For their latest release "Death Magnetic", Metallica looked outside the music industry for branding and package design that would rekindle public interest in buying CD’s.The agency designed a complete identity for the album including logos, type treatments, colour palettes, packaging and special editions.

The band were interested in working with a consultancy as they wanted to work with professionals who understood iconography and could bring a fresh perspective to the party.Our brief was short and to the point, the title of the album – Death Magnetic.

Three days after launch, Death Magnetic had sold more than a half-million copies, reaching chart No. 1 in 34 countries.

A white coffin in a grave surrounded by a magnetic field, is on one hand a direct visualisation of the album's title "Death Magnetic" but it can be seen in other ways. The image is not just about death, it's about life too.Another controversial aspect of the design is the die-cut grave that punches through the lyrics book. We were unsure as to how this would be received as the lyrics are butchered by the die-cut, but the idea was loved immediately. Death doesn't fit tidily into life, so the grave deliberately violated the imagery and lyrics.