The art of the album cover is a precise one; the artist must choose the photographer that puts across exactly the persona they wish to convey, entrusting them to work up a concept, style, and message that fits smoothly with the music inside. By the time the cover is in the consumer’s hands, a million important choices have been made – but Russian graphic designer Igor Lipchanskiy wonders, hey, what are they leaving out?
His clever designs, which we first saw on Kottke, peer outside the carefully-controlled frame of the album cover, imagining what could be happening just outside its borders. We’ve picked out a few of our favorites, which cast albums by Drake, Adele, Tom Petty, Moby, and more in an entirely different light; check out more on his Instagram.