Brent David Freaney, the designer of Charli XCX’s Brat album artwork, spoke about his creative process and the cover’s development at a recent conference in San Francisco.
Freaney worked with Charli XCX and creative director Imogene Strauss on the 2024 album cover. The project won Best Recording Package at the 2025 Grammys. He described the work as shaped by the idea of the “death of the finished state” and the question of when a design is truly complete.
The designer noted that the final blurred green cover resulted from an export error with a low-resolution screenshot. He said early drafts explored different typefaces and colour variations, adding that progress does not always mean moving closer to a finished result.
Freaney stated he was happy to reach a version that Charli XCX felt represented her album. Brat was released in June 2024 and became a major pop culture reference. Charli XCX’s next album, Music, Fashion, Film, is scheduled for release on July 24.
