Best Album Cover Design Advices 2023

Album Cover Art Design

There are several different ways to design an album cover. One popular way is to use an image of a person. Images of people tend to pop out more than pictures of animals or plants, and they’re a great way to grab the listener’s attention. These images can also be used to reflect a mood or emotion, which can tie into the overall message of the music. However, when using images of people, it’s important to make sure that you have the image rights.

Free Album Cover Design Practice Test Online

Album Cover Design Questions and Answers

  • Start Canva Launch Canva and type “Album Covers” into the search bar to get started.
  • Look for some motivation Numerous album cover layouts with various themes are available on Canva. Add terms to your search that most closely match what you’re looking for to narrow it down. The template can be clicked to begin designing. Add text and images to Canva’s millions of elements to liven up your album cover. Drag and drop the images from the library onto your design, then put some text on top. 
  • Make your design unique. Add your photographs, branding elements, a different color scheme, or even backing music if you want to share your album cover digitally to personalize it.
  • Post, print, or distribute When satisfied with your design, you can save it as a JPEG or PNG file, share it on Facebook or Instagram, or print it out in high definition.

Yeezus is probably the most well-known album cover that Abloh created. The Yeezus cover was created in conjunction with Justin Saunders, Joe Perez, Matthew M. Williams, and Kanye West and went through numerous revisions before settling on its ultra-simple layout.

Album Cover Designers make an average of $53,881 per year, or $25.90 per hour, according to Ziprecruiter (as of May 2023).

Even if you just get paid $350, at least you know they will value your job and you got compensated. Mid level band ranges from roughly $1,500 to $6,000+.

  • Obtain a degree in the field Many people who design album covers have fine art or graphic design degrees. Even though employers may not always demand formal education, you should consider earning a bachelor’s or master’s degree in one of these areas to help you develop useful knowledge and abilities in the workplace. The degree you’re pursuing demonstrates your dedication to your field. A formal degree can also assist you in developing a network of contacts, some of whom may be able to provide references or point you in the direction of future employment chances. 
  • Improve your design abilities Develop your design talents regardless of your educational goals. If you decide against getting a degree, consider enrolling in an online course or working toward certification to advance your knowledge in this field. By practicing your talents, you may improve your craft and even add more pieces to your portfolio. 
  • Acquire expertise To obtain experience working with musicians, bands, labels, and producers, think about pursuing an internship in the music business. Making these connections can make you feel more at ease in this setting and could lead to future employment prospects. You can gain knowledge and prepare for the future by participating in an internship with other professionals who share your interests. Additionally, it indicates your expertise and commitment to your field, which potential employers can find admirable.
  • Format your file as a square of 1600 × 1600 pixels at 300 dpi. Always work at 300 dpi or above, keep the square of the proportion, and remember that digital music distributors will resize your files to fit their specific requirements. This will make your work suitable for printing. Remember that you can always save several versions at various lower sizes, but you can never resize higher. 
  • Using the paint bucket tool, fill the document with a backdrop color (G). The images will stand out and feel more alive with a bright background. Since you should always start from the bottom up when creating a work, the color or background you choose will impact your decisions as you continue to add parts.
  • On top of the background, add your following layer in this article. The artwork should be placed in the document’s center. 
  • Double-click the “fx” icon at the bottom of your layers menu to add a drop shadow to the artwork. Select “Drop Shadow” and adjust the opacity and angle to 75% and 120, respectively. As you can see, there are additional options in the effects menu. You should experiment with these additional elements, such as angles and strokes, to see how they affect your composition. Enjoy yourself while working on this. By simply clicking on something I’ve never tried and seeing what it does, I’ve found a lot of useful tools. 
  • Press Command+J to duplicate the art layer, then Command+T to rotate the newly created square. 
  • This is when color selections start to become interesting. To make our cover stand out more, we’ll import some pictures of liquid from a lava lamp and give them a more “psychedelic” color scheme. But first, we must distinguish the lava from the surrounding area. Select > Color Range after opening your file. Click on the document’s white when the Color Range box appears, then set your fuzziness to 140 and click OK. To pick the inverse, which will be the droplets, press Shift+Command+I. Press Command+J to copy them to a new layer after that. 
  • Drag the lava lamp droplets (or other carefully chosen images) into the album-cover file. We’ll now start experimenting with color to give this a more psychedelic look and feel. To open the Hue/Saturation dialog box, press Command+U. To alter the hue of each lava lamp droplet, move the Hue slider. You may change the colors however you want, experimenting with how they affect the background. 
  • Create a new layer and draw a square shape with the marquee tool (M). Fill the square shape with vivid color (I used hex #08ec59) using the paint bucket tool (G). Drag a duplicate of the square using the arrow tool (V) while holding down the Option key. Align the two squares with your guides’ square shapes by moving the two squares. Select “Exclusion” from the Layer Blending menu in the top left corner of the layers palette near the opacity slider. The darker colors below the square are pulled into the design to produce this intriguing pink and green combination. 
  • Let’s discuss font options since typefaces might be challenging. For those unaware, there are two types of typefaces: serif (the type with tiny flourishes at the ends of the letter strokes) and sans-serif (the type without flourishes); both have subcategories.

Sayoko Yamaguchi, a Japanese actress and model, is featured in the cover image by Hideki Fujii, created by Patricia Mitsui and Geoff Westen. Walter Becker and Dorothy A. White were the photographers for the inside shots.

Instead, Prince claimed that he hired artist Doug Henders to create the artwork because he believed that people were sick of seeing themselves in pictures.

Robert Fraser, the art director for The Beatles, created the album cover for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was published on June 1, 1967.

The artwork for the cover was created by NTA Studios designer George Hardie and was designed by Thorgerson and Hipgnosis.

Although Shawn acknowledged @jayy babyxo97 as the work’s inspiration, other fans have pointed out that the image resembles a filter that can be applied using the photo-editing program Photo Lab. One person even displayed the Inner Bloom filter in use in several photographs.

Album Cover Design Size

When designing an album cover, it is important to consider the size of the final print. A typical album cover is four and a half inches in length by three and a half inches wide. For best results, use a resolution of at least 300 DPI, and make sure to use a CMYK color mode.

There are several factors that can influence the size of your album cover. If you are creating a cover for a physical CD, you’ll need to make sure that your finished image is 4.724 inches in length, and is high resolution. Ideally, the image will be a CMYK color mode, and have an additional two inches of space around it.

The size of an album cover will vary depending on the music producer, artist, and format of the album. It’s best to stick with the recommended sizes for physical CD covers. This will ensure a quality image at the right resolution. It’s also important to remember that a digital CD cover should be at least 1600 x 1600 pixels.

How to design an album cover?

One of the most important aspects of designing an album cover is the color selection. You can either go with black and white or choose a color scheme with a mix of different colors. There are many colors available to use for an album cover, and you should understand color theory before you start designing. By understanding color theory, you will be able to choose the right color scheme for your album.

The font you use for your album cover is also important. You should make sure that the font is readable for the size of the album cover. For the name of the artist, a display font is best while for the album’s title, use a script font. Other important elements of your album cover design include imagery. Many musicians choose to use images of the band or the artist themselves. Alternatively, you can use an image of the album artwork that represents the artist.

While a photo will make your album artwork more unique, you can also use a graphic that adds interest. For example, you could use a photo of a musician on stage, or an abstract photo of an abstract object. You can also use a library of customizable vector graphics and icons from websites like BeFunky.

70s Album Cover Design

The 70s were a decade of great album cover design. Many artists continued the legacy of The Beatles, whose albums featured incredible album cover art. The era was characterized by album artwork that was bold and reflected the music and culture of the time. Here are a few examples of iconic 70s album cover designs. This decade also saw a return to blues music and the return of big band icons. This decade also brought about many artistic innovations.

One of the most iconic 70s album cover design is the cover for the band’s debut album. The image on the cover evokes images of Marilyn Monroe pin-up dreams. It is widely considered the most beautiful 70s album cover design. Artists were often paid a small fee for their album sleeve photography.

The 70s also saw some interesting innovations in album cover design. Many albums featured multiple sleeve designs. For example, some albums were packaged in metal tins. Another era saw the introduction of opaque plastic sleeve packaging, and some albums came with lyric sheets. Another iconic 70s album cover design is the Gatefold. This type of cover design features a folding double cover and often includes a poster.

Album Back Cover Design

When designing the back cover for your album, you should remember that it’s an expression of your identity. Think about the sound of your music and make the cover reflect that sound. You can also experiment with different fonts, colors, graphic effects, and photo filters. Remember that you can always redo the design if you change your mind or if you want to make it unique.

Your album back cover should have an image that speaks to your audience. You can use a photo of a band member or a musician. These photos can convey the mood of the listener. Alternatively, you can use a minimalist design where you use a minimal amount of elements and leave a lot of space blank. This design helps you get your brand message across in the simplest way possible. Another way to give your album a unique look is by using a vintage microphone. With the right fonts and colors, you can create a cover that will stand out from the rest.

Aside from images, fonts play an important role in album back cover design. The font used for the album title, band name, tracklist, and brand name should be readable and in the appropriate font size. The typeface should also be in line with the central imagery of the cover.

Album Cover Background Design

The background design of an album cover should evoke the mood of the album. This is one way to grab the attention of the audience. The background should be bold, and the image should be eye-catching. An album cover that evokes a summer mood should have a vibrant colour scheme. For instance, a cover featuring a white-dressed woman on a pink background will catch the eye.

If you don’t want to spend time designing an album cover from scratch, you can choose a template from the Design Elements tab. This will give you access to hundreds of customizable vector graphics. Once you find a graphic that suits your style, click on it and then click “Edit” to modify the elements. You can also change colors and typography to achieve the right effect.

Getting a professional album cover background design is not that difficult, as long as you know what to look for. There are online service marketplaces where you can find talented artists who specialize in album covers. Take a look at album art from years past to get an idea of what works. Pay special attention to details, such as typeface and textures.

Professional Album Cover Design

Album Cover Design App

When it comes to designing an album cover, you have a lot of options. There are a variety of free apps that can help you with your project. PicMonkey, for example, is an album cover design app that offers 672 different templates. To use it, all you need is a Facebook, Gmail, or Apple ID. From there, you can choose from thousands of free images and fonts to customize your design.

If you want to create your own album cover, Illustrator is an excellent choice. You can even create album art with Sketchbook. It has millions of digital assets and adjustable templates that help you create professional-looking graphic projects. Another option is Affinity Designer, which is similar to Illustrator but was designed for vector graphics.

This app makes creating album covers a snap with intuitive tools. It lets you add high-quality images, professional fonts, and branding elements. It also allows you to create your own signature style. You can also use one of the many templates that Adobe has created for you to choose from. These can be copied, resized, or modified as desired.

Album Cover Design Cost

The cost of album cover design can vary based on a number of factors, including the popularity of the band, the type of album you want to release, and how much experience the graphic designer has. Typically, a custom album cover can cost anywhere from $350 to $10,000. This figure is for everything from fitting the art to a template to mastering the album.

An album cover designer will need information such as a sample of your music, information about your band, and your message for the cover. The cost of album cover design can also vary depending on the type of packaging you need, including a print or digital cover. Besides the material type, the number of elements, colors, and textures can also affect the cost.

While hiring a graphic designer can be expensive, you can also design the album cover yourself by using free online design tools such as Canva. These tools have a library of professionally designed album cover templates that you can edit and share with others.

Album Cover Design Ideas

When you’re thinking of designing your album cover, there are a number of factors you must consider. For example, if you’re planning on releasing your album on vinyl, you’ll need to create a design that is scalable to the different sizes of the vinyl disc. Similarly, if you’re planning on putting your album on CD, you should consider how big you want your album to be on the CD cover. The album cover design should also be suitable for thumbnail viewing, so it won’t make the listener squint or become confused.

Another important factor to consider when designing your album cover is how the design communicates emotion. For example, if you’re working on a rock or alternative pop band, you could choose a music-themed album cover with a jumping sound bar. Alternatively, you could choose a simple, calm design.

You can also try combining images and graphics. A combination of multiple graphics and photos can create a striking album cover. This gives you the best of both worlds. The choice of design should also reflect your musical tastes and personal preferences.