Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or

photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, or more generically referred to as an ''image'' or ''picture'') is an image created by light falling on a photosensitivity, photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor. Th ...

on the outside of a

published Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

product, such as a

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

(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 book ...

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

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 poli ...

( tabloid),

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

( box art),

music album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...

( album art), CD,

videotape Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually Sound recording and reproduction, sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog signal, analog or Digital signal (signal processing), digital signal. V ...

, DVD, or

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

. Cover art can include various things such as logos, symbols, images, colors, or anything that represents what is being sold or advertised. The art has a commercial function (i.e., 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, or commissioned by, the creator of the product).

Album cover art

Album cover art has a long history dating back to the late 19th century. This art is artwork created for a

and is one of the most representative techniques to show the changes and trends found within the music, art, culture, and technological industries. As music became popularized, so did creating cover art. Throughout the years, cover art went through different stages and styles. In 1938, Columbia Records hired Alex Steinweiss as its first art director. Notable album cover art includes

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

's '' The Dark Side of the Moon'',

King Crimson King Crimson were an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald (musician), Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield. Guitarist Fripp remained the only constant member throughout the ...

's '' In the Court of the Crimson King'', Kanye West's '' My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,''

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

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

Abbey Road ''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 26 September 1969, by Apple Records. It is the last album the group recorded, although '' Let It Be'' (1970) was the last album completed before th ...

'' and their self-titled "White Album", among others. Albums can have cover art created by the musician, as with

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

'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. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

's artwork for the cover of '' Music from Big Pink'', by the Band, Dylan's backup band's first album. Artists known for their album cover art include Alex Steinweiss, an early pioneer in album cover art, Roger Dean, and the Hipgnosis studio. Some album art may cause controversy because of nudity (for example,

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

and

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...

's'' Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins''), offending churches, trademark or others.Heller, Steven
"Alex Steinweiss, Originator of Artistic Album Covers, Dies at 94,"
''The New York Times'', July 19, 2011 There have been numerous books documenting album cover art, particularly rock 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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

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. Joanne Gair's early album artwork such as David Lee Roth's 1986 '' Eat 'Em and Smile'' album cover helped launch her career.

Book cover

A book cover is usually made up of images (illustrations, photographs, or a combination of both) and text. It emerged in the 19th century when books started to become mass-produced. 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. Authors can make suggestions for book cover design elements (e.g., a preferred color) but rarely communicate directly with the designer. 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 that it represents, as in ...

). 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 United Kingdom and again in the United States. Book covers need to be effective at marketing, which can encourage reliance on stereotypical representations. For example, if the marketing strategy emphasizes that the author is a woman, then the cover might be designed in stereotypical feminine colors such as pink, and if the publisher wants to emphasize that the author is from a particular ethnic background, then the cover might include stereotypical representations of people from that ethnic group. 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. 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'' that it still adorns the cover of F. Scott Fitzgerald's book 88 years after its debut. The iconic cover art was created by Spanish artist Francis Cugat. 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

First showing in the 1900s, illustrated covers became common with magazines like Vogue and Cosmopolitan featuring full-page illustrations in the 1900s. The first magazine cover with a photo appeared in 1932. Vogue was one of the first to adopt photography, and its first full-color photo cover was in July 1932. Famous artists like Salvador Dalí, Man Ray, and Juan Miró contributed covers to Vogue in the 1940s. Magazine cover artists include Art Spiegelman, who modernized the look of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' magazine, and his predecessor Rea Irvin, who created the Eustace Tilly character for the magazine. Magazine cover artists who were well known for capturing important political and social issues of the day include Norman Rockwell, whose work appeared 322 times on the cover of '' The Saturday Evening Post'' (11 featuring the Willie Gillis character), and Dennis Wheeler, whose 40 covers for ''Time'' 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 (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

in New York City. '' Mad'' magazine has a long history of placing the Alfred E. Neuman character prominently on its cover.

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 human interest stories told with punchy brevity, a clarity drawn from the choice of simple but effective words and often with a 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 Sun'' and the '' New York Herald'', launched what became known as the

penny press Penny Publications, LLC is an American magazine publisher specializing in puzzles, crosswords, sudokus as well as mystery and science fiction magazines. Penny Publications publishes over 85 magazines distributed through newsstands, in store ...

(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 what is considered 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 revealed the truth of Cambodia's Killing Fields in the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...

'', 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 examples of tabloid cover art. So too does the '' News & Review'', a free weekly published in Nevada and California. The tabloid has thrived since the 1970s, and 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.

Sheet music cover

Sheet music cover artists include Frederick S. Manning, William Austin Starmer and Frederick Waite Starmer, all three of whom worked for Jerome H. Remick. Other prolific artists included Albert Wilfred Barbelle, André C. De Takacs, and Gene Buck. E. H. Pfeiffer did cover illustrations for Gotham-Attucks; 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 book cover with scenes from the life of Christ, File:Mitrohin for Zamiatin's Uezdnoe.jpg, , by Yevgeny Zamyatin, 1916 File:RealMotherGoose.jpg, ''The Real Mother Goose,'' Blanche Fisher Wright, illustrator, 1916 File:The Great Gatsby Cover 1925 Retouched.jpg, '' The Great Gatsby'' by F. Scott Fitzgerald, dust jacket art by Francis Cugat, 1925

Newspapers, magazines, comic books

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

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, '' The Times-Democrat,'' 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 (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

,'' vol. 2, , April 1934 File:AmazingMan22.jpg, ''Amazing Man Comics'' no. 22, illustrated by Paul Gustavson, May 1941 File:LIFE 06191944 Eisenhower cover.jpg, ''

LIFE Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' magazine, official U.S. Army photo, June 19, 1944 File:MisterMystery12.png, ''Mister Mystery'' #1, Key Publications, July–August 1953 File:Horisont 1 1967 kaas.jpg, The first '' Horisont'' magazine in

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

, 1967 File:Road & Track March 2011 cover.jpg, '' Road & Track''

automobile magazine An automobile magazine is a magazine with news and reports on cars and the Automotive industry, automobile industry. Automobile magazines may feature new car tests and comparisons, which describe advantages and disadvantages of similar models ...

featuring a Porsche 991, March 2011 File:May 2019 Artforum Cover.jpg, '' Artforum'' art magazine, featuring Cauleen Smith in a digital video ''Sojourner'', May 2019 File:Net_magazine_June_2020_cover.webp, '' net'' computer magazine, June 2020 File:Broadcast_Magazine_November_2024_cover.webp, ''

Broadcast Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

trade magazine A trade magazine, also called a trade journal or trade paper (colloquially or disparagingly a trade rag), is a magazine or newspaper whose target audience is people who work in a particular tradesman, trade or industry. The collective term ...

, November 2024

Sheet music, recorded music

File:Bon Bon Buddy cover.jpg, Sheet music for the Broadway 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 (one of his earliest published works), 1915 File:TheBeatles68LP.jpg, Cover for

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

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

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

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

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

's single " Under Pressure", 1981 File:Three of a Perfect Pair.jpg, Cover for

's album '' Three of a Perfect Pair,'' 1984 File:De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising Cover.jpeg, Cover for De La Soul's album '' 3 Feet High and Rising,'' 1989 File:Beyoncé - Beyoncé.svg, Cover for

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of 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 study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

's single " 1-800-273-8255" featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid, 2017 File:Look at Me!.jpg, Cover for XXXTentacion's single " Look at Me!", 2017 File:Deltarune Chapter 1 Soundtrack.jpg, Cover for Toby Fox's

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

to the first chapter of '' Deltarune'', 2018 File:BTS Dynamite (NightTime Version).svg, Cover for BTS' single "

Dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...

", 2020 File:Charli XCX - Brat (album cover).png, Cover for

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...

's album ''Brat'', 2024

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