Behind the designs of 4 striking Spotify playlist covers

Gone are the days when Spotify playlist art was just a collage of the first few album covers. The browsing section of the app is now an impressive menagerie of bespoke designs, led by Vasava Studio.

Speaking at this year’s OFFF festival in the studio’s hometown of Vasaba (opens in new tab) We took the stage to walk you through the process of creating our six most popular playlist covers and explain why working with Spotify is such a unique design idea. (Looking for more design inspiration? Check out the best print ads ever.)

01. Hits Different

As the name suggests, *hits different* is a playlist of hits in a different way. “The main challenge here was connecting with Gen Z,” he says Vasava. “We had to use symbols like emojis. We took the main titles and sentiments from the songs representing the covers and turned them into stickers. They convey emotions and can be as complex as any other form of language. It’s possible.” This not only made the playlist sound different, but also made it “look unique and very typical for the generation listening to this playlist.”

02. Popup

One of the most listened playlists on the platform, Pop Up highlights, yes, pop music. “I wanted to emphasize the ephemeral nature of the genre by using something that grows and then shrinks: balloons, because pop music changes so quickly.” Visuals include images of featured artists. Contains a collection of translucent 3D inflatable frames that appear with a . “The main challenge of this project was to find a visual language that could group all the artists in the pop scene without looking forced.”

03. Crown

Formerly titled K-Hip-Hop +82, KrOWN collects “the best Korean rhymes and rhythms” with over 400,000 likes. A royal symbol of power and royalty. He created a series of five crowns shaped like tribal tattoos. We gave both the crown and lock-up a metallic, three-dimensional aesthetic, making it a piece of jewelry that makes the artist “the crown.” These elements he created in five different colors and combined them with the style of the main character on each cover. ”

04. Up

FINO is a Spotify playlist featuring the best reggaeton from Medellin. Here, Vasava had to create a “very refined and sophisticated identity” that focused more on the aesthetics surrounding the artists than on the music itself. “Their global trademarks include sportswear and sneakers. Using sneaker details and textures, they created lock-ups with stitching and sweat dots and stripes. , FINO reflects the new luxury that characterizes Medellín’s reggaeton aesthetic.”