Art Direction for CD covers (Spanish, Multisub)

Learn to design and conceptualise the emotions transmitted by the music

There are records that marked a before and after, most of them not only for their music but for the art of their cover, something that José Antonio Mesones (Goster) knows perfectly. His passion for music and more than two decades of experience behind his back as a graphic designer and visual artist, make him a cover specialist; a title that is confirmed with three Grammy nominations in the “Best packaging recording” category.

In this course you will learn to conceptualize and design the cover of an album telling a powerful story that awakens emotions. You will experiment with the musical design creating the perfect packaging for a good melody.

About this course The first thing you will do is meet Goster, his passion for music and his professional career. He will show you his work, specifically the album covers he has created and the work of the designers that have most influenced him.

Before you start with the design, you’ll start with the research phase of the album. You will analyze carefully the lyrics of the songs, the history of the album and the sensations that awaken you. Then, you will continue with brainstorming to test the first ideas of concept and initial sketches.

Under the slogan of experiment and play, Goster will guide you to shape your ideas through the collage technique with some tricks and suggestions to obtain the most original result.

You will learn to play with typography and images in a very fluid and natural way, welcoming mistakes and surprise, to achieve the final design of each of the pieces of the album: the cover, the back cover and the label.

To finish, Goster will explain how to prepare the final art of the cover and back cover to take it to print. In addition, it will give you several suggestions to achieve an ideal work process with the printing press.

What is this course’s project?

Conceptualize and design the cover of a disc that complements the music and generates emotions. Goster will propose to work with the album OK Computer by Radiohead, but you can choose the music that most inspires you.

Who is it for? To graphic designers, collage artists and passionate about music and design lovers.

What you need To complete this course you will need basic knowledge of Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop, a lot of curiosity and love for music.

On the materials, it is necessary to have a computer or computer with Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop.