Though the music and the content of your album is all-important, the sleeve-design comes in a close second. The easiest and most obvious thing to do is to have a few photos taken, pick the best one and plonk it on the cover with your name and the title of the album. Is this enough? Maybe if you are Ricky Nelson or Linda Ronstadt - yes! However, most of us aren't as lucky in the Handsome Stakes. In the days of the vinyl L.P., the 12-inch 'canvas' was loved by artists, photographers and graphic designers alike. Their work could be on show to the public in record-shops throughout the world, for six months or more. It's not as easy with a CD because of its size but the challenge to make an impression is even greater.

What album cover stands out most in the minds of the public? Almost certainly, it won't be one with a straightforward photograph of a singer or a band. Some of The Beatles' sleeves became icons in their own right. Artist/photographer Peter Blake came up with the idea of dressing the Fab Four in colourful uniforms (as the Lonely Hearts Club Band) and surrounded them by wax models and cardboard cutouts of many famous people such as Karl Marx, Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, W.C. Fields, Edgar Allen Poe, Dylan Thomas, Marlon Brando and Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy. They followed this on 'Revolver' with a stark black & white montage including line-drawings by their friend, Klaus Voorman.
Abbey Road is possibly even more iconic than either of two above. Anyone could put a photo of a 4-piece band on a cover but this one is special. The four simply walked across the zebra-crossing outside their recording-studio at Abbey Road in St. John's Wood, London and Iain Macmillan took the photograph. He was given only ten minutes to take the photos from which one would be selected! Right, so you're going for a photograph, a montage or perhaps an illustration. U2's War cover shows how simple ideas can often be the best ones. A close-up mono photograph, not of the band or any member of the band, but of a young boy (Peter Rowan).
Two more brilliant designs, this time inspired by two well-known brands, 'Players' cigarettes and 'Ogden's' tobacco. These days, one would have to get written permission from the owners of a trade-mark to use it in a design but it might be worth thinking about. After all, it's free advertising for their product in a roundabout way. What we can see so far is that the best album covers all have one thing in common - they're different. Do you still want to line the band up against the nearest wall and get your little sister to take some photos?!
Feminists probably won't agree with me but to me, this is a classic piece of sleeve-design by Average White Band designer Laurence Hoadley.  He cleverly suggests the middle letter of 'AWB' with a model on a scaffold.  The photo on the right from Joe Jackson's 'Look Sharp' sleeve is very effective and suggests a sharp dresser. Notice how small the lettering is so as not to take from the photo. Brian Griffin was the photographer and Michael Ross was the designer.
Ever thought of putting one of your own paintings on your CD cover? One man who did was Cat Stevens with 'Tea For The Tillerman' and 'Teaser and The Firecat'. If you or a band-member is artistic, why not consider this option?
The 'jigsaw' idea works very well on a 12 x 12" L.P. cover but can look a bit tight on the smaller 5 x 5" CD insert/cover. Remember, an L.P. cover is 5.75 times bigger than a CD! As well as being The Rolling Stones guitarist, Ron Wood is an established artist in his own right and in his excellent  'Gimme Some Neck' cover, he uses his artistic talent to good effect. On the other hand, The Jam's 'Sound Affects' cover looks bland and cluttered.
Design - or lack of it? The Beatles' 1968 double-album became known as The White Album because of it's minimalist white cover with 'THE BEATLES' embossed on the front. Someone had to follow it with The Black Album and Prince was one who did in 1987 but The Beatles, as they often were, were first.
Two covers, similar in composition but poles apart in quality. Linda Ronstadt's is a pun on the proverb, 'You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear' is a beautiful photograph while the one on the right is just obnoxious and in very poor taste.
Another option is to 'frame' your cover with the frame being part of the cover. 'Talking Heads' did this with 'Naked', their last album in 1988,   album while Chick Corea portrayed the Mad Hatter on the cover of his 1978 album. Personally, I think the former is a poor design while the latter is far better.
One of the main aims of a designer is to have his/her work noticed. One way of doing that is to have it banned! This has happened on a number of occasions and here we can see some album covers which were immediately banned but succeeded in attracting massive publicity for the record/CD. The respective record companies re-issued all three with a new cover. The toilet was covered with a poster in the first one, Roxy Music, in protest, re-issued with a photo of the ferns where the girls had been lying and Capitol in USA used a new photo of The Beatles. All three originals are keenly collected worldwide.
. . . and finally, two of the worst album covers of all time! Surely some good friend would have told Bob Dylan that he just can't paint when he decided to use his self-portrait in 1970. Not surprisingly, the album was a huge flop. And who told Fabio that people actually enjoy looking at his bare chest? Is there anything more sickening than a vain man?!