ANM 324 Project 5
Creating a CD cover/back brings together all the design and technical skills we’ve studied this semester. These are small works of marketing art that, if successful, demand attention and help sell the artist they represent.

Here’s my general grading criteria for this project:

95-100- CD cover, spine and back is complete and artwork is challenging. Type has resonance and is very readable. The CD has excellent shelf appeal and demonstrates your clear command of the Illustrator toolset. Production info/upc included. The CD cover is a work of art!

90-95-CD is very well done but there are some minor flaws in concept or execution. Type styling may not resonate with the content or theme of the product or you may have created a less than spectacular composition of image and text. Omitted production info/upc.

85-89-CD is good but may not completely communicate the essence of the artist in either type resonance or design elements. Production notes missing.

80-85-Label has obvious technical and design issues that will prevent it from having good shelf appeal. Type doesn’t fit or image is too complex to be clearly understood by shoppers.

70-80-CD cover is not effective is communicating the essence of the product and major requirements are missing. There are significant technical flaws.

70-below very late work

Note: Late work will be downgraded by 10 pts

Anita Kunz Group

Renee-Your first submission didn’t include the linked image for the back cover. I did update the gallery with the completed CD cover. The vector art on the front definitely establishes the tone of the CD. Sad Clown and Bad Summer is even more creepy with the font style and dejected clown. To be honest, I would expect the backside to compliment the front with some bit of gloom. As is, the image of the group is very predictable. A black and white image or more creatively a color image that blends into black and white might be more interesting. Your font for the group name and tracks is very soft and lyrical. Quite a contrast with the scary font in the title. You’ve included the upc and minimum production notes.

Patricia-Your homage to Cher is very dramatic with the red graphic over a black background. To me, this does resonate the stage presence and music of the artist. You said the artwork was original..it looks great. One of the requirements for the project was to include a photo or bitmap image so you would become more familiar with the image linking process. I realize you had major computer issues during this final project. The type style is very formal but readable. I can visualize the work BELIEVE in a strong script or handwritten style to reflect the emotion of the title. Tracks are very readable on back but you didn’t include the upc and publishing info.

Steven-Your Pink Floyd album art brought back great memories of the 70’s. The cover is very strong with the contrast of the moon and the rhythmic abstract colors.

The backside, with a view of the moon’s darkside, is as it would appear looking towards earth. This is a clever intellectual exercise for viewers. I think it would be even stronger if you continued the color pattern onto the back and made it grayscale to further resonate the reverse view. This would take the place of the triangle, which, to me, rather impedes the visual flow from front to back. Type is very readable and production info is excellent.

Meghan-I like the continuity you’ve achieved between front and back with the transparent brush strokes and color. The image of Ani DiFranco
is very striking and you’ve worked the title in very effectively to compliment the image. I think it would be interesting to have the brush pattern a little more transparent around her face and the cigar to make it pop and add dimension. Type is very readable on the back tracks. The positioning of the title words adds energy and communicates non-conformity..yeah, that’s her. Good work!

Rosenwald Group

Terell-I like the red-on-red color palette, which resonates the “R Rated” title of the CD. You didn’t indicate if the artwork was original. If so, it looks good on the cover and the silhouette on the back are very complimentary. My first impression is that the cover is a little complex..at first glance the title is not clear with the abstract R. I would suggest removing the brush strokes…they really don’t add to the composition and you don’t have them on the back. You might try applying an artistic brush stroke to the R. The lips are great and compliment the theme. The strokes in the top and bottom banners look a little arbitrary…maybe better if just solid red? UPC and production notes look very good and the font you’ve used throughout is very readable. The CD cover is not oriented as specified…cover should be on right. Minor point but instructions and samples were given.

Cassandra-You’re definitely into the Christmas spirit!
I really like the fact that you’ve placed the tree in a position so that it transitions from front to back of the artwork…this adds to the effectiveness of the composition. I’m not sure which art is original…the tree looks great. From a compositional point of view I do think the cover is a little too complex. I would suggest a couple things to simplify. I realize the Over 1 Hour of Music…. Is a selling point but we’re looking at the artwork here and the cover would be much more visually strong without that type. I would also suggest making the Christmas Songs text “jumpy” I suspect you saw this as playful but the audience is 1-3 so they wouldn’t care. With the warped Top 20…I think straight type would be more visually effective. Track names are very readable and upc and production notes are complete.

Larysa-Your CD is very colorful…that’s the primary continuity between front and back. The imagery, to me, doesn’t connect very well. I do like the cover best, with the images of the artist surrounded by musical notes.
it flows visually and has good hierarchy. I think the back would be more effective without the black edge (like keys). The challenge would be how to transition from the orbs on the front to the fan shapes on the back…that would be more effective visually. Type is very readable on the track list but I think you may have used too many different fonts. It looks like three different script styles. At a minimum I would suggest that the title Romantic Ballads was consistent from front to back..this is important branding. UPC and production notes look very good!

Jessica-You didn’t indicate which artwork was original? The cover is great and spectacular use of vector art if original. I like the color and it has great shelf appeal…do you think it needs a title? Could be subtle..but necessary I think. The back doesn’t “feel” like it belongs to the front. The playful vector art has become neon…I’m missing the connection. This could be the place where neon type style is used on front for the CD title? Careful with this artistic type style readability can be an issue with the tracks. UPC and production info is good.

Kroencke Group

Megan-I thought your CD was one of the most complete and consistent in terms of artwork and the complimentary design from front to back. I really like the font style, which is playful and very readable with the treatment of outer glow. UPC and production looks very good. The only think missing is the spine in center. I’m curious what musical twist Sticky Ricky has given these Christmas standards…Parental Advisory! Good work!

Jeremy-Your Dave Brubeck CD is timely with his recent passing. My first impression is that you had fun with the stylized brushes. They add energy and interest to the CD. The cover elements look a little arbitrary..like you were trying to fill some space with a variety of shapes and colors…I think it’s over done a bit. You might consider sticking with a harmonious color palette from the color guide..this would add some consistency. Without the brushes, the front and back would not look like they belong together.
To strengthen the transition between front and back you might consider applying a gradient red to blue to the brushes. To do this, you select all your brushstrokes and go to Object>Expand Appearance. They will then be vector art, which can be filled with a gradient. My favorite part of the cover is the spine with complementary color and interesting strokes. Missing upc and production information.

Katrina-You have a very creative idea here to incorporate the image of coins into your cover and back. I’m curious if this is an original image? In your comments you indicated that the highlight at the edge of Pink Floyd was intended to lead the viewer to the name and establish a visual flow…it does work. The highlight or flare could be more well defined. I often use a flare brush that’s built into Photoshop for an effect that’s more well defined. I realize this isn’t a Photoshop class but just pointing out that I think more definition would ensure it didn’t look like a hot spot from photography. The type for the name looks hand-drawn? Very steady mouse tool work if you did in manually. From a composition point of view, it would be more interesting if the image on the back was somehow modified to show a change or evolution. What if only a few coins were left to show how money is lost or spent. This would add an interesting intellectual element to the cd graphics. Upc and production looks good.

Robert-The game cover looks great and you did incorporate a jpg image from the game. It looks like the majority of the artwork and typography is directly from preexisting art. I would like to have seen you modify it more and, at a minimum, incorporate a different font to show how you might recreate this game design as a digital artist. I am assuming the original work is with the layout on the back in the text box and minimum requirements info? The CD, as a whole, looks great but I expected more original vector work to demonstrate your skill with the Illustrator tools.

Greg-It was interesting to see you apply your design skills with Illustrator to both this project and the previous label project. This of course is one goal of the course to enhance skills that can be applied to real world production problems. Your cover is visually engaging and brings creativity to an otherwise very technical (as expected) backside of the CD. I like the fact that you incorporated a hint of your rectangular logo into the back as well as the red/gray color scheme. The composition on the front has a lot going on. The visual hierarchy is the flame/box, row of people, company brand and then specific CD title. Is this the order of importance to you as the designer of the software? Shouldn’t the CD title be more predominant? The flame and box (is that 3D box another logo) do reinforce the supercharged title but I would recommend you make the flame more precise since it reflects the company’s image of the software. You should be able draw it very precisely with the pen-tool. I do like your gradient fill! I guess my point is that the cover is rather complex. I would consider removing the silhouettes, refine the flame for it’s eye-catching appeal and then enlarge and stack the supercharged sugarcrm below for a stronger visual hierarchy and shelf appeal.

Frazier Group

Armin-You’ve done a great job with the vector art which is very abstract but definitely resonates the theme of flight and freefall. I don’t thing the font selection and scale is as effective as it could be. I say this because the visual hierarchy is not very well established on the cover. To me, it seems that the title The Free Fall should be larger and possibly a different font than the artist Robod. The script font is very readable on the track list and does compliment the lyrical style. I don’t see the jpg image (required) in your composition. I do see the bands of vector art, which I assume you created in Illustrator. UPC and production notes are fine but the cover should be on the right as if you have a CD open and lying flat.

Justin-I even tried to look-up Morgan Freeman to see if it was a real group and yes, it appears to be. Looks like you had fun with this cover and I appreciate the elements you’ve incorporated into it. The rippled background texture adds some richness. I do like the wood textured fill in the cover title..the color and texture combine to be very attractive. Not sure how the chain link pattern adds. I don’t see any connection…just art you found our like perhaps? In this case you might make the border around the image and tracks a chain-link pattern
for visual consistency from front to back. Your typography is strong and very readable. UPC and production information looks good!