一放這張圖，大家就知道是英國歌手Ed Sheeran的上一張專輯➗Divide視覺。從Ed上一張X到這張，我們可以發現，他總是著重一個較為明亮、飽和的色彩當作主色，並在淺意識中成為大家的印象點。
這一張賣了將近70萬張實體專輯，線上收聽超過千萬的專輯，已經達到你不會其中一首歌，都不應該的熱門程度。而就隨著這張專輯讓更多人看到、聽到，視覺就更廣為人知。背後操刀的是來自英國的工作室Adult Art Club，2015年由設計師Jonny Costello創立，並主要著重藝術指導之工作。剛好筆者最近回去聽這張去年發行之專輯，回想起第一次在網路上看到首播時，這個藍色、充滿手感的視覺緊緊的抓住我們注意力：一個這麼簡單的除號標誌，卻可以被玩得這麼耐看，又不失這張專輯的個性與藝人的形象。
一開始，亞特蘭大唱片注意到Adult Art Club為樂團ARC所製作的Everything Everything封面，並因此而印象深刻，而開始跟工作室聯繫上，造成這次的合作機會。而大家可以注意到主視覺的背景，有一圈藍色的放射狀顏料，這個效果是Ed Sheeran用藝術家朋友的旋轉繪畫機器所畫成的，是一幅非常巨大的畫作，也因此，上面充滿了吸引人的細節，讓Jonny Costello非常喜歡這樣的效果。而為了後續的專輯電子產出，他們還特地用數位為基底的中畫幅相機，盡可能捕捉到全部的細節。
關於其中創作過程，相信大家都非常好奇！以下附上 Jonny Costello 在 It’s Nice That 的訪談，我們可以藉此得知Adult Art Club怎麼延伸出➗的概念，以及該如何跟另外一位插畫家合作，又維持整體視覺風格呢？
Upon posting this cover here, we’ve predicted your recognition of this KV of Ed Sheeran’s album Divide. From the last album X to this one, we can discover the similarity that the artist tends to emphasize on one bright, saturated color serving as the main tone, which subconsciously sneaks into people’s mind without using obvious method.
This album has sold over 700,000 in stores, and over 10 billion online; it is an album that you should feel embarrassed if you don’t know any of the songs. With the album is seen by more and more people, the visuals become well-known. Adult Art Club, the creative studio behind the cover, is founded by Jonny Costello in 2015 in England, and it focuses mainly on art directing. I happened to go back and listen the whole album, couldn’t help but memorize the first time streaming the music, this blueish, craftsmanship-like visual caught my eyes: A simple character as ➗ is able to make its way through a platinum record, showing its strength without sacrificing the artist's style.
At first, Atlantic Record noticed the album Everything Everything from ARC and adored the front cover design that made by Adult Art Club, and left quite an impression on the elements. They called the studio and started the cooperation. As you can notice, the background of the record is made of a huge spin, which was made by Ed Sheeran himself using an enormous spinning machine. It is a massive work. Which is why Jonny Costello likes the effect so much, for it has attractive details.
As for other process during the cooperation, including how Adult Art Club extends the idea of the album, and the art directing with another outstanding illustrator, please go to the following interview made by It’s Nice That:
