Nice Sleeves

Ben Wilkerson Tousley is a gay 28-year-old graphic designer whose recent projects include slick exhibition catalogs, a book cover for Stephen Colbert, and the film titles and credits for James Franco's adaptation of The Sound and the Fury. His best work, however, is the stuff he creates for indie musicians like Sondre Lerche and Grizzly Bear, who enlisted Tousley to design the cover for their 2006 record, Yellow House, when he was just 18. Here, Tousley explains the stories behind his favorite album covers and packaging.

Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest(2009)

"Artist William J. O'Brien lent us a series of colorful, abstract drawings that highlighted the album's harmonies and textures. To tie it together, we referenced 1960s jazz typography to reflect the intricately layered music and artwork."

Pat Metheny Unity Group, Kin (2014)
"I made this collage out of magazine scraps (under the creative direction of designer Stephen Doyle) to evoke this jazz album's title. We later animated the image online by adding new layers of ephemera as the faces morphed into each other, giving the impression of life."

Sondre Lerche, Please(2014)
"For our third album together, Sondre turned to the paintings of fellow Norwegian artist Lars Elling. Surreal depictions of couples in various states of intimacy and conflict reflected the record's themes of love and pain."

Mr Twin Sister, Mr Twin Sister(2014)
"The Brooklyn dream-pop band's latest, about a night out, reimagines their sound with a sleek, luxurious clarity. To accentuate it, we went with a fully transparent package and confident brushstroke title, then topped it with singer Andrea's lipstick kiss on the back sticker."