Album Cover Archives – Herm the Younger

15th November 2024

Release Day: Obsidian Heart

My artwork for Aidan Martin's latest single is a tribute to ancient ornament and good music, both art forms which have fascinated me for years.

A geometric exploration of the song, the artwork is inspired by its poetic language:

There’s been a cataclysmic collapse⠀/⠀Of life as we know it⠀/⠀Light a fire
It’s so cold and dark⠀/⠀Obsidian heart⠀/⠀Obsidian heart

Alternative Cover

Another option we created utilises the fascinating phenomenon of obsidian flints. The stones were carved by ancient men into intricate fractal patterns, and then carried on their person as a sort of talisman, embuing strength and protection.

This design pairs two of these with a scattering of other gemstones. Despite being a direct representation of the title, it has a mystical and unknown element to it that defies the obvious. It's unexpected, and that's what makes it effective.

Animated Promo by Donavan Sloan

I'm pleased this mysterious abstraction is present in the final green artwork. The song was released today on Bandcamp.

credits

Commissioned by Aidan Martin
Designed by Herm the Younger

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

11th October 2024

Release Day: Inspired

Today marks the release of Ben Mwanga's debut ten-track album, Inspired. I was trusted with the design of the main album cover, which set the aesthetic for the whole project.

The album cover follows a classic layout with an intimate portrait in the centre and beautiful typography. This is a reflection of the music, which is poetic and steeped in emotion.

More insight into this collaboration will follow as the project is revealed.

credits

Commissioned by Ben Mwanga
Designed by Herm the Younger
Photography by René Fitzek

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Published by Herm the Younger in Album Cover, Graphic Design

3rd September 2024

Release Day: All These Moments Will Be Lost

I'm honoured to share the artwork I created for Ontzieling's debut EP, which releases this Thursday. Limited edition vinyl copies are available now.

About the Album

Step into the haunting soundscape of a dystopian future with Ontzieling's debut 'All These Moments Will Be Lost'. This record with Blade Runner-esque qualities is a blend of ambient and experimental music, meticulously crafted to immerse you in the eerie ambience of a crumbling metropolis. Each track is a journey through desolate streets, abandoned buildings, and the haunting echoes of a society that once was. 'All These Moments Will be Lost' captures the essence of isolation, decay, and the ghostly remnants of human existence.

The artwork is created by Herm the Younger:

“We are faced with a scene that could be in a future era or at the beginning of the world. An epic scene, balanced in the frame and dissolving with time. Even the significant moment captured here is slipping into obscurity and will soon be forgotten.”

‘Ontzieling’ is an ambient project by Michael Paap, a music producer hailing from the city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The project meticulously explores the realm of soundscapes, dark versus light, drone, noise and lo-fi, seamlessly weaving them together with the modular synthesizer. Each composition is an unfiltered glimpse into a moment, a live creation captured in one continuous take. The project’s essence lies in embracing the present, record, unplug and move forward.

credits

Commissioned by Michael Paap
Designed by Herm the Younger
Released by Esc.rec

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Published by Herm the Younger in Album Cover, Graphic Design, Vinyl Record

8th May 2024

Voice of the Wild

I'm pleased to reveal the cover I designed for Voice of the Wild by Million Moons, the first single from their second full-length album.

The album is heavily inspired by Antarctic voyages of days gone by and tells the story of a doomed polar expedition. After digging deep into public archives, I found the remarkable photography of Frank Hurley (1885–1962), an adventurer and photographer present on those same missions.

The covers mix historic photos from Antarctic missions with icy palettes and beautiful typography

From the official press release:

“Herm the Younger created the album artwork, collaging archival photographs from Antarctic expeditions to create a haunting landscape that conveys the beauty and isolation these explorers encountered.”

The main album artwork and covers for all seven tracks will be released with the album on July 5th.

Cover art for the second single: *Endure, Overcome*

The full case study is now live:
I May Be Some Time

Credits

Patron
Million Moons

Art Direction
Herm the Younger

Photography
Frank Hurley

Published by Herm the Younger in Album Cover, Graphic Design

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

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

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