Nothing Is Quick in the Desert Hd Album Art
They say to never gauge a book by its encompass, and while we'd like to retrieve that the same goes for albums—it's the music on the within that counts—there's something to be said for a well-designed album comprehend. It's your chance to catch the attention of new listeners and give a visual representation of the music within. A swell album cover tin inspire someone to fish your vinyl out of the stack, encourage a streaming listener to learn more about you, and add a whole new layer of artistry to your piece of work.
Although having an original and expressive album embrace design is important, the process itself doesn't have to be daunting. We've assembled a comprehensive guide to designing your album cover, from the early brainstorming stages to finding the design style that syncs perfectly with your music.
Contents
- Before you start your pattern process
- Go on an identity quest
- Find inspiration
- Key components of designing your cover
- Colour
- Typography
- Imagery and style
- Don't forget the details
- Think big…and small
- Finding the right designer/artist
- What's side by side?
Before you start your design process
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You might be tempted to immediately first sketching your vision for your album cover, but the starting time step in any design process should e'er be to take a few steps abroad from the pattern entirely. Instead of launching right into ideas for your cover, focus on doing a piffling identity quest first—it will help you later when it comes to thinking about pattern.
Become on an identity quest
one. Who are you?
Yous can become as existential with this one as yous like, but really focus on who you lot are every bit an artist, band, musician, etc. How would yous define yourself?
2. Who is your audience?
Before you lot jump to respond "everyone," remember about this one a little more than deeply. Who are you trying to attain with your songs? Who are the kinds of people standing in the front end row of your show? While it'due south a great goal to achieve everyone with your music, you likely take a slightly narrower audience. Figuring out who that is can help you lot cater your album design to their interests.
3. What do you desire your listeners to experience when they hear your music?
Music tin can sometimes feel intangible—how could y'all describe information technology in words? Only whenever someone makes music, they take an idea of how they desire people to respond to it. Recall virtually the emotions you want your listeners to take when they hear your album.
four. Elevator pitch your sound: what are the key words?
The elevator pitch is simply as important for a band or artist as information technology is for the founder of a company—you should exist able to succinctly draw what information technology is you lot exercise. So, if you're in an lift with someone and you've got 30 seconds to draw what your music is like, what would you tell them?
Take notes
Take some notes from your identity question session. Write down the words that take the most meaning for you lot and then that when it comes to thinking about pattern elements, you lot'll already take a good sense of what yous're hoping to achieve. Ultimately, your album cover is a way for you to express your band's identity—simply like you practise with your music—so it should be in line with your audio.
Find inspiration
As a musician, you lot know that inspiration is important. Music does not just occur out of nothing; it needs to be pulled from somewhere. When it comes to song writing, you may be inspired by an event, a piece of art, an paradigm, a audio, a feeling, etc. You tin can call back about designing your album comprehend in a similar way—what is inspiring that visual representation? Perchance yous'll think about the same inspirations that struck yous in your song writing, finer translating that musical inspiration into images.
In addition to thinking about the inspiration for your ain work, information technology's always helpful to remember about who you admire and draw ideas from their work. What are some album covers that you are fatigued to? What do you like almost them? Be sure to have some notes—combined with your identity notes, these will aid you narrow your blueprint process.
Key components of designing your cover
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At that place are several elements that come into play for every album cover, from the colors and imagery used on the forepart cover to the typography and text on the back. Isolating each component will assistance y'all take things pace past stride, rather than getting overwhelmed with the whole design all at one time.
Colour
Color choice is an important aspect to all blueprint, and the aforementioned is true of album covers. Even a black- or white-heavy album cover represents a thoughtful decision on color: it evokes a unlike feeling than a vibrant, multicolored cover, correct? With so many colors to cull from in the spectrum, we've come up up with a few dissimilar means to help you identify what colors to use in your design.
Color psychology
There is a lot more to color than might come across the center, and to learn more most colour theory and how information technology is used in branding, be certain to check out this in-depth guide. Merely for at present, the quick explanation is that colors can make usa feel a sure fashion. They have emotional attachments, which is why companies often use specific colors in their logos or product packaging. The same can exist applied to anthology covers, because as a musician, yous desire your audition to feel a sure way when they hear your music. The album cover—a visual representation of your music—allows you lot to enforce that feeling in some other way. If, for case, you want your listeners to feel happy and playful when they heed to your music, y'all might want to lean into xanthous and orange in your cover pattern. For more than subdued and melancholy music, darker colors, especially night bluish and grey, will help set the tone in your anthology comprehend pattern.
Color scheme
If you lot've identified a color that you'd similar to use in your album encompass, you may desire to stick with information technology throughout—if it worked for The Beatles with the White Album, information technology could piece of work for you as well—just you may not be looking for a minimalist, monochrome look for your encompass. Fortunately, colour theory also identifies complementary colors to help you lot select secondary and tertiary hues to go on with your dominant color.
Monochromatic basically means using all i color—but it can be one color in many shades to offer some more dimension. The overwhelming feeling of a monochrome embrace is one of simplicity and minimalism. It can be selected to tap into a sure mood, or can be used as a way for the artist to take the music speak for itself. This can end up being a very assuming choice.
You lot've probably seen a colour wheel before, which is a great key into choosing colors that work well together. For complementary colors, the rule is, the color directly across from the color on the bicycle is the nigh complementary—so if you've chosen xanthous, violet would naturally correspond. Complementary colors bring out the all-time in each other, and can create dynamic visuals.
Y'all tin can besides go for analogous colors—colors that are shut to each other on the wheel, so they naturally work in harmony. This gives you more than dimension than monochrome colors, but they can still accept a blending effect—they may not stand out as much as complementary colors.
Some other option is picking triadic colors, which effectively draw from three equal sections on the color wheel. These tend to be more stimulating than analogous colors, but the color meanings may non mesh as well if you lot're trying to tap into color psychology.
In add-on to working with the color schemes above, some other choice a band or artist can make is to go for more anachronistic colors. Instead of adopting colors that piece of work in harmony with one another, you can opt for stark combinations to arm-twist a different kind of feeling. Information technology tin can suggest nonconformity, throwback to psychedelic inspiration, or but daze the viewer. Have a wait at the clashing colors in the Foes album design by JETARTS—it certainly makes you feel visually shocked when y'all look at it. Of grade, you'll want to go back to your identity questions and remember nigh what yous want your listener to feel before adopting wild color combinations.
Typography
Just like colors, the fonts you choose for your album cover can help communicate your band's personality. It's also important to think about all of the unlike places you'll desire typography—the album title and band name, track list on the dorsum, and even the inner jacket, which is album cover adjacent.
Serif fonts are the old-standby when it comes to fonts. These are noted by their serifs—the trivial feet at the end of letters. Serif fonts are thought to be more serious and traditional, Times New Roman and Cambria are mutual examples. Serif fonts pair well with classical, acoustic or operatic music.
Sans serif fonts are fonts without serifs, meaning fonts without the little feet. Helvetica and Arial are commonly used sans serif fonts. These fonts are oft considered more than modernistic and streamlined than their serif predecessors. Sans serif fonts tin be used with a multifariousness of music, including electronic and indie rock—it'southward a versatile choice for modern music.
Script fonts are cursive fonts that emulate handwriting. These tin can range from very traditional and ornate to playful and fifty-fifty messy. The different styles of script fonts mean they can be used to invoke a variety of feelings. Script fonts are used for a broad range of music types—scratchy, messy fonts might exist used with culling rock, where a precise signature style might be used for a gimmicky solo artist.
As the name suggests, display fonts are decorative and meant to display. They are likewise referred to equally novelty fonts and can often be found on volume covers or signage. Like script fonts, there is a range of styles for this type of font. Gothic display fonts are oft featured on heavy metal anthology covers, and a playful, bubbly brandish font could exist used for a children'southward music album.
Considering you'll demand to apply text in dissimilar places on your album cover, you tin use a combination of font styles. For case, you could opt for a script or display font for the album championship and band name, and a more easily legible font for the rail list and other pertinent information. The typography on the front of the cover tin can exist more artistic than on the back, where readability is more of import.
Imagery and style
Subsequently colors and typography, imagery is an of import aspect to any album embrace pattern. Musicians usually employ photography, especially of the ring or primary artist, just about anything is possible, from abstract graphics to drawings and collages.
We talked a bit about color psychology, and at that place's some psychology when it comes to images as well. Images of faces—whether a photo or drawing—tend to jump out more than than other pictures. If y'all're trying to catch the attention of a potential listener, using an paradigm of a face up—along with choosing the right colors and fonts—can help ensure that your cover gets noticed. Faces too convey expressions, which can reflect on the viewer's mood or feelings. This tin can help necktie into the feelings you want your music to inspire in your listeners.
And an important, legal annotation: If you decided to utilise photography or artwork for your comprehend, be sure to have the image rights!
Any graphics that are used on an album should communicate with the anthology itself, then it's important to use them thoughtfully. A painted watercolor landscape might connect well with a mellow, instrumental anthology, only it would probably send a mixed betoken if the anthology was EDM. Similarly, the choice to not include graphics should experience purposeful, and not like you just couldn't think of something to put on the cover.
Minimalism can as well make a statement in album cover blueprint. Going simple allows the focus to ultimately lie with the music within the album. Minimalism is an on-tendency album design manner though, and so information technology'due south a practiced idea to try to stand out in a different way—perhaps you opt for an all-blackness cover, but instead of using white type, y'all opt for a colorful ombre.
Shown above, designer Artistic Spirit took the simple graphic of a vintage microphone and cast it in a punchy salmon color, overlayed on mint dark-green. Although information technology'southward undeniably minimalist, the designer's color choices make the embrace experience more bold, while maintaining a balanced, uncomplicated pattern. For the cover design on the right, designer Edina plays with the album's title From Scratch and made scratch marks the focal point of the minimalist cover.
The overall way of your album cover is the combination of color, imagery, and typography. These three elements should work together in harmony to create the desired effect. Calling back to your identity questions and your inspiration, you should experience like your design is in line with that exercise.
Don't forget the details
When designing your album encompass, it'due south okay to go swept away in the design—it can be really fun! Only when you come down from your design buzz, exist sure to call up the integral anthology components you need to include.
i. Band and anthology name
You don't accept to include the band or anthology title on the front of your album cover, simply it needs to exist on the spine. Sometimes the album name or band name is the primary pattern element for the cover and in this case, the name has to stand out. A reason why there'south currently a tendency to not include names on the comprehend blueprint is because people are at present commonly listening via streaming services, where creative person, title, and album name are all listed beside the comprehend thumbnail. And then if graphics are of import, y'all can free upwards some necessary design space by leaving names out of the picture. This is a great option for digital-only album releases.
2. Rails listing
The back cover of the album should include the anthology'south track list. Although the typography can be different hither than on the front end of the cover, it should all the same communicate stylistically and be piece of cake to read at the same time.
3. Licensing and legal information
Be sure to have a space on the back cover or inside for all licensing and legal data.
four. Easy on the Cyberspace
Resist your impulse to put social handles anywhere on your album cover. While Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook are used regularly today, who knows what will be the ascendant social trends in 5, 10, or even xx years. Using handles tin can unwillingly appointment your anthology. If you lot want to include your ring's URL, exercise so on the dorsum cover or liner note.
5. Liner note
While not technically function of the album cover, the inner jacket should be designed with thought to the style of the anthology embrace—it should feel similar an extension of the design. You'll want to use similar fonts for song lyrics and band information and choose a color scheme that communicates with the overarching design.
Recall big… and pocket-sized.
Designing an album cover in 2017 is not similar it was in 1977. Yous need to remember nearly multiple formats when considering your design. For example, if you're releasing vinyl, you need to think of what your design will look like in that size, as well as the size of a CD. You also demand to consider how the encompass will wait as a thumbnail, as people volition likely see it on iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, and other platforms. The image should not require squinting or illicit confusion from the viewer.
Finding the right designer
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Having idea through your band'south identity and all of the necessary style points for your album, you're prepare to hire a designer! Although you may be wary of letting someone else take the reins of your album embrace, a professional designer is not only super capable and experienced in illustration and graphics, but will also ensure that your ideas are brought to life in the best style. They'll know what's possible, what will look the all-time, and they're efficient and effective. While DIY has its identify—say, a handmade Valentine?—investing in a well-designed cover volition ensure you lot're putting out the best product.
Communication is key for both you and your prospective designer, so information technology's important to brand certain you're accurately relaying your needs. If you lot're articulating what you're looking for, a professional designer will be able to realize it for you.
A potential designer ruddy flag? Your designer seems more interested in their artwork than your vision. While information technology's helpful to accept artistic feedback on your ideas, information technology's important that yous practice not let your projection migrate away from the cadre of what your music is all about. Rather, you lot should exist working together to make sure y'all're creating a product you're happy with.
Originality is important. You'll share your inspirations with your designer, but you'll also want to stand out. Then, be open to suggestions and make sure that your designer tin can draw from inspiration while creating something new and fresh.
A good mode to get a design yous feel good nearly is to launch a pattern competition. This will allow yous to run into different design options and provide feedback for what works for you.
What'due south side by side?
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Once you lot have your album embrace pattern complete, your album is set up to amaze your fans and captivate new listeners. Whether you're doing a digital-only release or a vinyl album, your album cover tin can assistance you draw in the oversupply. Time to stone!
Looking for a professional album encompass that is in tune with your music? First your album encompass contest today!
Source: https://99designs.com/blog/design-other/how-to-design-album-cover/