In my previous posts about CD’s that I have designed, I’ve gone through the process via explanations under the CD design images. In this case, however, I’ve made a short video about the design, which is available to watch at the end of this post. Here’s a few images of the design, and then onto the Video…

CD Sleeve Art Gallery: The Sunrise

Above: These was a couple of early sketches of the proposed design. I originally draw some mockups in a Moleskine, then scanned them into my iMac before producing a couple of rough illustrative visuals (in the circles) to show the proposed style of the CD. These two images formed part of a PDF for the first set of proofs.

Above: This shows the inside of the CD Jewel Case, with the [mostly] white CD set onto a Black & White Tray Card.

Above: 8 Page Booklet Design, pages 2 and 3.

Above: 8 Page Booklet Design, pages 4 and 5.

Above: 8 Page Booklet Design, pages 6 and 7.

Above: 8 Page Booklet Design, pages 8 and 1.

Above: Front Cover (with severe Sun-reflection in my garden─whoops!).

Above: Back Cover Tray Card (again with severe Sun-reflection).

Above: Front Cover shown with inner CD. I’ve taken these pics on my lawn. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Ha!

Walk-through Video of CD Sleeve Design…

This short movie shows my latest CD Sleeve design, with hints, tips and explanations of process.

If you’re reading this post via Email Subscription or RSS and can’t see this video, click here to watch it.

★ For more information on The Sunrise, please head over to their website. Also you can listen and buy their album over on iTunes. Here’s a screenshot of the tracklisting…

Concluding Thoughts

This was a really interesting project to work on. The design was very-much concept driven, and the band were fantastic at providing a detailed direction on how they wanted the CD design to look. I love designing CD’s, and I’d like to continue doing so as long as the format is available in the mainstream.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this CD sleeve art and the illustrative work I designed, please use the comment form below.

This post is Copyright Andrew Kelsall, author of the Andrew Kelsall Graphic Design Blog.Andrew Kelsall | Creative Designer - Graphic Design Blog of Andrew Kelsall

I recently completed this Digi Pack CD Design for a Dominic Finley, a singer/songwriter client who I’ve worked with before. His new CD is named ‘The Songs of Neil Diamond‘ and as can be seen, has been designed in a ‘Las Vegas’ style! The design was based on a 4-panel Digipak® template and was printed in Australia (where Dominic now lives and works).

The design itself was primarily blue and white, with the glamourised image of Dominic taking prominence. As can be seen in the image above, the white CD design looks quite good in the clear plastic holder, and set against the patterned blue background.

This photo doesn’t do the back of the CD case any justice,but the pattern continues into the black area on the left. The whole design was a rather simple yet effective design that also made use of a professional barcode.

It was a great project to work on and it once again reminds me how much I love designing CD sleeves. If you have any questions or comments, kindly leave them in the comment section below…

☰ If you would like me to provide you with a Free Quotation for a CD album or Single/EP, please use my CD Quote Request Form.

This post is Copyright Andrew Kelsall, author of the Andrew Kelsall Graphic Design Blog.Andrew Kelsall | Creative Designer - Graphic Design Blog of Andrew Kelsall

Here is a CD Album Design I produced for a local band named “The Reeds”, a Christian-based 2-piece who produced music for the album “All in a days Musing”. Even though I produced this artwork a few years back, it’s one of my favourite CD designs I have produced, so I thought I’d feature it.

Firstly, Scott and Karen (the Reeds) provided me with a detailed description of what they wanted, including a set of photographs of themselves to be utilised in the design. The design I produced was for a CD  jewel case with black tray. The reverse printed colour and so was the face-up side of the 4-page inner booklet. The inner booklet was black & white.

I designed most of the CD cover in Adobe Illustrator®. I made the reeds-illustrations in vector format and tweaked them in Photoshop® before compiling the whole design set back in Illustrator® before exporting to PDF-X.

The CD print was comprised of two Pantone® colours, which I instructed the printers to print straight onto the CD face. This utilised the silver of the disc face as “a third colour” in a way, which maximised the simple yet attractive design.

As can be seen in the above image, there isn’t a lot of space on the jewel case spine for the allocated text. My article on CD Design Tips (on point 7) address’s the issue of getting this critical text positioning right.

When designing a CD Sleeve, one great thing you can do is use an unusual, but appropriate font. Here, I used a readable yet original font on the CD back tray and throughout the design. As there is limited information, a non-standard font can be used in keeping with the style of design.

Further resources: Scott Antony Wainright (from the Reeds) solo music sites: on MySpace & also on his Own Site

Any questions? Please ask them below or leave a general comment.

★ More on Andrew Kelsall Design:

Top Ten CD Sleeve Design Tips

Here are my Top Ten CD Cover Design Tips in order of design process. This article is written for an intermediate Photoshop/Illustrator user and upwards, focusing on the technical side of things, so here goes…

CD Sleeve Design Setup

1. First and foremost, make sure you’re using the right CD tray card and booklet templates — and that the dimensions are precise, as this will save many headaches.

2. As with most graphic design work, set your files up in RGB for the initial design stages — and utilize the most appropriate colour profile for the job.

3. Make critical decisions about the actual CD Sleeve design print; if the client requires 2 [ READ MORE ].

This post is Copyright Andrew Kelsall, author of the Andrew Kelsall Graphic Design Blog.Andrew Kelsall | Creative Designer - Graphic Design Blog of Andrew Kelsall

I think this is an amazing product concept; it shows in a really clever way that digital media is the new “letter”, as it were. It also reminded me of the discussion on my previous post.

Discovered via: Dan Leveille. I’m unsure where you’d buy one of these from, but if you know (and the image copyright), do let me know so I can include a link.

★ Check out: 15 Unusual and Cool USB Flash Drives.

This post is Copyright Andrew Kelsall, author of the Andrew Kelsall Graphic Design Blog.Andrew Kelsall | Creative Designer - Graphic Design Blog of Andrew Kelsall

Instead of the normal style of detailing my design processes (such as my CD Design for Dominic Finley), the rest of this article just shows 77 photos detailing the process of a CD design for singer/songwriter, Peter Webster (you can here his great music on his site). That’s right! No screen-shots, just photos.

The post shows everything from snapshots of project conception, Illustrator® and Photoshop® setups, “the designer-life” with kids and the final CD printed.

Any questions can be asked in the comments section afterwards…

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68
69

Final Printed CD Sleeve & Jewel Case

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

For any questions, please use the photo numbers if necessary…

This post is Copyright Andrew Kelsall, author of the Andrew Kelsall Graphic Design Blog.Andrew Kelsall | Creative Designer - Graphic Design Blog of Andrew Kelsall

I recently wrote an article about the unique media designed by 5inch. Yesterday, I was clearing up some paperwork in my office, and found this CD artwork I designed for a local band a few years ago.

As can be seen, it uses a unique CD Jewel Case Design that houses a clear disc.

The image above is the reverse of the jewel case, with another element of the design that shows through. When the CD is “sprung out” of the case using the trigger, the rest of the design can be viewed.

Have you designed CD artwork that uses a jewel case like this? Have you designed a cover that uses another unique-style of case?

This post is Copyright Andrew Kelsall, author of the Andrew Kelsall Graphic Design Blog.Andrew Kelsall | Creative Designer - Graphic Design Blog of Andrew Kelsall

I don’t think these are great because of the bands they represent, but just because they have the “Wow” factor that would make you want to look at them further… Enjoy!

NOTE: I have watermarked these images, but they are copyright of their respective holders. If you know who designed them, please let me know and I’ll include their link.

Lemon Jelly “Lost Horizons” CD Cover Design

Interpol “Our Love to Admire” CD Sleeve Design

Interpol “Best of” CD Cover Design

Feeder “Echo Park” CD Sleeve

Editors “An End Has a Start” CD Cover Design

Muse “The Resistance” CD Sleeve

Björk “Volta” Album Art

The Prodigy “The Fat of the Land” Album Art

Coldplay “X & Y” CD Sleeve

Delphic “Delphic” Album Cover

I plan to compile another list soon listing some great “Conceptual CD Sleeve Designs”. Why not subscribe to my Free Updates by Email so you don’t miss a thing?

This post is Copyright Andrew Kelsall, author of the Andrew Kelsall Graphic Design Blog.Andrew Kelsall | Creative Designer - Graphic Design Blog of Andrew Kelsall

Just a quick post about a poster design I recently produced for the Bob Cheevers tour, which also featured Dominic Finley and Lizzie Nunnery. My last post was about the CD Sleeve I designed for Dominic—and this poster was done straight after to announce that he was touring with the other two musicians.

◥ These PDF Proofs show two versions of the poster design, which announce varied dates and venues.

◥ The posters were supplied in three [European] sizes (A3, A4 and A5)—and also in black & white. Notice that the B+W one isn’t just a direct copy of the coloured one converted to greyscale. I individually lightened the text shades so the whole thing looked sharp and legible.

Any thoughts? I’d love to read them

This post is Copyright Andrew Kelsall, author of the Andrew Kelsall Graphic Design Blog.Andrew Kelsall | Creative Designer - Graphic Design Blog of Andrew Kelsall

Dominic Finley is a singer/songwriter who has worked in the UK and USA. There’s a bio on his site, but this quote from the site (below) sums-up his career and music in a glance:

For the last decade and a half Dominic Finley has successfully adapted to various different styles of music. He has moved though Brit-pop, Motown and jazz, to more recently doing session work and playing progressive rock with Combination Head and classic pop-rock with the recently reformed Cutting Crew.

The Design Process

This was one of those rare projects where I had total artistic freedom over the design. Before I started the design, I asked Dominic to answer a series of questions pertaining to the design and specifications (my online CD Design quote form is available on my site here).

◥ The only thing that was absolutely specified was the use of a photo of Dominic on the front cover—in some way, shape or form. Another aspect of the design was for it to have an earthy feel, and to be aimed at people 30+ years.

I had a very basic idea in-mind for the CD Sleeve design. As always, I sketched a rough plan of my intended illustration. Nowadays, I use a Moleskine® Notebook to collate my thoughts and ideas.

◥ As can be seen in the image above, I only required a very rough sketch of what I had envisaged, as the next step was to create some vectors in Illustrator® on my Mac. The actual specification for the CD was a 4-page colour booklet, Tray Card + CD Print.

What is the design concept? Well, after I listened to some sample music from Dominic’s site, I settled on an organic-looking, earthy formation that was both visually-appealing and suited the style of music it represented. This kind of job is, in essence, illustration. There are “no rules” to artistic interpretation, so I just designed what I saw in my mind when I listened to the music.

◥ This is the vector I created in Adobe Illustrator®.

◥ I wanted the vector to be textured, so I downloaded a couple of free images from Fudge Graphics, authored by Franz Jeitz. Most of the time, I pay for stock images from sites like Dreamstime, however, with great designers such as Franz around, there are many high-resolution textures on the web—free for commercial use— and also downloadable for free, too.

◥ This is how the main images I used on the CD Sleeve started to shape-up using textures.

◥ The image above shows pages 4 & 1 of the CD booklet from the final PDF I supplied.

◥ This was the tray Card PDF (I’ve left the guides visible here for illustration only). As can be seen, the CD was inclusive of a professional barcode. Even though these CD prints were to be printed in Digital, I only used flat black in the actual barcode .eps to ensure a sharp-print on the black lines.

Client Proofs

◥ After I finished the design work I sent off some PDF proofs to Dominic. For a more in-depth look at the type of proofs I supply to my clients, please refer to my article Total Design Process for Edit Websites.

CD Photos + Technical Info

◥ The prints were printed on a Digital Press, which is a suitable choice for small print runs.

◥ The CD comprised of a Clear Jewel Case with a Black CD Tray.

◥ The actual “CD print” was produced digitally too. For larger print runs, CD’s are normally printed using a  Litho or screen process.

◥ The inside of the 4-Page Booklet shows the track-list, credits and production information (I get a mention, too—thanks to Dom!).

◥ The back of the 4-Page Booklet is visible on the inside of the Jewel Case. As can be seen, there is a thank-you message from Dominic [t0 the listener].

◥ A big headache that can be caused when designing CDs is getting the placement of the Spine Text just right. Even if the text is placed in perfect position on the template, the actual tray print is still subject the guiletines. However, a good print-house should always do a good job when it comes to perforating the Spine “creases” in the right place.

◥ The only gripe that I have is that the reflectiveness of the Jewel Case makes the print look a little darker than it should. I’ll remember this next time I design a dark-blue CD.

This was a great project to work on. I didn’t have a massive budget to work with, however the project worked out well—and Dom really liked the design. I think that his music is great, and this design has the potential to let his music flourish in physical sales and online, too.

I’ve included another one of his tracks below named “Misery”.

I’ve also produced another CD recently for Dominic Finley which will be featured in another design-process article in the new year. Be sure to Subscribe to my RSS feed for free as not to miss it. Any comments or questions about this article can be left below…

★★★★★ If you liked this post, then check out How to Design a CD Album for a Local Band.

This post is Copyright Andrew Kelsall, author of the Andrew Kelsall Graphic Design Blog.Andrew Kelsall | Creative Designer - Graphic Design Blog of Andrew Kelsall

Recently, a new development has transpired – the birth of Music Singles sold on Memory Sticks (as opposed to CD’s). The popular UK Band Keane are the first Band to release a Music Single in this way.

The 512MB memory stick will be sold in standard CD packaging, with the device shrink-wrapped to the sleeve artwork. So far, this new phenomenon is only available on a limited bases, but may take off soon as an alternative to CD’s and Music Downloads.

THIS IS A PAGE THAT I HAVE CONVERTED INTO A POST FOR INDEXING PURPOSES

This post is Copyright Andrew Kelsall, author of the Andrew Kelsall Graphic Design Blog.Andrew Kelsall | Creative Designer - Graphic Design Blog of Andrew Kelsall