More Than Just Album Art: Caleb’s Visuals Bring Music to Life
Caleb is travailleurs extraordinaire. His keen eye for detail and creative spirit make him a sought-after collaborator in the world of music. He views his work on album covers and promotional material not just as aesthetic complements, but as extensions of the music itself. Each project is a deep dive into the artist’s sound, a careful translation of melodies and lyrics into a visual language.
This close attention to the music formed the bedrock of his work on Clario’s third album, Charm, a project Caleb describes as a highlight of his year. Having collaborated with Clairo and her team since 2020, conversations flowed effortlessly, sparking inspiration. Soon, Caleb noticed a shift in Clairo’s sound, “The dialogue Claire [Cottrill] was using to engage with her audience had shifted into a more playful, cheeky tone.” Caleb aimed to embody this effervescence in the visuals. Elegant textures and serif type were paired with silhouettes of fairies – a playful nod to the album name – swans, and kittens, giving the impression that they could have been plucked from a fan’s personal notebook. Caleb’s visuals resonated deeply with fans, especially his ‘I Got Charmed by Clairo’ tee, which became an instant fan phrase.
Finding Inspiration Beyond Melody
But Caleb isn’t confined to drawing inspiration solely from the music. He’s willing to venture outside the sonic sphere, seeking influences from the world around him. Take his work alongside creative directors Imogene Strauss and Isha Dipika Walia on the identity for Portoloa Festival. Set against the backdrop of San Francisco’s Pier 8, a shipyard teeming with equipment and machinery, Caleb drew inspiration from the raw “industrial grit” of the location. The team crafted offbeat typography and distressed textures, resulting in a definitively punky, DIY feel.
His recent work with Vampire Weekend presented a different challenge. The visual world of the new album had already been established, leaving Caleb to improvise. He delved deep into the found footage used in the band’s music videos, uncovering “beautiful vignettes of light steep portraits and illuminated signs from downtown New York in the 80s,” which became the foundation for his bespoke drawings.
The Power of Visual Connection
Caleb’s approach is driven by more than just personal enjoyment. He recognizes the profound impact visuals can have on fans, deepening their connection to the music and providing a tangible outlet for their passion.
“Design can expand an artist’s world beyond their audio output. In many cases the visual component may be the first thing to pique someone’s interest, and therefore colour how they experience it, which I don’t take lightly,” he says. “I love that these kinds of projects really have an audience who deeply cares about the work.”
It’s clear Caleb is creating work that resonates deeply with fans, the kind that would have captivated his younger self for hours on end.
