CD Cover; Final Design

CD Cover; Images

These are the original photographs I used in my CD Cover:

These are the photos after I had edited them using Photoshop:

CD Cover; Design

http://emullendermedia.blogspot.com/2010/03/cd-cover-final-design.html

For my final design I used an image of the two characters from the music video, the guy and second girl, walking down a city street together. I wanted to have a close link between my music video and CD cover and thought using the characters would be an effective way of doing so. My original image was quite bland and grey so I tried placing different colour gradients as a underneath and merging them together through the luminosity setting. I found the best colours that worked together were blue and green as it created a cold, urban and quite grungey tone which is what I was after. I used this same effect with all the images, the school clock on the inside cover, the guitar on the back and the band and city pictures of the insert and found it worked well, making the entire album cover and insert consistent. The font I used, Helvetica, is very simple but works well with the images and with the indie pop genre, I used a forward slash to enhance the indie style of it. I think the back cover, is the best composed, as I had a good space to work with next to the image of the guitar and the song titles fitted in well. For the insert, I wanted to use an image of the band, as many CD covers do, to create a personal insight for the audience, discovering who the band are and how they play. Using the instruments in the image also allowed me to reference the music, which should be the focus of many indie-pop/folk bands. The image on the inside cover, of the clock references the music video, using a school clock as seen in the school room setting of the music video where the students are sitting an exam. This again, is made more effective by the colour tone as without it, the image was quite boring.

CD Cover; Research

The Mumford and Sons 'Sigh No More' album gives off a very British, nostalgic feel with the old high street setting, and the band as mannequins in the window. This gives a subtle focus to the artist as well as concentrating on the folk, acoustic genre and style of their music, with the costume (checked shirts, waistcoats, faded jeans) and the references to instruments - banjo, double bass etc. The font is simple yet effective, and captures the laid back, country/bluegrass style of the band.










Metronomy are an English electropop band who not only produce their own tracks but also remix many other artists. This album cover takes a monochrome, minimalistic approach, which fits in well with the electronic genre. The cube, 'nu rave' style font is conventional of the electronic genre and has been used by similar artists such as Klaxons and Hadouken!.

Bloc Party's 'A Weekend In The City' relies on the urban grunge style photo of a highway at night, to carry the genre without showing the artist or any instrumental reference to the music. The colour and lighting create a cold city tone and the simple sharp font focus the attention on the image rather than the band name.

The Kooks 'Inside In Inside Out' album creates a closer, more personal relationship with the audience by showing the artist performing. Like Mumford and Sons it places emphasis on the artist as well as the importance of their musical talent, showing them playing the instruments. The black and white style connotes a raw

I found this album cover really interesting, the way the artists are used as the main image yet the faces are cut out. Only fans would know that they are in fact the producer and vocalist and not random characters used therefore they do not rely on their fame to sell the music. The costume, the white wall and the font show their experimental, urban style in a unique, effective way.

CD Cover; Formats

Most CD's nowadays come in the jewel cd case design, a three-piece plastic case which holds a compact disc along with the liner notes and a back card. Two transparent halves are hinged together to form the casing, the back half holding a tray that grips the disc by its hole. All three parts are made of injection-molded polystyrene. Variations include the Super Jewel Box and the Slimline Jewel Case.

Other formats include:

Digipak - consists of a plastic CD tray glued inside a folding cardboard cover, less common than jewel cases due to higher manufacturing costs and lower resistance to wear, but more environmentally friendly.

Discbox Slider- made of 100% carton board, holds more features of LP style in terms of light weight and printability. One of the most enviromentally friendly.

Paper Sleeve- the simplest, cheapest format, a paper envelope. Transparent window can be added allowing disc label to be seen. More often used in software packages.

JakeBox- a swedish packaging concept with a 'folded claw' which holds the disc.

LP Style Case- a recent trend, packaging CDs in sleeves comparable to LPs.

Snap Case- made of a single piece plastic tray and closure which snaps over the right edge of the front flap.

Gatefold Card Case- a card wallet case, which can have more than one flap.

I have decided to use a gatefold style card case for my CD Cover, with a wallet and one flap which folds over on top. I have chosen this format because it allows room for more artwork and titles, it's more eco friendly, as card can be recycled and I think it fits in well with the genre, going against the conventional jewel plastic case as many mainstream bands do, but promoting them more as an arty, niche band. Bands like Artic Monkeys and Pearl Jam have used this format.

CD Cover; Ideas

For my CD Cover, I want to keep in with the theme of the music video and the song, to show consistency. Originally, I had ideas of using iconic British images to promote the band, like the London underground signs, an old bicycle or a typical English scene. Artists that have taken this approach include Mumford and Sons and Sex Pistols. As Blighters are from London, I was thinking of using the London Underground or a telephone box and taking an photo, perhaps even with a 'band member' in it.

I also considered using the image of a cassette tape, to emphasise the 80's sound and influence of the band. Maybe even with the tape writing the name of the band, like this, but better:

However, I wanted the album/single cover to link in with the video, so I decided to use a chalkboard theme. I thought I could also use this inside, to write the lyrics or any information, and I have a few ideas for the front cover.

One idea would be to draw something in chalk/pastel on a blackboard and take a photograph of it. I would either draw, a typical classroom scene, a bit like that or a scene from the narrative, like the couple holding hands.

I also had an idea to use the chalkboard theme, taking a picture of the couple with a board that you'd find outside shops or restaurants and use Photoshop to write the band name and album name on.


My final idea was to use one of the pictures I had taken of the 'couple' and edit it using Photoshop to make it look more indie and slightly 'grunge'. I played around with it and tryed putting it into grayscale then applying a coloured gradient, like green and blue, as a layer and merging the two layers through the luminosity setting. The pictures came out as seen in post titled CD Cover; Images.

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