Mat Maitland
Music Work

A leading force in contemporary album cover design presents his vibrant and diverse body of music work for the first time.

89backers £7,889.82of £60,000 pledged

13% funded

Overview

Mat Maitland has worked with a plethora of iconic names in music: Michael Jackson, Prince, Beck, Elton John, Goldfrapp, Basement Jaxx, The Rolling Stones, Kylie Minogue, Lana Del Rey, MIKA, Mark Ronson and La Roux, among many others. 

Using a range of creative approaches and techniques, his process encompasses high-end conceptual thinking, art direction, photography, illustration, graphic design, collage and filmmaking, often laced with a touch of pop surrealism. All of which has resulted in a body of work that, in the age of streaming and invisible downloads, proves that record covers can still be innovative and something to cherish.

At its core, Mat Maitland Music Work is a record of creative collaboration, bringing together ideas, experimentation and visual thinking across a remarkably wide range of artists. The result is a fluid, visually led narrative that reflects the varied nature of the creative process itself, showing a rich and broad range of projects from his career.

Specification

320 × 270 mm
240 pages
Hardcover

Standard Edition
Bound in grained paper
Screen-printed acetate cover wrap

Signed Edition
Bound in grained paper
Screen-printed acetate cover wrap
Tipped on signature

Collector’s Edition
Slipcase with tipped-on signature
Book featuring alternative cover
Bound in grained paper
Foil-stamped spine
Exclusive print

The Print
300 × 250 mm
Archival pigment print
Hahnemuhle natural white cotton rag 285 gsm

Welcome to the Mat Maitland Music Work progress area. Check back soon for development updates.

Estimated delivery
Winter 2027

Shipping address changes allowed until October 2027

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Collector’s Edition

£95.00

Slipcased edition
Includes 300 × 250 mm signed print
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In-Person Meeting

£500.00

One-hour meeting with Mat to discuss his process and career held at the Big Active studio in Kings Cross, London
Travel and accommodation not included
Availability subject to arrangement
Copy of the Collector’s Edition plus signed print
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How it works

If our funding goal is met before Nov 23, 2026, 5:00 pm GMT this project will commence development. All pledges will be immediately refunded in full if the funding goal is not met.

Estimated delivery

Winter 2027

Shipping

Tracked worldwide

The Book

Mat Maitland Music Work presents the work of one of the leading forces in contemporary album cover design, bringing together his diverse body of music work to date for the first time.

In his own words, Mat tells the stories behind many of the projects and includes some of the mockups and reference points that lie behind the finished products. He also reveals the creative collaborations that contributed to the making of the work, featuring conversations with some of his most important clients, including Alison Goldfrapp.

I’ve worked with Mat for nearly all my career. You can present any idea to him and he gets it. I love talking to Mat about photography, art, music…anything at all! His visual knowledge is infinite. He has the ability to tune into the world of the artist he is working with and combine that with his own distinct style.

Alison Goldfrapp

Publisher

Unit Editions

Profile

Founded in 2009, Unit Editions produces high-quality, meticulously designed books, focusing on niche and often overlooked subjects within graphic design, typography and visual culture.

Collector’s Edition

The Collector’s Edition is limited to 250 copies. Its exclusive cover features a photograph of Mat’s own workspace, taken by Mat himself, and the spine is foil blocked onto grained paper stock. The book comes housed in a slipcase covered in the red grid design, with a signature tipped onto the back of every copy.

Each edition also includes an exclusive signed and numbered print of a collage by Mat, personally selected from his archive.

Our very own Sorcerer’s Apprentice, conjuring up visual landscapes to our music, as real and wonderful as the sound of the instruments themselves.

MIKA

The Print

Mat has personally selected the artwork Dream Sequence from his collage archive. Hand-signed by him, the print is included with the Collector’s Edition.

Mat’s singular way of combining art direction, graphic design and image making, along with his encyclopaedic knowledge of visual pop culture, has always made working with him an inspiring collaboration.

Elly Jackson (La Roux)

Meet the author

Mat Maitland is a visual artist and creative director based in London. As creative director of Big Active, he has designed record covers and created campaigns for many of the most famous names in music including The Rolling Stones, Lana Del Rey, Michael Jackson and Prince. As an image maker, his distinctive surrealist-pop collages and films have been commissioned by a wide range of clients including Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Kenzo and Bulgari. Dazed Beauty wrote: “The artistic heir to Warholian tradition, recalibrated in the digital age, Mat’s work blurs the boundary between high and low culture.”