The predominant album covers that you will see in stores are based on photographs, having a photo of the artist and a plain background, putting the spotlight on him or her.
But the art of album covers doesn’t refer to that type of cover.
Instead, it is about cover designs which actually have something artistic in them, an illustration, whether it’s drawn or vectorized, a photo manipulation or a 3D model.
Some people may say that shape is less important than content, but it is the shape that grasps attention and attracts a potential consumer. Album cover designers know it perfectly.
No matter whether you are a newcomer or an experienced player in show business, you must have come across album cover design. Communication between musicians and listeners often starts at the moment when they see your album cover and this moment comes long before they hear your songs.
So, how to make an album cover?
Since the CDd cover design is to embody the spirit of the band or a single performer you should get a clear image of the personality and character which are to be reflected on the cover. Don’t hesitate asking as many questions as possible, it can really help you.
In a case you are a performer yourself, you’d better talk to your mates and ask for their opinions and views concerning the album cover.
Minimalism is OK
Everything is good in moderation. That’s why minimalism in album artwork design often serves right. A simple black & white photo can sometimes communicate more than a colorful splash shining with glitters and fascinate your potential listeners at a first glance.
It may seem from time to time that album cover should correspond to its content in every possible way and be as bright and blatant as possible. After many continuous attempts, it often turns out that simplicity suits best and really conveys the soul of the performer.
Think about marketing / branding
No matter how good is the album itself and how much effort was put in in order to release it, if you fail to promote it in the right way, you will fail to sell it. You will not betray your ideas and ideals if you spruce the cover up a bit.
The thing is not simply to promote the album and create a good design. Nowadays the internet is crammed with bright pictures in news articles and it’s often hard to pick up something you really need. That’s why it’s so important to make sure your album art design is really outstanding and eye-catching.
Know when to take the creative reigns.
If you’re hired to create an album cover you should always ask questions and try to complete the task in the very best way.
Still you should also bear in mind you’re a designer and if the band was able to create a masterpiece on their own it wouldn’t hire you. That’s why it’s important to stick to your guns sometimes and not change everything on every band’s whim.
You should ask questions and understand what they really want, but do your job along with it. Be respectful and polite, explain your points of view logically and you will definitely come to terms.
Don’t print lyrics unless you have sufficient space
The album cover is supposed to include many important details about the album itself, band and legal information. It goes without saying one would like to cram the cover with lyrics, but it’s not always a good idea to follow.
If you still want the audience to get the lyrics nowadays you’re provided with endless internet resources and can simply place them on the band’s site in the corresponding section. The cover shouldn’t be crammed with extra stuff. Eventually, print the address at which people get access to the lyrics.
Don’t include social media URLs
Try to avoid temporal information on the cover. The album is one and the only, while other things change all the time. That’s why it’s not worth placing social media URLs on the cover.
Things seem to be very reliable and endless only at the time you use them, even twitter can one day disappear for good. Since no one can predict such things, try not to make your album outdated. The only URL which is to be printed is the URL of your site.
Envision your album cover as a thumbnail
No matter how bright outstanding and eye-catching your album design is, bear in mind that people are most likely to get acquainted with it in a very tiny size. Today we get most of the information from the internet and digital sources like iTunes and other, where you can see only a small version of the album cover.
Before taking last decisions, it’s worth comparing full and mini-version of the album cover. Sometimes many tiny details can look very monotonous in a smaller size and cover is likely to fail in grasping the attention of the potential listener.
You might not need your artist name or album title on the cover
Things get more simply today. If you want to deliver some key information to the audience, it can turn out that you don’t necessarily need to put it on the cover.
Almost every single time on the internet people see the title of the song or album and the name of the singer next to the image of the cover, so you can leave some free space on the cover, key points will be still visible.
Get your fans to interact with you online
Putting your site address on the cover can sometimes be not enough. You need to get the audience on the hook. Remember that if a person bought your CD he or she really appreciates the job you do and is definitely interested in some details of your life and work.
So give them a chance to know you better by mentioning that on the site they can find something more interesting like an essay you wrote after your first concert or anything else. Attract them in this way and people will visit your site more often.
Album covers with faces get more attention
Abstract pictures are everywhere. Probably, five years ago they were outstanding and really impressed but today almost everybody uses them so they don’t have that mysterious effect anymore.
There’s no scientific proof for this phenomenon, but still many people agree with the fact we more often pay attention to pictures with human faces than with something abstract. Maybe we want to find some connection between the sounds we hear and the people who created them, maybe the reason is different, but still, the fact remains the same. Faces can also look good even on the tiny cover we usually see on the internet.
If you’re not going to feature a human face, make sure your design is striking and original
Album cover shouldn’t simply be eye-catching and blatant, it should also render some ideas and beliefs, should somehow reflect what people are going to hear.
That’s why it’s so important to ask questions while creating the cover itself. So even if you aren’t going to place faces make sure your cover is both bright and thoughtful.
Album artwork design inspiration
This article features album cover design examples and ideas from recently launched albums, as well as from a few older ones.
The article is not trying to showcase a top of the most sold albums or most popular, instead its only purpose is to provide inspiration for the people who want to be album cover designers and are seeking examples of modern album art.
DJBroadcast – Re-Cover expo
DVA – Pretty Ugly album art cover
The Good The Bad and The Zugly
Seekae – +Dome album art cover
Experimental Muse Music Cover
Riot LP
Above – Bashakov Band
T.I. – Trouble Man: Heavy Is The Head
Vinyl cover with analog light animation
Alex Isaak · Thinking Outside the Box: Breakout
Monteé – Rendition of you
Mau
Five Easy Pieces
Monty Are I
Cos/Mes
Genji Siraisi: Censorsh!t
Omar Basaad · Hypertension
Pink Floyd – The Division Bell
Soulwax – Nite Versions
Dopeboy · Esko
Rafale: Rock It, Don’t Stop It
Neo Tempus · Yours Sincerely
Rolling Stones – Forty Licks
Rolling Stones: Rolled Gold +
Su Jumis nuo 1890 M
The Chemical Brothers: Push the Button
Thom Yorke: The Eraser
Jay-Z: The Blueprint 3
Favorite Lover
Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon
Keane: Under The Iron Sea
Danger Doom – The Mouse and the Mask
The Last Wave
Madeon – The City EP
The Pilots
Japanese album art
Heartbreaker
John Mayer – Born and Raised
Milow Album ‘North and South’
Beck Typographic Concepts — Mario Hugo
Seven Lions
Waxtailor
Red Supergiant – Miss Lava
Ending thoughts on album art design
People who create music often may not take care of the album cover’s look. Still. the audience is used to blatant advertisement and you must get them hooked with the cover before they want to listen what is hidden behind it.
The Internet is full of performers and their works so it’s really important to catch the attention of the audience in this endless stream of music. The first time you communicate with your listeners is via your album cover which should be beautiful and reflect the ideas embodied in your tracks so make sure this conversation will be memorable. That’s why it is so important to make an album cover that is really special.
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