1.
Your first step in designing your CD or album cover and packaging is to choose your cover artwork. At the end of the day, your music must speak for itself, but having a visual reference to your work that buyers, labels and critics can easily identify is still important. Here are some tips to keep in mind when choosing your artwork.
* The simpler the better. While you want something to stand out, it must be recognized immediately. Think of some of the most iconic album covers in recent history: ‘Velvet Underground and Nico,’ ‘Meriwether Post Pavilion,’ & quot; Parklife. and Quot; All had interesting but extremely simple visual images. Sure, the Beatles can get away with ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band ‘, but they were the Beatles!
* It is said that you still want an interesting picture. Not just one that is too complicated. It can be anything – a drawing, an interesting photograph – but it should have something to do with it. Sure, the Beatles were gone with ‘The White Album’, but they were The Beatles!
* Remember the format your image will be viewed in. These days, it means online first, CD’s second, Vinyl last (unless you select CDs entirely). This basically means that some people will see the image in a large, beautiful package, but most people will see it as a thumbnail. Your image must be recognizable at that level, another reason it’s simpler is better.
* Think about how your design will look at the materials you choose to use for the edition. An image and its palette will look very different like a JPEG, on glossy paper behind a jewelry bag or on a cardboard CD or vinyl cover. If you are planning to drop in all of these formats, make sure it looks good on all of them.
* Humor and irony can work well on an album cover, but make sure that if you use this tactic, it fits the style of your music. Remember that your album cover can be a potential buyer’s first impression of you and your work.
2.
The next step in designing your CD or Album cover and packaging is to Add your title and artist / band name. Here are some tips for this step:
* Find a font or title tag that is readable. Many bands love to do something crazy with their logo and title. It may look cool, but it’s completely indestructible for anyone who does not know what the release is that they are watching. You want people to know your band name, you really do!
* Choose fonts and patterns that fit seamlessly or look good with the album. Do not let your beautiful cover become a bad Photoshop project. It’s sad, but true, so many will dismiss an album simply because the cover looks amateurishly produced. Even an ‘ironically’ stupid looking album cover still has to look good.
* Even if you decide to make a crazy font on the front or just leave the name and title completely (an increasingly popular option now that that information can only be found at online shopping points), for CDs, make sure the information is still there clearly marked on the spine.
* If possible, resist the urge for long album titles, additional quotes, or many artist names. The artist’s name and title are the most important types of information on your album cover. The period is no more confusing than an artist with 100 different ‘AKA’s’ on his album cover alone.
3.
The next step in designing your CD or album cover and packaging is to add all the product information that buyers and reviewers want to know. Traditionally, this information goes beyond the back cover, and this is best, as it is the most readily available. The second option is on the bet. Here are some important pieces of information that include:
* Copyright and publication dates and holders (usually band or label for indie releases)
* UPCs (UPCs) are generally worth the acquisition value. It’s a simple digital identifier for your album, and will help a lot with sales).
* Label name (It is often useful to create your own label, even if it is only for your single project. It looks ‘professional’ and allows you to distinguish ‘business’ from ‘music’ a bit).
* Catalog Number (This is another unique identifier for your album that is often used by physical and online retailers to uniquely identify your album. Another reason to create a label name.)
* MySpace and URLs (This is important because it leads buyers to places where they can find the artist, buy goods and find tour dates. Make sure you keep these pages up to date and interesting. In addition, buyers today like to ‘ try ‘Before-Buy’. Give them a chance to check out a few tracks on your MySpace, and they may come back and buy the actual product).
* Contact information (Of course if you’re a pretty big band with lots of stalking fans, you might want to leave this. But if you’re actively looking for gigs, entertainment or a record section, having your booking and PR contact information on the back is crucial).
* Artwork. (Having artwork on the back is good, but make sure it does not match the readability of all the important information that is there! INFO COMES FIRST!)
4.
The last step involves the information you have on the inside of your front page or the post for your album or CD. Here are some important things to include:
* Production information. (Some of the product information you did not put on the back should go here. Sometimes you have a lot of information, so it may be a good idea to save some of it for the effort. Copyright Publishing credits for individual songs, production credits and engineering credits should go here) .
* Band bio. Many artists like to have fun with this part, but do not forget to include ACTUAL information about what each group member does. Can be impressed by your bassist’s crazy skills and want to mention him by name in a review. Do not miss those opportunities because of a lame in joke credit as ‘top of page’).
* Artwork (Again, let it go!).
One last thing to keep in mind is that multiple page efforts unfortunately increase the production cost of your album. So make sure it’s worth it. Your little sister may notice some cute graffiti, but you are trying to get exposure for your musical project, not for her!
5. that they ‘plan to add traditional album packaging features such as lyrics, band information and additional artwork to digital album downloads at major digital retailers. It is not clear if and when it will be an option for indie artists, but it seems likely that it will be something to take into account in the near future, so it is good to have all your things properly and attractively organized when the time comes.
This article will cover how to design a CD or an album cover and package with a focus on important choices about what details to include and how to present your work visually, instead of the technical aspects of framing, printing, etc.
In recent decades, it has become much easier for musicians to post their own music due to cheaper and more advanced recording technology; cheaper and more accessible options for CD replication; and, of course, the internet. While MP3 and other digital formats really take up CD and Vinyl as the preferred form of recorded music, it’s still important to have a good album cover and packaging, whether the physical product is still an important part of the band’s catalog, or to If you want to send a demo to a label or music critic, you need something to make your album look, or to make digital albums more visible with a recognizable work of art.
Source:danspela.com