcast, or audiobook) with simple graphic shapes that stand out among other covers and attract people’s attention.
Nick Jones
Project Details
For this project, I wanted to create a cover for the song Swords by Leftfield. Their songs often walk the line between light and dark, taking the listener on a bass-driven cinematic journey through house, dub, and techno, incorporated with world music and punk rock attitudes. My goal was to convey the energy and movement that is present in the song Swords, while equally adhering to the constraints of simple graphic shapes as stated in the design brief.
My Process
Process - I immediately began sketching ideas, as I tend to get carried away with digital tools too easily and spend time that could have been spent better elsewhere. I worked through ideas that represented swords literally - these included medieval-style typography of the word ‘swords’ on a close-up samurai blade, and developed into a blade appearing to ‘cut’ the word in half. Following a project review, I considered feedback regarding the use of neutral colours and how a deeper contrast might benefit the design. Points that I took on board also included being more suggestive with the design, which led to the implication of the text being cut in half, and the use of red to signify blood and violence.
The point of the song and its lyrics are that one must stay resilient and mentally sharp against all that the world sends their way (“I wear my sword at my side”) so I aimed to incorporate sharp angles and edges into my choice of font, and these would stand prominently off the black background through the contrasting white colour and use of a drop shadow. To create a visual depiction of the song’s namesake, I decided to create the impression that the word ‘swords’ had been sliced in two - I achieved this by adding a red line at a downward angle through the text, suggesting blood, and shifting the upper portion down the cut line as though it had started to slide away.
About me
Instagram handle: @figurehate.toys
I’m really enjoying all aspects of design and studying for my own personal development. I hope to gain skills to amuse myself and others!