Exclusive interview: the cover of David Bowie's Blackstar album, released just days before his death, was designed to reflect the musician's mortality according to his long-time graphic design collaborator Jonathan Barnbrook.
Vinyl album artwork for ?, 2016
Blackstar, represented by a ? symbol, was released on 8 January 2016 ? Bowie's 69th birthday. The musician died two days later, and the album has since been interpreted as a poignant farewell and has topped charts worldwide.
The album artwork was one of five that Barnbrook worked on with Bowie in the last 15 years, making the British designer one of the recording star's closest and longest-serving collaborators.
Album artwork for ?, 2016
Speaking to Dezeen, Barnbrook explained how he would work directly with Bowie rather than via his management team, discussing ideas via email or Skype. "He always wanted to do something interesting, often to the annoyance of the record company," Barnbrook said. "He understood the value of the image on a record cover, when other people had forgotten about it."
The designer added that Bowie was, more than anyone else, the artist responsible for bringing "art-school thinking into the mainstream."
Billboard artwork for ?, 2016
Barnbrook's cover for Bowie's last record positions a large black star in the centre of a white background. The design is simple, but full of symbolism, he told Dezeen.
"This was a man who was facing his own mortality,"...