The Brat Aesthetic: How an Imperfect Design Became a Cultural Phenomenon

Photo credit: Figma / Youtube The design process behind the deceptively simple artwork for Charli XCX’s career-defining 2024 album, Brat, was recently revealed. The artwork, a blurry green square with lowercase text, was a calculated rejection of hyper-polished digital aesthetics. Designer Brent David Freaney, speaking at Config 2026, revealed that the visual identity centred on the “death of the finished state,” prioritising experimentation over perfection.  This philosophy mirrors the album itself. Brat was never a polished pop record; it was […]