Guided Course: Illustration and Lettering for Record Covers

Guided Course: Create an Illustrated Record Sleeve and Label

“Designing a record cover is more than a graphic exercise—it’s about translating sound into images, creating a visual identity that amplifies and accompanies the music. This project is your chance to merge illustration with hand lettering, producing an artwork that isn’t just seen but felt, like a melody captured on paper. Here are some directions to spark your creativity. 1. Fictional Band Revival: The Lost Album Design a cover for a “lost album” by an imaginary band. Develop their identity through illustration and lettering that reflect a musical genre and era. Project example: A psychedelic rock band from the 1970s with swirling illustrations, vibrant colors, and flowing hand-lettered typography that mirrors the experimental spirit of the decade. 2. Personal Soundtrack: My Illustrated Mixtape Create a sleeve that represents a personal mixtape of songs marking milestones in your life. Use symbolic illustrations and expressive lettering to tell your story. Project example: A sleeve showing illustrated scenes of childhood, first love, and personal achievements, with hand-drawn song titles weaving through the composition. 3. Genre Fusion: Two Worlds Collide Imagine an album that blends two contrasting genres, and bring that tension to life visually. Fuse illustration and lettering styles to reflect both worlds. Project example: A jazz-metal record combining delicate Art Nouveau illustrations with aggressive, angular typography, tied together with a hybrid color palette. 4. Local Sounds: A Tribute to Your Scene Design a cover for a local artist or band. Incorporate cultural references, regional motifs, and lettering inspired by your city or community. Project example: A folk singer from Mexico with hand-drawn illustrations of agave plants and mountains, paired with lettering inspired by popular urban signage. 5. Concept Album Series: Three Connected Singles Create three related record sleeves that stand alone but tell a larger story when seen together. Keep continuity through composition, color, and lettering. Project example: A sci-fi trilogy where each sleeve illustrates a chapter of the story; when aligned, the artwork connects into a single panoramic image, with lettering evolving alongside the narrative. A record cover is never just packaging—it’s the doorway into a soundscape. It carries identity, emotion, and narrative, inviting listeners to imagine the music before they hear it. As you craft your design, think about how your illustrations and lettering don’t just accompany the music but elevate it, turning the sleeve into a memory that outlives the sound itself. Your project can be a tribute to a genre, a personal story made visual, or an imagined world that transports the viewer even before the needle drops. The challenge lies in making your cover speak for the music, while the music, in turn, breathes life into your cover.”

Course summary for: Guided Course: Illustration and Lettering for Record Covers

• Level: Beginner
• 18 students
• 1 unit
• 11 lessons (1h 8m)
• 10 downloads

• Category

  Illustration

• Software

  Adobe InDesign

• Areas

  Digital Illustration, Digital Lettering, Editorial Illustration, Hand Lettering, Lettering, Product Design, Sketching