The designer of David Bowie's new album cover has explained the inspiration behind the artwork.

The legendary singer announced on Tuesday (January 8) that he was due to release his first album in ten years - 'The Next Day' - as well as a new single, 'Where Are We Now?'.

Writing on his website Virusfonts, Jonathan Barnbrook said that the album's cover - which sees Bowies' 1977 'Heroes' artwork plastered over with a white box - is about attempting to break free from the past, which is often impossible. He said:

"The 'Heroes' cover obscured by the white square is about the spirit of great pop or rock music which is 'of the moment', forgetting or obliterating the past. However, we all know that this is never quite the case, no matter how much we try, we cannot break free from the past. When you are creative, it manifests itself in every way - it seeps out in every new mark you make (particularly in the case of an artist like Bowie)."

Barnbrook continued: "It would have been clearer to many people if we had scribbled all over the cover but that didn't have the detachment of intent necessary to express the melancholy of the songs on the album. We wanted the cover to be as minimal and undesigned as possible, we felt the most elegant solution was to use the original one from 'Heroes' and simply cross out the title of the old album. It has the detachment appropriate for the atmosphere of the new album."

Read the press release for Bowie's surprise return to music here.