How to Make an Album Cover

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Your songs are mastered, your tracks are ordered, you’ve got a killer album name and album title picked out, and you’re just about ready to send your master to Disc Makers for CD manufacturing and disc duplication. One last major step? Creating the perfect album cover art that will communicate your artistic vision and grab listeners’ attention in multiple contexts. How do you make it happen?

From color and typography to imagery and style, the choices you make when creating your album cover art can help your music shine. Here are three easy steps to help you get there.

What makes a great album cover?

Glad you asked!

1. Great album covers grab people’s attention and make them want to find out more about the artist and music.
2. Strong album artwork amplifies your artistic vision and reflects the character of the artist and music.
3. An effective album cover is memorable, instantly identifiable, and can stand the test of time.
4. Good album art is easy to read and appreciate across all formats and media.

That may seem like a hefty list of goals — and even when you do your due diligence, you’re not always going to hit all of them. Luckily, there are specific strategies to increase your chances of making an iconic album cover that will blow your existing listeners away and attract lots of new ones, too.

An album cover is both a work of art and a marketing tool

While many indie artists may wish to create their music completely outside the world of commercialism, if you want to expand your audience and make money off of CD and vinyl sales, downloads, or streams, it’s important to view your LP cover design as a marketing asset as well as an expression of your creative vision.

Seeing your album art as a marketing tool doesn’t mean selling out — far from it. What it does mean is approaching your album artwork graphic design from the standpoint of what will draw new listeners to your music and what will pique their curiosity about you and your album. You don’t need to dumb down your vision or pander to do that. You just need to use the advice in this post to create a custom album cover artwork and an awesome CD case cover that makes your artistry shine.

What are the key components of your album cover?

Three key components go into your album cover:

1. Color
2. Typography
3. Imagery

Choose colors that reflect the vibe of the artist and music

Suppose your album is dark, aggressive industrial metal. In that case, you may want to edge towards a color palette that signals those qualities for listeners — stark, high-contrast colors including black, gray, and red might be traditional places to start. Or, if your music is more in the direction of wistful and melancholy folk, perhaps something less aggressive — shades of blues and purples, or earth tones — could be a good place to begin.

There are no hard and fast rules to choosing the right colors to suit your music, and sometimes album art can shine by doing the unexpected. That said, if you don’t have design experience, your best plan will be to seek professional design help, like the professional graphic designer team at Disc Makers’ design studio.

Pick fonts and typography for multiple formats

Here are some key formats in which people may be viewing your album art:

• On a poster
• On a physical vinyl record
• On a physical CD in Digipaks, jewel cases, or other format
• As a tiny thumbnail on Spotify on a smart phone
• As a larger graphic on a laptop web browser

In short, make sure that any text you include is legible in all the above. That means avoiding fonts that are overly ornate or difficult to read, minimizing the amount of text overall, and making key words and phrases as large as reasonable without compromising your overall design.

Not sure if it will work in the end? Try viewing your draft album art as a one-inch thumbnail and as a blown-up, full-screen image. If it looks good and translates in both contexts, you’re on the right track.

Imagery and style

If you want to use photographs or artwork on your album art, there are a couple key things to keep in mind.

File size

First off, make sure that any files you supply are appropriately high resolution. That means 300 dpi at the size you plan to print. So, if you’re making vinyl LPs and you have an image that will take up the entire cover, that means you need an image that’s at least 12.5” x 12.5” at 300 dpi.

If you get something that’s 72 dpi — a resolution often used for web images — your picture will end up pixelated when printed and will be all but unrecognizable if enlarged.

Sourcing images for your album cover

Make sure you’re sourcing stock images from an appropriate source, securing whatever permissions might be needed, and including appropriate credits. The easiest thing is to include a high-resolution photograph, graphic, or artwork you created yourself; that way, you don’t need to worry about licensing anything from anyone else.

Beyond that, you can search online image libraries for compelling high-res pictures and either download them for free (if the library allows) or pay a licensing fee to use the picture. These days, you might even consider AI-generated artwork, but again, be sure to read any legal text about ownership and permitted usage of an image before putting it into your album art design.

Regardless of where you source your pictures, make sure to include photo credits somewhere in your album design following the copyright holder’s instructions.

Disc Makers offers disc package templates for all our CD, digipak, and vinyl packages, and the professionals at the Design Studio will ensure that your images are properly sourced, your typography is excellent, and your custom album cover looks as good as your music sounds. Additionally, our cd cover template options can help guide you in creating a professional-looking design. For additional options in our Design Studio, check out our DVD case template collection to create your own artwork.

Legal considerations for your album artwork

Beyond artistic vision and design, staying on top of legal considerations is key when creating album cover art. If you’re using stock photos, AI-generated artwork, or any images that aren’t your original creation, make sure to verify the usage rights carefully. Whether the image is free or licensed, securing the proper permissions is essential. Likewise, if you collaborate with an artist, have a clear written agreement about ownership and usage rights to avoid future disputes.
Not sure about the legal side of things? Disc Makers’ Design Studio can help. When you work with us, we ensure your images are properly sourced, permissions are secured, and your album artwork meets all legal requirements. This way, you can focus on your music, knowing your cover is in good hands.

Album cover design trends to consider

While timeless designs often hold up across decades, keeping up with current design trends can give your album a modern, fresh appeal. Minimalist designs with bold typography and solid backgrounds have gained traction recently, especially among indie artists. For a nostalgic vibe, retro and vintage-inspired covers with grainy textures or washed-out colors are making a comeback. Electronic and pop genres tend to gravitate toward abstract, neon-infused designs that catch the eye. Whatever trend you choose, ensure it complements your music’s tone and your personal aesthetic.

Best tools and software for designing album covers

Whether you’re an experienced album cover designer or taking your first steps, there are a variety of tools that can help you craft a good album cover. For beginners, platforms like Canva offer free, customizable templates that are easy to use, even if you have no design experience. For those seeking professional-level control and customization, software like Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator gives you all the advanced design capabilities you might need, though there’s a learning curve.
If you’re not so confident about your design skills or DIY isn’t for you, don’t worry — Disc Makers’ Design Studio has you covered. Our professional design team works closely with artists to turn their vision into reality. With years of experience in designing vinyl and CD album cover sizes, we ensure your cover stands out and is perfectly suited for both digital and physical releases.

Tips for designing your first album cover

Let’s put this plainly: if you don’t know what you’re doing when it comes to design, defer to an expert and have a professional designer create your album art. Just like you wouldn’t call in someone who has never played guitar to lay down a solo on your single, trying to create a design and get the file sizes and specs right — not to mention the actual artistic endeavor of getting expert photos and creating a graphic design — is no small feat. Or, if you prefer to be more hands-on and take on the creative direction, explore our CD digipak templates.

Given the many ways that people will be viewing your album art and the importance of having a cover that draws in fans and new listeners, your files and design must be appropriate for digital consumption and physical printing.

Ask for external feedback during the design process

Whoever ultimately designs your album cover, it never hurts to ask a few fans and third parties for input. If you have trusted people who know and love your music, they might consider it an honor to be included in the creative design process. Swear them to confidentiality, send them a couple different mock-up ideas, and see what they say. They may come back at you with unexpected ideas that could take you in great new directions — or just reinforce what you already thought was your best choice.

Ready to release your album?

When your music is ready, and your artwork is created — whether by you or the professionals at Disc Makers Design Studio — turn to Disc Makers for your CD and vinyl manufacturing needs. There’s a reason why musicians have been trusting us with their music releases since 1946!

Philip Kinsher

Articles: 68 Years: 2023

Philip Kinsher is a writer, editor, and musician with a predilection for YA Sci-fi Fantasy books and rock and roll. And golf and pickleball.

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