THE BATTLE (ARMOR) IS ON!
Album cover review for Pink’s Beautiful Trauma By Darren Melchiorre 3 stars out of 4 Stars
Art Direction and Design by Smog Design/Jeri Heiden
Four years is way too long to wait for a new Pink album. But, with a new Pink album comes a new Pink album cover, consistently designed by one of my hero creative directors, Jeri Heiden and Smog Design. Jeri has created some of this industry’s boldest album covers to date, and the design for Pink’s latest endeavor, Beautiful Trauma, does not disappoint!
Once again, Pink is front and center with a bold stance directed right at you with an intensity only she can deliver, even with sunglasses on. This cover came out a few weeks ago and I chose not to write about it until now. Something just wasn’t right and I didn’t understand what it was. With Jeri Heiden at the helm, I refused to believe that this was just another album cover with the artist in posed photography. Then, I realized it was her outfit that I was trying to make sense of. With such a creative title like Beautiful Trauma, I knew there had to be more to this album cover design than just Pink standing there in a high fashion outfit.
Then, it hit me. Pink’s outfit isn’t just an “outfit”. It’s her battle armor. That’s the connection! If this was a modern day war (especially the wars most of us experience in our heads), this is the outfit Pink would choose as her defensive gear, and coming from a “beautiful trauma”, it looks like she is emerging victorious. From her reflective sunglasses, to her silver-plated chest piece, to the jacket with the red collar, which is an brilliant reference to a warrior helmut piece, Pink is a modern day Roman gladiator.
Well, from that point, I was elated! This is one of Pink’s and Jeri Heiden’s finest album cover designs in years. If you recall, I wasn’t so thrilled with design for The Truth About Love, simply because it just didn’t connect the viewer to anything. But with Beautiful Trauma, this design captures the moment right after the battle, where the trauma was fought, will be reflected upon for years to come, and has made its way into the music you are about to hear. I do wish that the gladiator comparison was a little more apparent. I didn’t want to take so long to get to that conclusion. A good album cover connects you to the music right away. This design drew me in, but without clarity. But let me tell you, this beautifully traumatic design was well worth the wait.
