CD cover

[Bayne]

I went to see U2 last year, and we got really close to the stage. It was a great concert. When I got home I put together a list of all their songs in the order of the setlist and made a CD to remind me of the day. I had some fun designing the CD. Here is the front cover. The picture was taken by my friend before the concert, so that was our view....I thought it would make a good cover, because it kind of sets up what is inside, if you know what I mean.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v159/Aus...pg?t=1183174292

[Milo Meningocele]

EDIT: Not cool, my apologies. Nice work.

[Bayne]

hahaha nah.

EDIT: cheers. I responded to your post like..immediatley, lol.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Do you know this site? http://u2torrents.com/

I signed up and looked, but there wasn't a show available for 11/11/2006. There is 11/10 and 11/13 though. I think there is another U2 torrent site. You might want to look around a bit.

Oh, it's all legal too.

[FrankCostanza]

Another good one is http://www.u2start.com.

Lots of bootlegs available including the one for 11 November, 2006.

[Jimmy!]

Nice work...but lose the copperplate.

[Frenchie]

Nice work...but lose the copperplate.

I disagree... In moderation, I think copperplate can work, and in htis case I think it does... (humble NON-Designer opinion)

[Bayne]

What font would you personally use? I looked through an endless list of font styles and finally decided on Copperplate. I think it looks bold and classy. Works for me.

[andrewharrington]

Nice work...but lose the copperplate.

I disagree... In moderation, I think copperplate can work, and in htis case I think it does... (humble NON-Designer opinion)

not only must it be used in moderation, but it must also be used correctly. here, copperplate is not used to best highlight its redeeming factors and hide its flaws and thus, it does not work very well. what i would do here actually is use something really simple. i like the image you have, and a really simple, small line of text sitting somewhere on the cover is all you need. i don't think big and bold is the right direction to go here. i'd try a simple line of helvetica that reads as follows:

U2 VERTIGO TOUR. november 11, 2006. sydney, australia

i'd set that text a bit smaller than the november 11 you currently have on there and place it near the left edge, up in the sky, either in black or red or a combination thereof. if you've ever seen sunny day real estate's pink album, you'll know what i mean when i talk about this kind of simplicity. in fact, here it is.

[Bayne]

Nice work...but lose the copperplate.

I disagree... In moderation, I think copperplate can work, and in htis case I think it does... (humble NON-Designer opinion)

not only must it be used in moderation, but it must also be used correctly. here, copperplate is not used to best highlight its redeeming factors and hide its flaws and thus, it does not work very well. what i would do here actually is use something really simple. i like the image you have, and a really simple, small line of text sitting somewhere on the cover is all you need. i don't think big and bold is the right direction to go here. i'd try a simple line of helvetica that reads as follows:

U2 VERTIGO TOUR. november 11, 2006. sydney, australia

i'd set that text a bit smaller than the november 11 you currently have on there and place it near the left edge, up in the sky, either in black or red or a combination thereof. if you've ever seen sunny day real estate's pink album, you'll know what i mean when i talk about this kind of simplicity. in fact, here it is.

I really appreciate your ideas, and I considered them strongly...but I personally don't think it would work. I think in certain images, the simple one line of small writing can work, but for this image, a bold heading is required. If you just had your idea up the top and maybe to the left, the impact of the CD cover would't be very strong. It would look to floaty on the white background.

[andrewharrington]

bold can work, too, but the way you've executed it does not work. copperplate simply does not work at sizes above 10 points, and its visual style doesn't work with the image and philosophy of U2, as well as the photo you have here. you absolutely need better typography on the cover, and better type usually means simpler type, not only in face but also in layout. you could certainly pull off your layout and size in a good typeface or two, but i would definitely try a handful of other layouts and scales, because this one just isn't interesting, attractive or functional enough for the purpose.

[Bayne]

Hmmmm....fair enough. I'm not really experienced in CD designing (or any real graphic design for that matter), so I kind of struggle to see what you're seeing.....but I value your opinion.

[patsox]

Call me crazy, but IMO Copperplate works here. I just don't like how it is mixed with Times New Roman. That REALLY brings down the classiness that Copperplate SOMETIMES has to offer.

[VC//]

ok you're :censored:in crazy.

[andrewharrington]

Call me crazy, but IMO Copperplate works here. I just don't like how it is mixed with Times New Roman. That REALLY brings down the classiness that Copperplate SOMETIMES has to offer.

you're crazy, and that's NOT times new roman. don't pretend to know what you're talking about.

[Bayne]

^hahaha

Just out of interest, if you had to stick with my current layout, what font would you use instead of the Copperplate?

[Jimmy!]

If you haven't done so, go back and look at U2's album art. Of the 15 albums I've seen, only three of them use any type of serif font. Most use simple fonts like Helvetica or Impact. Try experimenting with several sans serif fonts (Universe and Compacta are good basic fonts, too). Mess with the kerning, leading, position, color. Heck, look at some font websites and give that a try.

You've got a good concept going. Pair it with the right font, and you'll have something really strong.

[andrewharrington]

one of my all time faves is trade gothic. the bold and bold no.2 weights are particularly good for big headlines like your U2 there and your SYDNEY. others i like for that kind of thing are interstate (you see it on the highway signs), engravers' gothic, gotham, mostly fonts that are really simple, functional designs. clean lines, very geometric, very bold and powerful letterforms. i usually use the light weights of a font for text and less important details, like the date in this case. actually just today i fell in love with meta, another great font.