Packaging and title Achtung Baby

 —mat snow, contrasting title , artwork of achtung baby u2 s previous albums

the sleeve artwork achtung baby designed steve averill, had created majority of u2 s album covers, along shaughn mcgrath. parallel band s change in musical direction, averill , mcgrath devised sleeve concepts used multiple colour images contrast seriousness of individual, monochromatic images previous u2 album sleeves. rough sketches , designs created during recording sessions, , experimental designs conceived closely resemble, averill put it, dance-music oriented sleeves. did them show how extreme go , came levels happy with. if hadn t gone these extremes may not have been cover now.

an initial photo shoot band s long-time photographer anton corbijn done near u2 s berlin hotel in late 1990. of photos black-and-white, , group felt not indicative of spirit of new album. re-commissioned corbijn additional two-week photo shoot in tenerife in february 1991, dressed , mingled crowds of annual carnival of santa cruz de tenerife, presenting more playful side of themselves. during group s time in tenerife , during four-day shoot in morocco in july photographed in drag. additional photos taken in dublin in june, including shot of naked clayton. images intended confound expectations of u2, , full colour contrasted monochromatic imagery on past sleeves.

a trabant zoo tv tour, displayed @ berlin hard rock cafe. group photographed several elaborately painted trabants album sleeve.

several photographs considered candidates single cover image, including shots of: cow on irish farm in county kildare; nude clayton; , band driving trabant, east german automobile became fond of symbol changing europe. ultimately, multiple image scheme used, u2, corbijn, averill, , producers thought sense of flux expressed both music , band s playing alter egos best articulated lack of single viewpoint . resulting front sleeve 4×4 squared montage. mix of corbijn s original images berlin , later photo shoots used, band wanted balance colder european feel of black-and-white berlin images warmer exotic climates of santa cruz , morocco . photographs used because striking on own, while others used because of ambiguity. images of band trabants, several of painted bright colours, appear on sleeve , throughout album booklet. these vehicles later incorporated zoo tv tour set design part of lighting system. nude photo of clayton placed on rear cover of record. on compact disc , cassette sleeves, clayton s genitals censored black x or four-leaf clover, while vinyl editions feature photo uncensored. label of physical cd , vinyl record features image of babyface graffitied artist charlie whisker onto external wall of windmill lane studios. babyface image later adopted logo zoo tv tour memorabilia , incorporated zooropa album cover. in 2003, music television network vh1 ranked achtung baby s sleeve @ number 39 on list of 50 greatest album covers . bono has called sleeve favourite u2 cover artwork.

the german word achtung (ipa: [ˈaxtʊŋ]) in album title translates english attention or watch out . u2 s sound engineer joe o herlihy used phrase achtung baby during recording, reportedly taking mel brooks film producers. title selected in august 1991 near end of album sessions. according bono, ideal title, attention-grabbing, referenced germany, , hinted @ either romance or birth, both of themes on album. band determined not highlight seriousness of lyrics , instead sought erect mask , concept further developed on zoo tv tour, particularly through characters such fly . of title, bono said in 1992, s con, in way. call achtung baby, grinning our sleeves in photography. s heaviest record ve ever made... tells lot packaging, because press have killed if d called else.

u2 had considered several other album titles, including man (in contrast group s debut, boy), 69, zoo station, , adam, latter of have been paired nude photo of clayton. other possible titles included fear of women , cruise down main street, latter reference rolling stones record exile on main st. , cruise missiles launched on baghdad during gulf war. of proposed titles rejected out of belief people see them pretentious , big statement u2 .