What’s your favourite record cover art of all time?

“Although it may not definitely be my favourite album cover of all-time, it certainly is the one that had the biggest impact on me as a kid. The Original 1973 Catch a Fire album by The Wailers  is simply a brilliant record sleeve. A beautiful example of the medium meeting the message as its design and hinged cardboard engineering mimics a Zippo lighter. To my eternal shame, when I was about 14 years old, I took this, along with a whole load of my brother Tony’s old albums and traded them in to Beggars Banquet trade-in record store in North End Road for some quick cash. Sorry bro.”

Jon Daniel, independent creative director

“There are so many albums out there to choose from that it’s hard to be objective, but as an artist, one of the most memorable and enduring album covers has to be Revolver by The Beatles.  Designed and illustrated in 1966 by Klaus Voormann. When released it was so refreshingly different, yet in retrospect, very much reflective of the whole 1960s scene and still looks just as good today. If I had to select just one of my own covers, it would be the 1988 album Spirit of Eden by Talk Talk. Personally it represents a fruitful creative period, constantly providing cover images for their various releases throughout that decade. Also, in my opinion, this album embodies the culmination of the bands enduring musical legacy.”

James Marsh, designer

“The record sleeve that popped into my mind when you said ‘favourite’ was Check Your Head by Beastie Boys. I remember thinking it was absolutely amazing when I first bought it and I still think it’s incredible to this day. I love the simplicity and rawness of the cover, with its oversized halftone and handwritten font by Eric Haze. It was also one of the first records I bought with a gatefold sleeve. I loved the cut ‘n’ paste collage on the back and the panoramic photo on the inside. For me, it really looked how the record sounded – something I tried to emulate very much when I began designing record sleeves myself a few years later. It captures the energy and lifestyle of the group and still looks fresh 20-plus years on.”

Kid Acne, illustrator

“Like a role reversal of judging a book by its cover, I have been retrospectively judging sleeves by their albums. I was flicking through my vinyl to jog my memory, until I was reminded of Spiritualized’s Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space. Back in ‘97 when I saw this pharmaceutical style packaging I was stunned and 17 years on it still feels fresh. Minimal typography, colour palette, a beautiful pill foil packaging. It was design like this that inspired my career path.”

Mr Gresty, designer and illustrator

“This is super super hard, I would like to mention my favourite recent record sleeve which is Connan Mockasin Forever Dolphin Love. The artwork was done by himself [Connan Mockasin] –  it’s basically a paper mache puppet of himself photographed with a dark blue background and the words ‘Conan Mockasin’ written in crayon above it. I really love its simplicity and the use of a hand-made object as the album sleeve, it resonates really well with the music which is really weird and beautiful. I love the way he is on the cover, but this strange, slightly scary hand-made version of himself  painted wildly in lots of colours, similar to the painting in one of his music videos which is equally great. The fact its made by him really translates the feeling of the album for me.”

Emily Evans, designer, artist and illustrator