Cover art from inside the music industry
Covers that soundlike the music.
I work in music, so every cover I design says what the music says.
8 years of experience · 350+ covers · 20+ catalogues
My work
I
Live Loud
Anthemic pop. One symbol, one circle, nothing else in the frame.
My work
II
Counter Culture
Upbeat hip-hop, in a catalogue that otherwise runs clean. A museum portrait flyposted over, with the title cut straight through the face.
My work
III
Aurora
Northern cinematic scores. The title stands upright in the sky, so the type and the aurora rise together.
My work
IV
Delta Force
Dramatic action scores, in a catalogue where every cover has to hold up at promo size. The wordmark runs the full width and the figure breaks through it, so the title carries the weight instead of sitting on top of it.
My work
V
Joy & Sorrow
Human drama, told with a single flower split between colour and monochrome. The whole brief in one object.
Who designs these
I'm Daniel Markes. I work in the music industry, and I design its covers.
Music is my background and my day job, so I know what a release has to say before the brief arrives. My work is turning that into design: covers that feel like the music instead of just decorating it.
More about meCase I · Sprint
Label identity redesign
For a cinematic trailer label: a new logo and one cover system in 2023, carried across 48 releases.
Before · 2019
One template for every release: the logo, a stock photo in a strip, the number and the title.
After · 2023
Every release gets its own cover within one system. Pick any cover to see it full size.
I designed every cover in this run, and the identity behind them.
Case II · Cloud Atlas
Catalogue redesign
For a Norwegian production music catalogue: all 16 covers redesigned as one system, so the whole catalogue reads as one shelf.
Same releases, one consistent look. Each cover stands on its own and still belongs to the set.
I designed every cover in this catalogue.
Series
A catalogue is read as a shelf, not as singles.
Four catalogues, ten covers each.
Chart and radio pop
Music for TV and advertising
Cinematic trailer music
Promo and trailer music
Your release
Tell me about your release.
I read every message and reply within two working days.