This is an album cover of Lou Reed, the singer of Velvet underground. It is designed by Stefan Sagmeister in 1996 and it was exhibited as a piece of art at the Design Museum of London. So it is aimed for a British audience principally that is into indie rock music. Lou Reed wanted to do something more personal in this album solo (“Set the Twilight Reeling”), and we will see this on the design.

How the album cover is built?

The first thing we perceive is the singer’s eyes. He directly staring at us and it is both dazzling and disturbing. His eyes are on the upper part of the picture which makes them even more a center of attention.
Then we perceive all this writing contrasting with Lou Reed’s visage. A script typography that looks messy, changing in size. Most of it is in capital letters. It’s hard to read and it generates a rhythm that guides the viewer toward a strange voyage in Lou Reed’s life. It seems that the horror vaccui further defines a claustrophobic atmosphere. However, we do have a balance in the design.
There is no depth; everything is mis-à-plat, and that reinforces the disturbing feeling.
We also have a closed design that generates a significant tension.
The designer plays with three colors: black, white, and indigo. These three colors create an important contrast that darkens Lou Reed’s face.

Purpose:
This picture is a mirror of Stefan Sagmeister’s dark personality. We have one of his pieces in our book that uses the same approach.
He wants us to travel in Lou Reed’s life. Stefan Sagmeister  said that since “the lyrics are extremely personal, [he] tried to show this by writing those lyrics directly over his face” (2012). In this interview, he also states that “the human body is just one of the strongest forms there is, one that is incredibly familiar to all of us” (2012). In other words, nothing is as true as the human body exactly as those intimate lyrics for Lou Reed. Thus, using a photograph of Lou Reed becomes an essential element to remain faithful to this true side of the album.

The designer is using a simple technique in this album cover that may appear banal: writing over a photograph. its simplicity creates its own universe, and adds in authenticity. That is, it is an anguishing picture with pale colors as if Lou Reed was actually appearing in the twilight that the album is about. The lyrics match perfectly the photograph. I think it is a great design because it is innovative. I have never seen such an album cover even if Lou Reed and the Velvet underground in general have great album covers. Plus, it has a real meaning. And I think the designer dared to write over Lou Reed’s face which makes it really powerful as a whole piece of art. We cannot deny that we are driven to read Lou Reed’s mind through his eyes, but also through his personal lyrics.