CD Layout and Digital Download Art Design

Wellington Beck Music Group

Nashville, TN

This is another country music compilation for a long running client. During my run with Wellington Beck, I specialized in quick turnaround Photoshop designs for their recordings. This time around, the album features all piano based covers of popular country hits. It is available exclusively as a digital download mp3 album on iTunes and Amazon, as well as other media outlets. Since the word “CORRAL” is featured in the title, I decided I should give it a 19th Century American Old West feel.

Digital download art for country music album

The art features a vintage style mahogany piano in the bottom right. I set the album’s title in a curly Western font, then warped it into a rising shape. I also embossed the text to give the words depth. All the while, I used two different brown tones to bring some variance to the title. The word “PIANO” is larger than the other words, and I emphasized in a darker brown hue. This color echoes the dark shadows in the piano image and ties it all together.

The old timey elements all display on a dirty, distressed parchment paper background. My idea with using this was to mimic the feel of a wanted poster for an 1800s desperado. Finally, I added a grunge texture overlay to complete the country music piece’s weathered appearance. This gave it the exact style my client was looking for. As usual, I finished the art ahead of the scheduled deadline, and I did not need to make any revisions to it.

Let me design your digital download artwork

Whether or not your genre is country music, I’ve got your art needs covered. I’ll be your Huckleberry. Contact me today for the perfect graphic design to complement your new single or album!

Analog Apostles

Lexington, KY

I designed this CD art for Lexington, KY alternative rock band Analog Apostles’ debut EP “The Other Side of the Sea”. Since I played lead guitar in the band at the time, it was a no brainer for me to do the artwork. I was also very involved in the music production side.

Ben, the main songwriter and rhythm guitarist, thought of the title long before we recorded the first note. The album name and many of the songs made references to water, so we decided together on a nautical theme.

CD art – setting sail for the high seas

The four panel digipak layout started with an antique style treasure map background. Then, I overlaid a classical pirate ship illustration in brown as the focal point. The “A” monogram mark from the logo I designed was later superimposed onto the ship’s main sail.

After that, I set the band‘s name in an antique “swashbuckling” style font face. The album’s title then materialized in a classic cursive script. I capped off the design with a ghostly image of the band’s “A” icon over the dark blue ocean background in the tray card. Since the record’s theme suggested high adventure, a hint of supernatural mystery put it over the top.

From start to finish, this record truly was a DIY project. We performed every aspect of the production, from the recording process to ordering the album duplication. Ben’s wife Amanda did a great job with the posed band photography. Our fan base fully funded the CD’s production online via Indiegogo, which is a great fundraising tool for artists on a budget.

Hire me to design your CD art

Are you a band or record label currently hoisting the main sails on a new album? Contact me today for a CD layout design that will shiver your fans’ timbers.

Misty Mountain String Band

Louisville, KY

Derek Harris is a vocalist and the bassist in this traditional bluegrass quartet and a long time friend of mine. He contacted me in 2013 to create the CD layout for their debut EP “Went to the Well”.

Bluegrass music CD layout story

The group already had chosen a few elements to bring to the table. Therefore, it was up to me to work them into the final composition and make a few minor adjustments. This was similar to later full length CD layout projects I completed for them, entitled “Brownsboro” and “Red Horizon”. The fabulous Louisville based photographer Cherise Mingus provided the posed photograph for the inside jacket. The talented nature artist Abby Diamond also came on board to create the gorgeous Kentucky cardinal illustration. This was the first of a series of album art collaborations I was fortunate enough to have with these talented artists.

I used Adobe Photoshop to retouch and color correct the band’s posed group photograph. I also removed a small tree from the picture by using the rubber stamp cloning tool. Then, I cleaned up the edges of the cardinal illustration for the clean white background.

Finally, the band sent me a very rough sketch of a Greek runes themed “MMSB” logo they had sometimes use in promotional materials. I used Adobe Illustrator to recreate this image as a vector file they could use for any application. Then, I added it to the design. It is featured on both on the inside jacket and on the CD face itself. Check out MMSB’s music online!

CD layout for your band or music project

Are you about to drop a hot new record? I’m ready to complete the project with professional packaging design and CD art. Contact me today to get started.