Company · Music & Audio

The Rolling Stones

A rock band for whom Sagmeister designed an album cover.

Where The Rolling Stones comes up1 episode or test

At a glanceSagmeister designed the Stones cover by asking why, not what

From Sagmeister's Rolling Stones album cover

Sagmeister designed the Stones cover by asking why the band made the album. He listened to the songs in the studio and talked to the band only about why they were making a new album and what it was about, not about the cover. He saw the job as translating the emotion in the music, and the history around a band like the Stones, into something visual.
Because of fear of leaks, he had to listen to the music on site. The cover also had to absorb decades of band history. In his words, he "tried to talk to the band only about why they're making a new album".
The Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers cover, the zipper-jeans design Sagmeister and Jagger both ranked among favorites.
How I Write▶ 22:19
Mick Jagger asked for a cover that would work embroidered on a cap. Jagger wanted a design that would look good embroidered on a baseball cap, because the band earns more from merch than from music.
How I Write