Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physi ...

(often on a

dust jacket The dust jacket (sometimes book jacket, dust wrapper or dust cover) of a book is the detachable outer cover, usually made of paper and printed with text and illustrations. This outer cover has folded flaps that hold it to the front and back boo ...

), magazine,

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...

( tabloid),

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

(

box art Video game packaging refers to the physical storage of the contents of a PC or console game, both for safekeeping and shop display. In the past, a number of materials and packaging designs were used, mostly paperboard or plastic. Today, most phy ...

music album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

(

album art An album cover (also referred to as album art) is the front packaging art of a commercially released studio album or other audio recordings. The term can refer to either the printed paperboard covers typically used to package sets of and 78-rpm ...

), CD,

videotape Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocasse ...

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

, or podcast. The art has a primarily commercial function, for instance to promote the product it is displayed on, but can also have an aesthetic function, and may be artistically connected to the product, such as with art by the creator of the product.

Album cover art

Album cover art is artwork created for a

. Notable album cover art includes Pink Floyd's ''

The Dark Side of the Moon ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973 by Harvest Records. The album was primarily developed during live performances, and the band premiered an early version of ...

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

In the Court of the Crimson King ''In the Court of the Crimson King'' (subtitled ''An Observation by King Crimson'') is the debut studio album by English rock band King Crimson, released on 10 October 1969 by Island Records. The album is one of the earliest and most influentia ...

,''

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

' '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'', ''

Abbey Road ''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It is the last album the group started recording, although '' Let It Be'' was the last album completed before the band's break-up in April 1970. It was mostly ...

'' and their self-titled "White Album" among others. Albums can have cover art created by the musician, as with Joni Mitchell's '' Clouds'', or by an associated musician, such as

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's artwork for the cover of ''

Music from Big Pink ''Music from Big Pink'' is the debut studio album by the Band. Released in 1968, it employs a distinctive blend of country, rock, folk, classical, R&B, blues, and soul. The music was composed partly in " Big Pink", a house shared by bassist/s ...

'', by the Band, Dylan's backup band's first album. Artists known for their album cover art include

Alex Steinweiss Alexander Steinweiss (March 24, 1917 – July 17, 2011) was an American graphic design artist known for inventing album cover art. Early life Alex Steinweiss was born on March 24, 1917, in Brooklyn. His father was a women's shoe designer fr ...

, an early pioneer in album cover art, Roger Dean, and the

Hipgnosis Hipgnosis were an English art design group based in London, that specialised in creating album cover artwork for rock musicians and bands. Their commissions included work for Pink Floyd, T. Rex, the Pretty Things, Black Sabbath, UFO, 10c ...

studio. Some album art may cause controversy because of nudity, offending churches, trademark or others.Heller, Steven
"Alex Steinweiss, Originator of Artistic Album Covers, Dies at 94,"
New York Times, July 19, 2011 There have been numerous books documenting album cover art, particularly

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

album covers. Steinweiss was an art director and graphic designer who brought custom artwork to record album covers and invented the first packaging for long-playing records.

Book cover

book cover A book cover is any protective covering used to bind together the pages of a book. Beyond the familiar distinction between hardcovers and paperbacks, there are further alternatives and additions, such as dust jackets, ring-binding, and older ...

is usually made up of images (illustrations, photographs, or a combination of both) and text. It usually includes the book title and author and can also include (but not always) a book tagline or quote. The book cover design is usually designed by a graphic designer or book designer, working in-house at a publisher or freelance. Once the front cover art has been approved, they will then continue to design the layout of the spine (including the book title, author name and publisher imprint logo) and the back cover (usually including a book blurb and sometimes the barcode and publisher

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wo ...

). Books can be designed as a set of series or as an individual design. Very commonly the same book will be designed with a different cover in different countries to suit the specific audience. For example, a cover designed for Australia may have a completely different design in the UK and again in the USA. Book cover art has had books written on the subject. Numerous artists have become noted for their book cover art, including Richard M. Powers and

Chip Kidd Charles Kidd (born 1964) is an American graphic designer known for book covers. Early childhood Born in Shillington in Berks County, Pennsylvania, Kidd grew up being fascinated and heavily inspired by American popular culture. Comic books ...

. In one of the most recognizable book covers in American literature, two sad female eyes (and bright red lips) adrift in the deep blue of a night sky, hover ominously above a skyline that glows like a carnival. Evocative of sorrow and excess, the haunting image has become so inextricably linked to ''

The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby ...

'' that it still adorns the cover of F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece 88 years after its debut. The iconic cover art was created by Spanish artist

Francis Cugat Francis Cugat, also known as Francisco Coradal-Cougat (May 24, 1893 – July 13, 1981), was a painter and graphic designer whose most famous work was the original 1925 dust jacket for ''The Great Gatsby'' by F. Scott Fitzgerald. From the mid-1940s ...

. With the release of a big Hollywood movie, however, some printings of the book have abandoned the classic cover in favor of one that ties in more closely with the film.

Magazine cover

Magazine cover artists include

Art Spiegelman Art Spiegelman (; born Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman on February 15, 1948) is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel '' Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazines ''Arcade'' and '' Ra ...

, who modernized the look of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' magazine, and his predecessor

Rea Irvin Rea Irvin (August 26, 1881 – May 28, 1972) was an American graphic artist. Although never formally credited as such, he served de facto as the first art editor of ''The New Yorker''. He created the Eustace Tilley cover portrait and the ''New Y ...

, who created the Eustace Tilly iconic character for the magazine. Magazine cover artists who were well-known for capturing important political and social issues of the day include

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

, whose work appeared 322 times on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post, and Dennis Wheeler, whose 40 covers for

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

magazine illustrated social movements and news events of the 1960s and 1970s; Seven of them are in the permanent collection of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

in New York City.

Tabloid cover

Today the word tabloid is used as a derogatory descriptor of a style of journalism, rather than its original intent as an indicator of half-broadsheet size.This tends to cloud the fact that the great tabloids were skilfully produced amalgams of intriguing human interest stories told with punchy brevity, a clarity drawn from the choice of simple but effective words and often with a healthy dose of wit.Day, Mark. (2008, August 21). “For a brighter future, tabloids could look to the past.” The Australian, p. 38. The gossipy tabloid scandal sheets, as we know them today, have been around since 1830. That's when Benjamin Day and James Gordon Bennett Sr., the respective publishers of ''The New York Sun'' and ''The New York Herald'', launched what became known as the Penny Press (whose papers sold for one cent apiece).McLaren, Leah. (2001, August 11). “Admit it: Tabloid culture is what we are” The Globe and Mail, p. L3. But some of the world's best journalism has been tabloid.Wynne-Jones, Ros. (2011, July 28). “They've still got news for us.” Independent Extra, p. 2. From the days when

John Pilger John Richard Pilger (; born 9 October 1939) is an Australian journalist, writer, scholar, and documentary filmmaker. He has been mainly based in Britain since 1962. He was also once visiting professor at Cornell University in New York. Pilge ...

revealed the cold truth of Cambodia's Killing Fields in the

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...

, to the stream of revelations that showed the hypocrisy of John Major's "back to basics" cabinet, award-winning writing in the tabloids is acknowledged every year at the National Press Awards. Good cover art can lead readers to this fact; the New York Herald, for example, offers some fine examples of tabloid cover art. So too does the

News & Review The ''News & Review'' is a group of free alternative weekly newspapers published by Chico Community Publishing, Inc. of Chico, California. The company publishes the ''Chico News & Review'' in Chico, California, the ''Sacramento News & Review'' in ...

, a free weekly published in Reno, Nevada, Chico, California and Sacramento, California. The tabloid has thrived since the 1970s, and even uses cartoonish cover art. Tabloids have a modern role to play, and along with good cover art (and new ideas) they fill a niche.Berlin, Jess S. (2006, November 8). “Cyber tabloid will cover all the news that's virtually true.” The Guardian, p. 20.

Popular music scores (early 20th century)

Sheet music cover artists include Frederick S. Manning, William Austin Starmer, Frederick Waite Starmer, all three of whom worked for Jerome H. Remick. Other prolific artists included Albert Wilfred Barbelle, Andréa Stephen Chevalier de Takacs (1880–1919), and Gene Buck. E. H. Pfeiffer ''(né'' Edward Henry Pfeiffer; 1868–1932) did cover illustrations for Gotham-Attucks, Jerome H. Remick, F.B. Haviland Pub. Co., Jerome & Schwartz Publishing Company, Lew Berk Music Company, Waterson, Berlin & Snyder, Inc., and others.

Gallery

Books

File:Ivory book cover MS Douce 176.jpg, Ivory

with scenes from the life of Christ circa 800 AD File:Title design of A song of the English (1909).png,

Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much o ...

's ''A song of the English'' (poem), illustrated by

William Heath Robinson William Heath Robinson (31 May 1872 – 13 September 1944) was an English cartoonist, illustrator and artist, best known for drawings of whimsically elaborate machines to achieve simple objectives. In the UK, the term "Heath Robinson contr ...

(1872–1944), 1909 File:Mitrohin for Zamiatin's Uezdnoe.jpg, ''Uezdnoe'', by

Yevgeny Zamyatin Yevgeny Ivanovich Zamyatin ( rus, Евге́ний Ива́нович Замя́тин, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ zɐˈmʲætʲɪn; – 10 March 1937), sometimes anglicized as Eugene Zamyatin, was a Russian author of science fictio ...

, 1916 File:RealMotherGoose.jpg, ''The Real Mother Goose,'' Blanche Fisher Wright, illustrator, 1916 File:The Great Gatsby Cover 1925 Retouched.jpg, The Great Gatsby,

,1925

Newspapers, magazines, comic books

File:OlympicClubTimesDemocratHeadline.JPG, Gentleman Jim Corbett and John L. Sullivan at the Olympic Club,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, ''

The Times-Democrat ''The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate'' is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana, since January 25, 1837. The current publication is the result of the 2019 acquisition of ''The Times-Picayune'' (itself a result of th ...

,'' September 8, 1892 File:Billboard02 10thAnniv.jpg, '' Billboard's'' tenth anniversary edition, 1904 File:Vanity Fair June 1914.jpg, '' Vanity Fair,'' June 1914 File:Vanity Fair cover by Ethel Caroline Rundquist 1916.jpg, Skater with scarf, illustrated by Ethel Caroline Rundquist, '' Vanity Fair,'' January 1916 File:Silver_Sheet_January_01_1923_-_BELL_BOY_13.pdf, '' The Silver Sheet,'' a studio publication promoting Thomas Ince Productions '' Bell Boy 13,'' E. H. Pfeiffer, illustrator, January 1923 File:The Spider April 1934.jpg, Pulp magazine ''

Spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

,'' Vol. 2, , April 1934 File:AmazingMan22.jpg, Amazing Man Comics, illustrated by

Paul Gustavson Paul Gustavson (né Karl Paul Gustafson; August 16, 1916 – April 29, 1977) was a Finnish-American comic-book writer and artist. His most notable creations during the Golden Age of Comic Books were The Human Bomb for Quality Comics, and the An ...

, 22, May 1941 File:LIFE 06191944 Eisenhower cover.jpg, ''

LIFE Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'' magazine, official U.S. Army photo, June 19, 1944 File:MisterMystery12.png, ''Mister Mystery'' #1,

Key Publications Key Publications was an American comic-book company founded by Stanley P. Morse that published under the imprints Aragon Magazines, Gillmor Magazines, Medal Comics, Media Publications, S. P. M. Publications, Stanmor Publications, and ...

, July–August 1953 File:Horisont 1 1967 kaas.jpg, The first ''Horisont'' magazine in

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

, 1967

Sheet music, recorded music

File:Bon Bon Buddy cover.jpg, Sheet music for the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical, '' Bandanna Land,'' Andréa Stephen Chevalier de Takacs, illustrator, Gotham-Attucks, publisher, 1908 File:My Favorite Rag by James White - cover by Grim Natwick.jpg, "My Favorite Rag," by James White, illustration by

Grim Natwick Myron "Grim" Natwick (' Nordveig; August 16, 1890 – October 7, 1990) was an American artist, animator, and film director. Natwick is best known for drawing the Fleischer Studios' most popular character, Betty Boop. Background Born in Wis ...

(one of his earliest published works), 1915 File:TheBeatles68LP.jpg, Cover for

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

White Album White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 1968 File:Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin US promotional single.png, Cover for

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

's promotional single " Stairway to Heaven", 1971 File:Queen & David Bowie - Under Pressure.jpeg, Cover for

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

's single "

Under Pressure "Under Pressure" is a song by the British rock band Queen and singer David Bowie. Originally released as a single in October 1981, it was later included on Queen's 1982 album ''Hot Space''. The song reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, ...

", 1981 File:Three of a Perfect Pair.jpg, Cover for

's album ''

Three of a Perfect Pair ''Three of a Perfect Pair'' is the tenth studio album by English band King Crimson, released in March 1984 by record label E.G. It is the final studio album to feature the quartet of Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Tony Levin and Bill Bruford. Con ...

,'' 1984 File:Beyoncé - Beyoncé.svg, Cover for Beyoncé's eponymous album, 2013 File:"1-800-273-8255" cover by Logic.jpg, Cover for

Logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premise ...

's single "

1-800-273-8255 The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 200+ crisis centers that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the number 9- ...

" featuring

Alessia Cara Alessia Caracciolo (born July 11, 1996), known professionally as Alessia Cara (), is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Born in Mississauga, Ontario, to Italian Canadian parents, she began posting covers of songs on YouTube at age 13. After uploadi ...

and

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal", and it also appears as a surname.

, 2017 File:Deltarune Chapter 1 Soundtrack.jpg, Cover for

Toby Fox Robert F. Fox (born October 11, 1991), known professionally as Toby Fox (previously Toby "Radiation" Fox), is an American video game developer and video game composer. He is known for developing the role-playing video games ''Undertale'' and ...

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

to the first chapter of ''

Deltarune ''Deltarune'' is a role-playing video game developed by Toby Fox. The player controls a teenage human, Kris, who is destined to save the world together with Susie, a monster, and Ralsei, a prince from the Dark World. During their quest to seal t ...

'', 2018

References

{{reflist, 30em, refs= "{{URL, http://ragpiano.com/artists/detakacs.shtml, André De Takacs" by Bill Edwards ''(né'' William G. Motley; born 1959), ''{{URL, http://ragpiano.com'' Website administrator: Bill Edwards (no date); Contributors: Andrea Ellis and Keith Emmons (retrieved February 21, 2020) "{{URL, http://ragpiano.com/artists/pfeiffer.shtml, Edward H. Pfeiffer" by Bill Edwards ''(né'' William G. Motley; born 1959), ''{{URL, http://ragpiano.com'' Website administrator: Bill Edwards (no date) Illustration Graphic design Comics terminology Works by cover artist Covers by artist