Nirvana ‘Nevermind,' Album Cover

Nirvana’s Album Cover “Nevermind” is easily one of the more recognizable covers in the West. It even won some awards: Rolling Stone Critics and Reader Poll voted it Best Album Cover on March 5, 1992. It was in the Grunge Era when it was conceived and gained a bit of controversy at the time. Robert Fisher, the sleeve designer, and Kirk Weedle, the photographer, helped with the design process for Nirvana. How it came to be was from Kurt Cobain of Nirvana. He was inspired by a documentary of babies being born underwater and wanted imagery of the concept on an album cover. 
 

Kurt wanted a baby being born underwater. Back then before the Internet you would have to go down to the local bookstore and go through child birthing books and try to find photos. So that’s what I did. But it was just like … there’s no way we can make an album cover out of this. I couldn’t find any really good pictures and they were all way too graphic to use.

The entire design process for the imagery was extensive, spanning hours of meticulous work. Various suggestions were considered, including likening the design to a dog or a hook, reflecting the organic nature of the creative journey. Subsequently, Kirk Weedle, renowned for his expertise in underwater photography, was enlisted to capture the desired aesthetic. This involved multiple sessions with different parents and their babies to achieve the iconic shot. In the absence of modern digital editing tools like Photoshop, traditional methods such as scanning and manual markup were employed to incorporate additional elements like bubbles and currency into the composition. Furthermore, Robert Fisher utilized a Xerox machine to achieve the distinctive wavy effect on the typography. The culmination of these elements, coupled with the band's music, catapulted them to overnight success, much to the surprise of the team and the company. The subsequent mass production of the album and accompanying promotional materials propelled the band to new heights, garnering increased attention with each subsequent release.
 

In addition, the Nirvana Nevermind CD Graphicpak stands as one of the most elusive official/promo Nevermind CD releases, showcasing a distinctive rarity. In the early 1990s, amidst a surge in environmental consciousness, many record companies sought eco-friendly CD packaging solutions. Traditionally, CDs were housed in cardboard long boxes, primarily designed to display them upright in stores but often discarded after purchase. Additionally, the widespread use of plastic CD jewel cases further exacerbated environmental concerns. Produced by AGI, the Nirvana Nevermind CD Graphicpak emerged as a larger iteration of the DigiPak, reflecting a shift towards more sustainable packaging options. Introduced around early to mid-1992, a limited number of these samples were distributed to select record stores to solicit feedback, hinting at a potential broader rollout. While the exact production quantity remains uncertain, only a handful are known to exist.