 The In Rainbows artwork was designed by Stanley Donwood, who has worked with Yorke in designing Radiohead's album art since 1994. Donwood worked in the studio as Radiohead were working on the album, which allowed the mood of the music to be conveyed in the album artwork, and regularly put up images in the studio and on the studio computer for the band to interact with and comment on. He also posted images daily on the band's website, though none of the images were used in the final album artwork. Donwood experimented with a photographic etching technique, putting prints into acid baths with various results, and throwing wax at paper, creating images influenced by NASA's space photographs. Donwood originally planned to explore suburban life, but realised it did not fit the album's sound, saying "it's a sensual record and I wanted to do something more organic." Describing the album cover, Donwood said: "It's very colourful — I 've finally embraced colour! It's a rainbow but it is very toxic, it's more like the sort of one you'd see in a puddle." The band decided not to release the cover for the digital release of the album, preferring to hold it back for the physical release. The "discbox" release of the album includes a booklet containing additional artwork by Donwood.
