This song cover design project gave me the opportunity to lean into a couple of my favorite aesthetics: the sci-fi and cyberpunk film genres.
Concept
When listening to the song, the instrumental backdrop has a very eery, yet futuristic and almost dystopian feel. Chilling, horror-flick-like string sections feature heavily in the songs instrumentation, which inspired me to give the cover a somewhat ominous tone.
The lyrics of the song, however, are quite triumphant in nature, so it was also important to convey this contrast visually. The visual solution I landed on was to superimpose a heroic figure against a dystopian and foggy, yet futuristic backdrop. This would convey both the gloomy uncertainty of the environment but also portray an empowered and capable protagonist.
The primary image used in the cover design was generated using a text-to-image AI platform, Midjourney. Through experimentation with different prompts and keywords to describe the desired visual output, I iteratively landed on the final image used.
Typography
For the song title text treatment, recognizing the importance of staying within theme, I experimented with different fonts until I found a typeface (named Quantum) that struck a good balance between futurism and readability. I also incorporated subtle texturing in order to lean into the song's raw energy. Additionally, I added a simple, yet stylized plus sign element to visually integrate the names of the song's two featured artists.
Social Media Animation
Just as important as the cover design itself is supplemental social media assets for song marketing. Recognizing the need to stand out in the visually oversaturated digital landscape, I decided to add some dynamism to the cover to create more visual interest. Using After Effects, I used motion design to bring the cover to life through the use of simulated sparks and movement effects. The final product was an eye-catching animated design that gave the song visual depth and also enhanced it's overall marketing impact and visibility.