Urban Undergrounds

Art direction · illustration and animation

Client: Music label · Germany
Year: 2018 — present
Disciplines: Illustration · Motion
Deliverables: Cover art · Illustration · Animation

01 — The challenge

A label with constant releases needs every release to have its own identity while the whole catalog still reads as one label — at a pace that doesn’t allow starting from zero each time.

Eight years as the label’s art director: cover art, general design and animation, remotely and in English. Over a thousand pieces produced at a steady 12–15 a month. Artists include Damn Homies, Mapple Syrup and Tcheck.

02 — Process

1
Art direction per artist
Every cover starts from the track, not from a template. Catalog consistency comes from judgment, not from a repeated frame.
2
Original illustration
Almost all the artwork is illustrated, not photographic. That’s what gives the label a recognizable signature on platforms flooded with stock imagery.
3
Release animation
Animated versions of the covers for the social rollout, in the same language as the still artwork.
4
Sustained pace
Twelve to fifteen pieces a month, eight years straight, remotely and in English. The real challenge isn’t one cover: it’s cover number one thousand.

03 — Work