Single, EP or album cover: keeping a visual family
Multiple music releases can share an identity without using the same image. Continuity is built with graphic markers, while each cover retains a sign specific to the piece or project.
Create a collection rule
Choose two or three common markers: a text position, a color family and a type of framing. These rules facilitate recognition of the artist. They must remain flexible enough to accommodate a calmer or more intense image depending on the intention of each release.
Give a function to each variation
A single can highlight a detail that will take on another meaning in the world of the album. An EP may use an intermediate palette or another point of view on the subject. The variation becomes narrative when it provides information, instead of modifying a color for no reason.
Test it all as a collection
Place the mockups side by side and reduce them to a size comparable to a list of titles. Check that each output remains identifiable and that the text hierarchy is stable. Then check each file according to the instructions of the distributor concerned, without assuming that the same export is sufficient everywhere.
Putting this idea into practice
Prepare a main cover and two single variations while maintaining the position of the artist and the typographic family. Change the subject or central detail to give each release its own identity within the same universe.
Before choosing your images
- Common graphic references.
- A variation that says something.
- A check of the whole in small thumbnails.
To prepare your series, also consult how the studio works and packages and their total amounts.
