The Creative Commission Album Cover of the Month is contested by every single album released in the UK each calendar month. It is the only competition of its kind, as it is voted for by active music industry creatives, making it a genuinely peer-to-peer award.

More than 80 album covers were in the shake-up for the inaugural round: the Creative Commission community could all vote… so drum roll, please!

The winner is the eponymous debut album by Nothing But Thieves.

Creative Commission caught up with their art director, Steve Stacey, who has established a reputation as one of the most in-demand graphic designers in the UK music industry today.

Congratulations Steve. That makes you the players’ player of the month.

“Thank you! Players’ player… yeah I’ll take that. It’s a real honour to be recognised by my peers. I knew it was a strong sleeve, but it was also a very strong category. There’s some great stuff out there. I’m delighted to have won.”

How do you decide the art direction for a particular band?

“The process varies from job to job. Some people come with a vision, knowing exactly the look they want. Some don’t. There’s no right way or wrong way.

“It’s really important to understand and appreciate the music. An album cover is a reflection of the band. It’s a key part of forming of the relationship, between band and fans. A big part of the first impressions; opinions are formed at that early stage. It’s important to get it right — you’d struggle do that without getting to know the music.

“One thing that was great about working with Nothing But Thieves is that we are all from Essex. I grew up not far from Southend, where the band are from. Random things like that really help make a connection, give you something to talk about. It was quite lucky like that.”

So did Nothing But Thieves have a vision?

“They know what they like. They have ideas and they’re very open about working together. We’ve worked together on their logo, singles campaigns and merchandise. For the album, the collaboration stepped up a gear: the band sent through about 15 image references that they like, and it was up to me to piece together a unifying theme. What stood out to me was a theme of decaying nature. That became the starting point.”

Creative process

How does the creative process follow on from there?

“I usually work by writing ideas down, or searching online or getting out and about to see stuff. You build up a knowledge bank, so when a brief does come in, you know where to go with it. With the Nothing But Thieves album, I went away and did a bit of research — there was an artist I’d been wanting work with for a while, Miriam Sweeney. This project was perfect for her. Her art worked really well with the direction we wanted to go in.”

As Album Cover of the Month winner, what are your thoughts on Creative Commission?

“It’s a chance for people to have a shot at stuff they might not ordinarily get the chance to do. That’s got to be a good thing. Some of the other sleeves in the running, I wasn’t previously aware of the guys who did them, so it’s a great way to stay up-to-date with what else is going on around you — see what other people in the industry are working on.”

The horse on the album cover: is it a ghost horse? Do you believe in ghosts?

“No, it’s definitely not [laughs]. Ghost stuff kinda freaks me out. I think I do believe in them. I’ve never seen one- nor would I like to. But there’s definitely something out there.”

You can see more of Steve Stacey’s work here.