CD Cover Design & Layout (TGJ 3A)


Now that you have developed a sensitivity and awareness of design elements and principles and know how to intuitively communicate ideas, you are ready to put your skills to the test by designing and laying out a CD cover for a real or fictitious band or musician.

As with any design work, preliminary drawings, plans and doodles are very important to the creative process and all preliminary work, no matter how rough, must be submitted along with the finished product.

You may design your CD cover using a wide variety of media.

  • scanned images
  • digital photographs
  • internet downloads
  • hand drawn images
  • computer generated drawings
  • hand lettering/word processed text
  • software of your choice (choose what is best suited to your needs)

The approximate size for this project is illustrated below but you may wish to measure yourself to be sure your design will fit into the cover you have provided for it.

Prior to starting, have a look through your own music collection to get ideas. Think about unusual formats like:

  • unusual shapes
  • folding lyric pages
  • holes & windows cut through
  • unique packaging

These are the things that will make your design stand out from the rest and attract the attention of the paying public. At the same time, don’t forget that in this age of special effects and dazzle, simplicity is also a powerful design tool.

Evaluation:

      preliminary design work - 20 marks
      finished product - 30 marks