5 Important Album Cover Design Tips
From the labels on our clothes to the foods we buy at the grocery store, brands are all around us. Even our favorite musicians create brands to set themselves and their music apart from the competition. Album covers are a direct reflection of an artist’s brand and visual expression.
Some album covers will live on in our memories for the rest of our lives, instantly recognizable for their artistry as well as the music they represent. A great album cover, like a great logo, endears an audience to your ‘brand,’ allowing them to delve deeper into the world you’ve created through your music and performances.
Best album cover design elements, from colors to typography, should be carefully considered rather than being an afterthought of creation. Here’s how to make an album cover that represents you and your music.
Why do I require a professionally designed album cover?
Although music is an abstract art form, its creation includes an undeniable commercial component. If you want an album to sell, a cover design that conveys a message about the music contained within while also catching the eye is essential, even if music is purchased digitally rather than from record store shelves.
There is also a legacy of excellent album cover designs that have earned a place in history due to their uniqueness, with that image becoming inextricably linked to the music that the visuals represent. It’s similar to how clever branding communicates specific messages about a company; the visuals that accompany your album release can help your audience understand you and your music.
Five album cover design pointers
Branding is the practice of developing a visual identity for your company, and your album cover art design should be similar. Before you can create a compelling cover, you must first understand the following fundamentals: What makes you unique as a musician or band? Who are your target audiences? What do you want your music to make your listeners think or feel? Is there anyone or anything that inspires you? Answering these questions can help you gain a better understanding of your identity as a music creator and, eventually, allow you to express it visually. As with any branding exercise, try to distill your music’s core mission statement and use it as a springboard to create this visual representation.
1. Recognize color psychology and brand seduction
Color psychology plays a significant role in this regard. The vibrant, exciting color red has a vastly different impact than the soothing hue of blue, so it’s critical to consider which colors best communicate who you are.
Colors can communicate a lot in the visual realm, so if the music is unique, so should the album cover.
2. Make use of current typography trends
Imagine how it would feel to read your daily newspaper with the text rendered in Comic Sans rather than something more traditional like Georgia. You can use typography to your advantage on your album cover, especially if you make it a focal point.
3.Experiment with various image styles
Many album covers choose to depict the artist within their artwork, but as many creatives demonstrate, this does not always imply a typical glamour or backs-against-the-wall band shot.
4. Match the music’s mood
A good place to start with Best album cover design is to become acquainted with both the music and the artist(s) for whom you are designing. A thorough understanding of the tone of the music can make the design process go more smoothly and bring the result closer to the artist’s vision.
5. Maintain Your Individuality
Determine an interesting image to represent the work, then decide how to best convey it. It doesn’t have to be overly complicated or require costly equipment. It will work if you can convey it enough. So, put your custom photography, painting, graphic design, and illustration skills to use. That’s probably why the artist trusted you to put a face to the sound. So, trust your instincts. They want you to be yourself.
Use your strengths. They want you to treat it like some of your previous work because they like what they’ve seen so far. You can do what you do best with the right amount of creativity, but with the artist’s body of work as inspiration. MyDesigns provides album cover art design album cover design services to musicians, publishers, labels, and bands of all genres. Our highly skilled team has years of experience in the music, publishing, and entertainment industries creating these rich album art designs!