The Greatest Mistake of my Life:
Album Cover
Olivia McCallum
The album cover for The Greatest Mistake of My Life by Holding Absence uses bold black, grey, and red contrasts to reflect themes of loss, light and shadow, and introspection. Its strong, aggressive style fits the post-hardcore/metal genre, drawing attention with striking shapes and creative typography. This design helps listeners connect with the music’s mood and decide if it’s for them.
Design Brief
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.
Description of the Project
I chose to develop a cover for the album, The Greatest Mistake of My Life by Holding Absence. This album has three recurring themes: loss/death, light/shadow, eyes/mind; my design communicates all of these themes. The album cover feels strong and aggressive which communicates the post hardcore/metal genre, showing it is upbeat but also covers dark and solemn themes.
The cover attracts attention through the high colour contrast between the black, grey and red. It then holds the viewer’s attention as they look at the different shapes each crack creates and how they come together in the centre. Additionally, it holds the viewer’s attention as they explore the different ways one font has been used.
The design communicates the album content to the viewer, allowing them to make a judgement on whether they would enjoy the music or not. This allows the artist to reach their target audience easier and gain more sales on the album as it stands out to potential customers.
Process
To create this cover, I mind mapped key lyrics within the album and created a list of the key themes. Iterations were made using these themes as inspiration, my first draft of the design was presented in a project review where I received feedback. This feedback was built upon and four iterations were generated, these iterations were presented to family for their opinions on which stood out the most. The final design was then selected.
About me
I want to develop my skills in graphic design as after graduation I want to be a graphic designer creating covers for music albums to channel my love for music.
Portfolio: www.oliviamcc.myportfolio.com/home
Social Media Profile:
Liv (@rouge_dawn) • Instagram photos and videos
Instagram handle: @rouge_dawn