Frame48's Julian Conner Picks Album Art That Pushes Limits

Album covers have become one of the biggest creative influences in my life. Professionally, our studio, Frame48, has had the opportunity to help create graphics for recording artists, which has given me a firsthand understanding of how much thought goes into defining an album’s visual identity. Outside of work, I also sing and produce in the band, templuv. So I’ve experienced the relationship between music and design from both sides.

I’ve come to believe that an album cover is entirely part of the music itself. Sometimes an image sparks the first idea for a song before a note has been played. Other times, it becomes the final piece that defines the music’s message. When the artwork misses the mark, the entire creative vision feels less complete.

The six albums below have had the greatest impact on how I think about storytelling and branding.

Bad Bunny, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (2025)
This is one of my favorite recent covers because of how honest it feels. There’s nothing flashy or overdesigned about it—just two empty plastic chairs sitting in a quiet Puerto Rican landscape. It perfectly mirrors the album’s themes of nostalgia, home, memory and the people and places that shape us. Bad Bunny described the album as a reminder to appreciate the people and moments while they’re still here. The artwork captures that beautifully. These are the plastic chairs you’ll find at family barbecues, birthdays, domino games and conversations that stretch late into the night. Their ordinariness is exactly the point. The cover quietly celebrates the everyday events, making it a perfect visual companion to an album built on nostalgia, gratitude, and home.

Porter Robinson, Nurture (2021)
After releasing Worlds, an album that redefined electronic music, one of my favorite artists, Porter Robinson, spent years battling creative burnout and the pressure to top what he’d already made. Nurture became his way back to reality. [...]

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