Blog - Herm the Younger

2nd February 2024

Album Cover Options

When working on an album cover, I always present two or three design options. Not only does this allow the musician to choose the best artwork, but it pushes us to explore several directions which interpret the music and brief in different ways.

Seen below are a selection of these from past projects:

From here, the favourite design is chosen and either finalised or refined further into the finished artwork. Work carries on patiently until something truly special is arrived at. That's what makes the difference.

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If you have a design project you'd like to work on, please reach out:
h@hermtheyounger.com

I would love to hear from you.

Published by Herm the Younger in Album Cover, Graphic Design, Process

21st December 2023

Public Statement on “AI”

Based on the significant danger it poses to art, reality, and meaningful human labour, I oppose AI in all forms for creative work. This refusal will be practised and is not negotiable.

The proliferation of artificial imagery is undermining our dignity (for example, by “generating” and distorting human faces and forms). It poses a significant threat to the fundamental truths we all hold in common.

I promise to continue making exceptional work. I will strive to present a more meaningful alternative to our children, giving them a future that is true and beautiful, not false and compromised.

Every word and image I publish is made by myself.
I accept full responsibility for my work.
That will never change.

— Herm

Published by Herm the Younger in Design Ethics, Statement

7th October 2023

Coming Soon: VSO

I had the special opportunity to design both the inside and outside of Mike Futcher's first novel. The book, called Void Station One, will be released on November 1^st with a case study showing the artwork we created in detail.

Published by Herm the Younger in Book Cover, Graphic Design

15th July 2023

Impermanence

I was honoured to design the cover for Casey Well's debut album Impermanence, complete with CD packaging and a wealth of original artwork. This project is the culmination of several years of creative collaboration between myself and Wells.

Five singles* that I designed artwork for appear on the album. Never before printed, they are woven through the booklet where they accompany the lyrics of each song.

A full case study for this project will follow when the album is released.

*These singles are: Keep It Coming ⬩ Moving On ⬩ Brand New Age ⬩ TMB ⬩ Archives

Credits

Patron
Casey Wells

Design
Herm the Younger

Published by Herm the Younger in Album Cover, Graphic Design

3rd November 2022

Downwards

I'm pleased to reveal the cover I designed for Downwards, the 2021 single by Pallasades.

The cover was developed in tandem with World II and III. After a thousand changes and refinements, it became what you see here: layers and layers of chaos and disorder.

Credits

Patron
Pallasades

Design
Herm the Younger

Published by Herm the Younger in Album Cover, Graphic Design

10th May 2022

eBook Cover

I designed the cover for Johan Qin's recently published eBook, How To Think Like A Talented Creator. Johan was seeking a design that would provide a strong visual presence for his text. Something original, captivating, and formal.

Custom logotype for the author's personal branding.

Design Notes

The final cover is comprised of three components:

typography

The book's title is set in Caslon, an old English typeface which has been used in books for centuries. The serifs of this font and the classical layout add formality to the design, a key part of the brief.

background

The background comes from a much larger artwork of mine, A Sudden Vision. This ethereal backdrop was changed in every graphic to avoid its use becoming repetitive.

border

The border adds subtle decoration and frames the cover. As Johan noted, it also "makes it look like a reflective mirror, so the reader is getting an accurate reflection of themselves as a creator".

Quotes

Several key quotes were selected from the text and made into graphics. These feature throughout the book and were also used for promotion.

Every one of the 40+ quotes has a uniquely textured background. This ensures that each one is interesting in its own right, worth reading, and avoids the visual pollution caused by using the same assets over and over again.

Conclusion

By working closely with the author I was able to design a cover that sets the tone for the content and quality of the book, and the graphics which helped him to promote it.

Credits

Patron
Johan Qin

Art Direction
Herm the Younger

Published by Herm the Younger in Graphic Design, Typography

15th October 2021

Tipping Time

I was pleased to be asked to remaster Flower for the single cover of Tipping Time by Casey Wells. The new version looks beautiful on digital displays and prints true at 12 inches – the size of a vinyl record.

This cover completed the trio of artworks we developed together, the other two being TMB and Archives, seen below.

Published by Herm the Younger in Album Cover, Graphic Design

25th February 2021

Nostalgia Forever

Visual branding for Gowe's EP Nostalgia Forever including album artwork, CD packaging, merch, and animation.

CD Packaging

Digipak design for a limited run of physical CDs.

For the disc, the typography was printed “on silver”, revealing the reflective material beneath.

Half Moon Album Cover

I worked with Johan Qin, an emerging violinist from Northern California, on the album cover for his debut song D (Half Moon).

Johan initially contacted me to license Instinct, feeling that the atmosphere of the artwork suited his song perfectly.

In response, I developed two album covers – one featuring Instinct, and another featuring a new artwork created especially for the song.

The first design, based on the 2018 artwork *Instinct*.

The second design, based on a new artwork made for the release.

The new artwork – titled Half Moon – was chosen, and custom typography was added to finish the album cover.

Credits

Patron
Johan Qin

Art Direction
Herm the Younger

Published by Herm the Younger in Album Cover, Graphic Design

13th December 2019

Certificate of Authenticity

A closer look at the certificates I designed to accompany a set of three art prints I released. The envelopes were handmade from paper that matched the colour of the art print and printed with the name of each patron.

I have since refined the front design to include a wider margin (allowing space for people's thumbs and fingers when they are holding it), edition details, and other minor improvements.

Published by Herm the Younger in Graphic Design, Print Design, Typography