Design Ideas for CD/DVD Sleeves

If you're charged with the enviable yet challenging task of designing CD/DVD sleeves, you're probably chomping at the bit to get started - but if you're here, you might be at a loss for inspiration. That's understandable, since CD/DVD design is a territory in which perfection is paramount, and it seems that the more designs you do, the less creative fuel you have. Everyone wants their CD or DVD to look original, so it can be difficult to come up with invigorating new ideas that capture the essence of a musician, band, film or business production. To help you get started, let's take a look at some popular design ideas for CD/DVD sleeves that you can use as inspiration for your own designs.

Photo CD/DVD sleeves

Photo CD/DVD sleeves take plenty of photographic imagination - an eye for abstract concepts, lighting, and symbolism is necessary to create a compelling photo CD/DVD sleeve. If you possess these qualities, then producing such a sleeve takes little more work than taking a picture and doing some photo editing. Some popular album covers you could emulate include The Clash's "London Calling," The Beatles' "With The Beatles" and Elvis Costello's "Trust."

Simple design CD/DVD sleeves

Sometimes simplicity says more than a cacophony, and fewer examples of this have shined more brightly than cherished album covers of past. Your CD/DVD sleeve designs could mimic the simple brilliance of such designs as John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Live Peace in Toronto 1969" and the Talking Heads' "Fear of Music."

Illustrated CD/DVD sleeves

It's time to show off your Illustrator or hand-illustration prowess when you want to create an illustrated CD/DVD sleeve that lives forever in the memories of your audience. When you move into the realm of illustration anything is possible, and many album covers have showcased the work of accomplished artists such as Andy Warhol, who designed the banana for The Velvet Underground's "The Velvet Underground and Nico" album. Other examples include Big Brother and the Holding Company's "Cheap Thrills," which is done in a comic format, and Santana's "Abraxas," which is an illustrative marvel.

Surreal CD/DVD sleeves

The macabre, shock and brilliance of surreal album covers can serve as inspiration for your own CD/DVD sleeve designs. There is no limit to surreal CD/DVD sleeves, a style in which oddities are the norm and you're free to break all artistic conventions in the name of artistic freedom. A few outstanding examples of surreal CD/DVD artwork include Frank Zappa's "Weasels Ripped My Flesh," David Bowie's "Diamond Dogs" and Led Zeppelin's "Houses of the Holy." These are but a few inspirational resources for CD/DVD sleeve designs - for hundreds of other designs look through an online album or movie catalog. With a bit of studying you should be able to meld a few styles together with your own to create a truly original CD/DVD sleeve design that will, just like the examples listed here, go down in history with your audience.