Jeri Heiden is an LA-based art designer acclaimed for her collaborative works with music industry legends like Fleetwood Mac and Madonna and has multiple decades worth of experience after designing more than 400 album covers of various chart-topping hits, including "Behind the Mask" and "Like a Virgin."
Recently, she bagged the Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package award at the 2024 Grammys, alongside partner John Heiden, for designing the "For The Birds: The Birdsong Project" 20-LP deluxe box set.
The five-time Grammy nominee finally broke through with this project, executed under her Silverlake-based boutique design firm Smog Design, Inc.
The 5-volume box set comprises contributions from notable Hollywood personalities like Florence Welch, Greta Gerwig, Tilda Swinton, Robert Pattinson, Jeff Goldblum, Elvis Costello, Flaming Lips, Yo-Yo Ma, Mark Mothersbaugh, Mark Ronson, and many more.
That said, this momentous milestone is but one of many for Heiden, as she recalls a striking and pivotal moment of her long-standing career in the art and music industry in a recent episode of the "Women in Vinyl" podcast.
Designing a Patchouli-Scented Album for Madonna
In the podcast, Heiden told a behind-the-scenes story regarding one of the most iconic and memorable albums she worked on, which was Madonna's Patchouli-scented "Like a Prayer" record.
According to Heiden, the late pop icon came to her with an unusual request involving Madonna's album that peaked in the top 25 of 1989's Hot 100 Year-End. The request? Infuse the packaging of the record with the scent of a Patchouli plant.
Heiden said that the idea was inspired by the religious references made in the album and that the plant itself exuded a scent akin to that of a burning incense inside a church.
Together with the manufacturing company Ivy Hill, Heiden endeavored to implement Madonna's wild concept, despite dealing with a set of project-specific issues, including receiving "hate mail" from people who suffered from allergies.
Heiden said that she still has these letters from the "very, very upset" people, before "advising" other designers in a joking manner that they should think twice about implementing such "outrageous" but creative ideas.
This is just one of Heiden's many experiences that informed her deep and highly specialized design expertise. Because of this, the acclaimed designer has lectured about the subject extensively.
Her work has even gained the recognition of esteemed art institutions like AIGA, the American Center for Design, the Type Directors Club of NYC, The PDC, Print, Communication Arts, Graphis, ID Magazine, STEP Inside Design, and the Art Directors Clubs of Los Angeles and New York.
