Visual (graphic and web) design in the music industry is about identity. Who you are, and your product or service must be well represented.

What your audience, potential customer or client can expect to hear, feel, experience, or achieve must also be successfully communicated.

A talented visual communications professional understands the power of typography and images, and knows how to use them creatively to meet these expectations. The best creative professional for your project is well-trained, familiar with your industry and your target market, and makes design decisions based on accomplishing specific objectives you have identified. One of the primary objectives is selling your music to consumers, or music industry professionals (e.g., securing a producer, record label or distributor through a demo).

Have you ever purchased a CD solely based on the cover design, or been attracted to an artist, band, producer or record label based on their logo, poster or web site? If so, the designer has succeeded.

Design plays a part in purchase decisions. When browsing for CDs, choices are made. People usually pick up what visually attracts them and then look at the listed songs, unless they are looking for a specific artist or title. This process is the way a person gets a feel for the CD artist, mood, and message; and ultimately, hopes to be satisfied that the CD delivers what the design and titles suggest.

The first time I purchased music based on the design was in 1977, by the group Caldera. The album cover had a colorful picture of a volcano (caldera) erupting, and I got the feeling the music by this group would erupt as potently as that volcano. As it turned out, the Latin-jazz fusion album did. It was their debut album and the cover design got me to buy it.

More recently, I bought two CDs: Count Basic (www.countbasic.com), "Trust Your Instincts" (see Figure 1), and Marilyn Scott, "Avenues of Love" (see Figure 2). On the Count Basic cover, what grabbed me was the woman's face bolstered by the low cut dress she wore showcasing her significant cleavage, and a man behind her giving two major thumbs up! I wanted to be that woman. As for Marilyn Scott, she is standing alone on a rocky shore, looking pensively at the ground, barefooted, wearing what looks like a full-length camel hair coat. The image paired with the title created an appealing pensive and serene mood, and I was stirred to buy it.

I'm totally pleased with both purchases though they're quite different. Chalk up two more sales due to an art director, photographer, and graphic designer working as a team to successfully well-reflect an energy, style, essence, tone, and message to me about the artist and the music.

Let the Music Take Your Mind

Music is not defined as visual art, but sound does create mental imagery. One of the reasons I'm not glued to MTV, VH1 or other music video networks, is that I prefer to give my mind complete freedom to conjure its own images in response to music. Music package design (CD, VHS, DVD) is a hors d'oeuvre, an invitation, and a precursor to a total sound experience - perhaps a journey. When you work with a designer, it's important to share the imagery in your mind to help the art direction along.

It's also good for the art director and/or designer to listen to the music, so there's a healthy amount of imagery to feed the creative process. Between the two, a wealth of visual ideas will emerge. Music videos have multiple images to help sell an artist and the music. A CD, poster, logo, or web site doesn't have as many visual chances, so it's important to get it right with fewer visual opportunities.

Count the ways

Music professionals use graphic design in specific ways and have definite ideas about what they want the designs to accomplish.

Neil Alexander is primarily a performer/composer, but is also active in engineering, production and programming, and has P-Dog Records, a small independent record label he uses to release his own discs.

Alexander has a logo, stationery, CD packaging for his releases, packaging for a CD business card, posters to launch new releases (see Figure 3), press releases, and a web site from which people can purchase directly.

"I have always found that how CD packaging looks is a big part of its impact, its connection with the listener.” Alexander said. “Logos and other symbols can become part of the performer's identity. It is in my case. As with any business, consistent graphics help define the company's image and products for the consumer.”

As for a strong web site, a solid web presence is very important these days, Alexander said.

“Information (text, audio and visual) must be well organized and clearly presented,” he said. “I found it desirable to hire a professional designer to put together a simple and easily-navigated web site.”

That web site is www.pdogrecords.com.

Sweet Sight of Success

When working with a designer, there are definite criteria to use for assessing quality and success. There are well-established design industry factors for every product: logos, posters, CDs, business cards and stationery, advertising, and web sites.

These are some of the main criteria to help judge a design's success:

1) It must be unified with the product or service's content or identity. This creates a sense of family, of belonging, and it's immediately apparent;

2) There's an information and visual hierarchy. This means there's a focal point or image that grabs your attention first, and then your eye is led around the design in the order of what's important sequentially;

3) The design has graphic impact and is distinctive and/or memorable. There are many designs competing with yours for attention (lots of demos are sent out to producers, record labels and distributors), so yours must be a major contender; and

4) It must be appropriate for who you want to attract and the environment in which it will be presented. A poster or CD for a country audience will not have the same look and feel presentation as for a heavy metal one.

Who can forget the strong identity between the Rolling Stones and that bright, red tongue sticking out logo? It's a very powerful example of a highly successful pictorial visual logo. The logo formats are logotype, initials, pictorial visual, abstract visual, and combination, and a well-trained designer is knowledgeable about them all. The Stones logo has graphic impact, is distinctive and memorable, and is appropriate for its rock audience.

For a web site, success is measured by whether your goals for establishing it are being met. Does it reflect your identity? Are you making sales? Is your visibility increasing? Is it easy for users to navigate and locate what they want? Are there lively and beneficial discussions or information being shared? Are people returning multiple times to your site?

Once you and the designer decide on the success criteria for your project, the real fun begins: designing it.

The Design Process: What You Can Expect

Professional art directors and designers have processes to assist them creatively. In terms of process, there will be an initial consultation during which lots of questions are asked.

Some design studios may use a creative brief form. The questions on the form are designed to crystallize and solidify your identity and vision, so you and the designer are clear about it. Both get a copy, and sometimes you'll be asked to sign it to approve the accuracy before concept development production begins. You'll be asked to sign a contract and to return it with a retainer. A retainer is a portion of the total cost for the project that must be paid up front before any work begins.

The first thing you'll see is a thumbnail: anywhere from 4-10 tiny creative ideas sketched out. You'll review them and choose one or two on which the designer will focus and create more detailed drawings called rough compositions. Sometimes, if a designer feels very secure about the creative direction of your project, the thumbnail stage will be bypassed, and you'll first see about three roughs.

The roughs may be hand-drawn as closely as possible to what a final version would be (see Figure 4), or they might be created on the computer.

You review the roughs, and choose one to be developed further (see Figure 5). You may receive up to three versions and you choose your favorite: it will be your final design. The designer will work with you to fine-tune it.

Once you approve it, it is ready to be printed. If it's a web design, it will be implemented and programmed. You pay the balance due, and the process is complete.

Budget, Low Budget, No Budget

Pricing for different types of projects can range vastly depending upon the business structure and the length of time the business has been operating. The business can be a design studio, freelance or consultant, or a print shop franchise like Kinko's and have years of experience or be newly established in the industry.

If you're interested in reviewing industry standard fees for graphic design, web design, or illustration, take a hike to Barnes and Noble bookstore and glance through the "Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines," published by The Graphic Artist's Guild of America. It's the creative professional's bible, and includes everything you always wanted to know about fees, contracts, copyright, and other professional issues.

The fees quoted are based on nationwide surveys distributed to creative professionals. Standard fees are not cheap. The visual communications creative field is a highly valued, for-profit industry, so fees reflect our need to make a living at what we do. When someone gives you an estimate, make sure it details every service being provided to justify the cost.

When the estimate is too rich for your blood, there are other options to consider. A few include:

1) Supply your own photos and/or illustrations (see Figure 6). Photography and illustration are specialties requiring additional compensation;

2) Personally coordinate printing and CD or other types of duplication. Time is money so coordinating printing for your project and getting your CD duplicated will cost you more;

3) Barter for pro bono service. Designers may reduce the fee or work for free if you'll do some things for us in return;

4) Contact your local college or university and request a referral to a recent graduate or current senior student. There are some extremely talented young people who are eager to get client experience and build their portfolio; or

5) Explore a business-education partnership project relationship (see www.portfolios.com/pursuitgallery).

Who are you? Whom do you want to attract? What do you want to accomplish? A marriage between sight and sound can only have a positive impact on your career. Successful visual design is the key.

A discussion group has been established on Yahoo for any questions or comments you may have about this article or experiences you want to share. Additional resource information concerning some points made here is provided. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/musicgraphicdesign.

Image credits: Art Direction and Design by Lawrence Azzerad.

Photography by Michael Haber (Figure 1); Art Direction and Design by Helmut R. Nowak. Photography by Gunther Parth (Figure 2); Art Direction by Valerie Michele Hoskins & Robert Nemser. Design by Robert Aydelotte (Figure 3); Art Direction by Valerie Michele Hoskins. Design by Christine Warchola (Figure 4); Art Direction by Valerie Michele Hoskins. Design by Christine Warchola (Figure 5); Art Direction by The Pursuit Studio. Design by Midnight Pupil Media. Photography by The Pursuit Studio (Figure 6).