I first discovered Laufey’s music while falling in love with solitude during the pandemic. Singing along in the car, I felt the longing, the love, and the quiet joy of romantic daydreams. Typical of Me became an album I always return to in the fall—latte in hand, wrapped in a cozy sweater, driving to find the perfect place to walk among the leaves. So when the assignment came to redesign an album cover, I knew I had to create something as warm and inviting as this music makes me feel.

I began with a mood board, gathering elements that capture the heart of love—its warmth, its mystery, its quiet presence. I explored potential fonts, colors, and the overall atmosphere, searching for a visual language that felt as intimate as the music itself. The images I chose reflect love in motion, layered with a sense of anonymity—fleeting moments of connection, unspoken tenderness. I’ve always been drawn to the romanticism of everyday comforts: light spilling through windows, the delicate imprint of a touch, the softness of a bed, each detail whispering a story of closeness and longing.

Before diving into the design, I compiled a list of possible subjects—nouns drawn from the music, symbols of love, and objects that could be romanticized as evidence of intimacy. I brought this list to class and reviewed it with my professor, the incredible typographer Gabriel López (pleyground.design). Together, we explored which elements would integrate best with text, which objects most clearly conveyed a couple’s presence, and which evoked the strongest emotional response. Through this process, I reflected on what resonated most with me and with others who heard these ideas, ensuring the final design would feel deeply personal and universally sentimental.

While searching for images online, I was most drawn to the quiet joy of two teddy bears nestled together in a cozy bed—an innocent, tender representation of love. I found a bed with the perfect warmth and softness, lit just the way I had envisioned. To complete the scene, I turned to my Pinterest lighting board, searching for a lamp that felt warm, unique, and beautiful. That’s when I found it—a red ceramic lamp, rich in character and perfectly suited to the atmosphere I wanted to create.

For hours, I immersed myself in Laufey’s music, letting it guide my brush as I created a wash of warmth and coziness on the watercolor painting. Using a mix of gouache and watercolor, I carefully shaped the light—softly folding it around the fabric, tracing it over the bunny’s form, and accentuating the gentle curves of the animals’ faces and arms. With a final touch, I used a pen to bring the bunny’s neon pink nose to life, a tiny detail that became the center point of the back of the record.

I scanned the painting into Photoshop and adjusted the warmth, enhancing its cozy atmosphere. From there, I experimented with fonts and text placement, carefully balancing the typography with the imagery to create a composition that felt both intimate and inviting.

Using the back cover to zoom in on the details of the painting felt like the right choice—it highlighted the rich textures and brushstrokes, making the artwork feel tactile and real. This close-up perspective added a sense of intimacy, inviting people to not just see the album but to feel it, enticing them to pick it up and explore further.

Once I finalized the perfect layout, I revisited the assignment requirements to ensure everything was included—the descriptive paragraph, song times, legal text, and barcode. However, my first print came out heavily pixelated. To troubleshoot, I examined the issue and experimented with an extremely high DPI of 1600, realigning the image to match the already placed text. This adjustment allowed the one-inch bunny to be enlarged to a foot without losing quality. Though the process took much longer than I had anticipated, seeing the final print come out crisp and clear made it all worth it.

To enhance the secret romance of the design, I chose Mr. Sheffield, an elegant Adobe script typeface, to add a touch of warmth and soft handwriting. For the body copy and song titles, I used Mrs. Eaves, a refined and timeless serif that complements the handwritten feel of the script. Together, these typefaces create a balance between intimacy and sophistication, echoing the album’s blend of sentimentality and classic charm.

The smallest modification to **Mr. Sheffield** was turning the tittle of the “i” into a heart, adding a subtle yet personal touch that ties into the album’s romantic theme. This playful detail is framed within a theoretical frame in the design, almost like typographic art, integrating the type into the overall composition in a way that feels both meaningful and intentional.

Mr. Sheffield & Mrs. Eaves complementing each other

Capturing the extreme close-up of the bunny in such fine detail was crucial for me—it allowed the textures to truly come to life. I wanted every brushstroke and the natural distress of the paper to be visible, giving the artwork a tactile, lived-in feel. I also really enjoyed aligning the typography so that it gently hugged the bunny’s ear and rested organically on its body, creating a harmonious relationship between the image and the text.

For the grand finale, please enjoy a mockup of the record set against a field of warm lavender. This backdrop was chosen to create a beautiful complementary contrast with the yellow tones, enhancing the overall aesthetic and adding depth to the design. The soothing lavender amplifies the album’s cozy, romantic vibe, making the cover feel both inviting and visually balanced.

Joys

I’m thrilled with how the print turned out—the time I spent working with a larger file was definitely worth it. The painting captures the essence of the music perfectly, and I’m so pleased with how it turned out. It feels just like the sound—warm, inviting, and full of emotion. What delighted me most was how many people remarked that they just wanted to crawl into the painting and have a good sleep. That was exactly the feeling I wanted to evoke.

Opportunities

Some sections have a contrast ratio as low as 3.01:1, and at best, 6.47:1, both of which fail AAA standards and AA standards for small text accessibility
- To address this, I would lighten the yellows without losing the overall saturation, improving the contrast while maintaining the design’s intent
The nightstand could be more specific
- I would select a particular nightstand to base the design on and use simple straight edges to define it with light, giving it more clarity and precision without drawing the eye too much
The barcode and legal copy don’t sit quite right
- Increasing their size slightly and adjusting the colors would prevent them from drawing too much attention due to high contrast, while still keeping them legible and balanced within the overall design

Learnings

Print and mock up earlier than you think; it allows you to see things in a new light and makes it easier to spot potential issues
Scanners are incredibly useful for capturing details accurately, and after a few rounds of using them, they become less technically overwhelming
Incorporating elements of an image as extensions of the grid not only enhances the design but also creates a cohesive and satisfying visual flow

What I’m trying next

Starting by working in black and white with all of the copy and design elements to clearly define hierarchy
- I skipped this step here, and it would have saved me time later on
I’m considering designing something that can be turned into a corresponding animation, especially given the musical aspect of this project
Experimenting with the intersection of different mediums. I love creating a piece I can physically hold at the end, where my artist’s touch is clear and tangible in the final result.

Thank you for reading! I thoroughly enjoyed working on this project. Please feel free to reach out if you have something similar in mind or if you’d like to chat more about it!

Laufey EP Record Art

Joys

Opportunities

Learnings

What I’m trying next