Have you ever wondered why there are so many radio channels and online playlists dedicated to the music from the 80s, 90s and other decades?
People wish to remember the past and enjoy what’s familiar, and who they once were. This reminds them of their identity, as well as filling their hearts with that sweet and sour sensations - the good old nostalgia. Even people who weren’t born in the “right” decade enjoy listening to the variety of music styles from those times and tell themselves “It must have been a hell of a ride back in the day…”
Retro is here to stay. In fact, retro has been here for a long time, maybe it was there even before you were born, which leads us to the question: “What is retro after all?”
By the end of this post you will come back to our online library of premade album covers and browse our retro cover art with a new perspective.
What is Retro?
What we generally call retro spans a broad range of decades. It is an ever changing concept, for with the passing of years, society alters what they consider retro to be. It brings back what once was, not as a traditionalism, but with the spirit of reinvention of the past trends. It is a throwback design style that incorporates a wide variety of lifestyles, even attitudes, from past decades (so far within the 20th century). Retro can be sophisticated, but also ugly, ironic, iconic, or quite serious. This reflects itself on album cover designs as well. Traditional, old, or classic elements of past decades find themselves a way to enter the new language of most of today’s album cover designs.
Retro is rooted in generational changes. It works in similar ways with the passing of genetic code from generation to generation. Styles, genres, desires and cultures are transferred within families, friends, and with, as you might guess, the one and only “media”. It is an urge to find identity in the roots of the past. It is not only found in album cover designs, but in everything that consists of visual or audible content. Interior design, fashion, typography, cars, packaging, illustration, painting, movies, photography, even video gaming has had its big share of retro releases in the past years.
Coming back to the case of album cover design, every single music genre has its own retro and vintage looks. Check the album covers of the ‘classics’ of your favorite music genres, (really, any genre will do!). Then check the album designs of the modern artists of the same genres. You will eventually reach two kinds of album designs - the album cover that looks modern, up to date with a high image definition; and the cover design that will carry visual elements from your favorite ‘classic’ albums which can include a more faded look, dirty/grained image without an incredible colour definition, to give a few examples.
Retro at Album Cover Zone
At Album Cover Zone, we keep up to date with the retro looks of the current album cover trends and also create our unique designs and styles. We also have vintage inspired album cover art that brings back the retro style of older decades, up until the origin of the art of album cover design itself!
We present retro not as a music genre but as a design style which you can reach within tags which you can access on the tags menu or by using our search tool. Find the correct album cover for you now from our broad selection of album covers which will give you the visual retro punch you need for your new single, EP, or album.