Owl

For this album cover design project, I have chosen the band Owl, a three-piece hard rock band based in Los Angeles. Led by vocalist and bassist Chris Wyse, Owl is known for its heavy yet melodic sound, blending powerful instrumentation with strong vocal performances. Their albums, including their debut Owl (2009) and The Right Thing (2013), have showcased their unique approach to rock music. With their new album Future Alignments, I wanted to create a design that visually represents the themes of time, destiny, and the band’s identity.

Concept & Inspiration

The album title Future Alignments immediately evokes ideas of time, movement, and synchronization. The word Futuresuggests forward-thinking, progress, and the unknown, while Alignments conveys a sense of things coming together in a precise way, like the hands of a clock aligning at a specific time. This gave me the idea to incorporate elements of a clock in the design.

Since the band’s name is Owl, I wanted to integrate the visual symbolism of an owl, specifically its piercing eyes, which represent wisdom, perception, and vision. Owls are nocturnal creatures, often associated with mystery and foresight, which ties well into the album’s themes of alignment and the future.

Design Execution

The central element of the album cover is an abstract representation of an owl’s face, created through typography and clock imagery. The owl’s eyes serve as the focal point, capturing attention immediately. The pupils are shaped like clock hands, further emphasizing the theme of time. The face is enclosed within a circular form, reinforcing the idea of a clock, with letters and lines extending outward like the hands of a timepiece.

For the typography, I wanted to create a sense of movement and fragmentation, representing the way time shifts and aligns. The letters of Future Alignments radiate outward from the center, almost as if they are exploding from the owl’s eyes. This dynamic effect enhances the concept of alignment as something that is not static but constantly evolving.

The color scheme is bold and striking. I chose a deep red background to symbolize intensity, passion, and energy, which reflects the band’s hard rock identity. The owl and typography are rendered in black and white, creating a strong contrast that makes the design stand out. The use of a white outline adds a finishing touch, framing the composition while keeping the focus on the central elements.

In the bottom right corner, I placed the word Owl in a sleek, modern font to reinforce the band’s branding while maintaining a clean aesthetic.

Conclusion

This album cover and typographic logo design successfully encapsulates the themes of Future Alignments while staying true to Owl‘s identity as a hard rock band. The combination of clock symbolism, owl imagery, and fragmented typography creates a visually compelling and conceptually rich design that aligns with the band’s style and the album’s message.