Earlier this week, Kendrick Lamar shared the cover art for his highly anticipated new album, DAMN., which is out this Friday via Aftermath/Interscope/Top Dawg. Following the intricate, symbolic artwork adorning Lamar’s previous full-length, 2015’s To Pimp a Butterfly, many fans were baffled by *DAMN.’*s design, featuring a simple portrait of Kendrick, a prominent “parental advisory” sticker, and the album title in massive red letters. Vlad Sepetov, a graphic designer who worked on the covers for both DAMN. and To Pimp a Butterfly, as well as other Kendrick projects, took to Twitter to discuss the artwork, as Pigeons and Planes points out. “It’s interesting to see people talk about ‘bad’ design,” he says, adding that he wanted something “loud and abrasive” and that he “bucked a lot of what my teachers taught me.” Read all of his tweets below, and revisit the album cover in question.

Read “What Kendrick Lamar’s Been Up to Since To Pimp a Butterfly” on the Pitch.