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SECTION 13 - NATIONAL RECORD STORE DAY PROMO

Student Goal:

Concept and design are a critical part of the design world, whether it is an illustration for a children’s book or an advertisement. Students tend to oversee the potential for this kind of thinking and development. Good habits in creative development are key to success. The goal of this assignment is to create a series of tasks in Adobe Illustrator that utilize the benefits of Vector based artwork

PART ONE - BRAINSTORMING AND RESEARCH

INSTRUCTIONS

Research and Brainstorming. You are responsible to develop the idea for your album. Fill out the provided submission form to the instructor.

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  1. Research and develop your album idea

  2. Fill out and submit the "Artist Submission Form" on the right

 

Take a look at new vinyl records as well as classic designs from famous artists. This is the time to think of what genre/artist you're going to focus on. You have a variety of choices:

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  • Hip-Hop/Rap

  • Classic/Hard Rock/Metal

  • R&B/Blues

  • Pop/Top 40

  • Etc, Etc

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You must also consider the type of album:

  • A greatest hits album  

  • A follow-up to an existing album

  • Rare tracks/B-sides

  • Theme album (Live recording/Concept/Soundtrack/Holiday or Party)

SPECIFICATIONS

  1. You will create an image for the front of the album. It should include the band name on it.

  2. You will also create a design for the back of the album. The design can carry over from the front or be different. For example, the band can be on the front and the back can have pictures at the concert hall/studio where they recorded the album.

  3. You must have a song list that includes an "A" and "B" side. 4 to 6 songs for each side will do fine.

  4. In addition to creating the front and back of your album, you also need to create a record sleeve that the record fits into to prevent scratches.

  5. The theme of the sleeve should be the same as the front and back of the album and you want to have a record near or coming out of the sleeve to show what it's for.

  6. Do not copy the front of your album and paste it on the sleeve!

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DOWNLOAD FORM

PART TWO - ALBUM AND SLEEVE DESIGN

INSTRUCTIONS

Once you have your idea, it's time to design. Create your album designs using Photoshop, Illustrator, and even hand-drawn images that can be scanned in. You can also use Photography to combine with other mediums. You are only limited by your imagination. YOU MUST USE AT LEAST 2 MEDIUMS. For example:

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  • You can use a drawing scanned into Photoshop and add filters to the images (drawing + computer)

  • Finding images online and bringing them into Photoshop or Illustrator to draw on top of (photo + Illustrator)

  • You can take photographs and do creative effects in Photoshop (photo + Photoshop)

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SPECIFICATIONS:

  • The Album front and back and Inner Sleeve sizes are 12"X12" inches square @ 150dpi

  • Use the Photoshop templates located at the bottom under "Resources"

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ITEMS TO SUBMIT

Album Cover Front Design

  1. Album Back Cover Design

  2. Inner Album Sleeve Design

  3. Record label Design

  4. Song list

PART THREE - ALBUM LAYOUT & STORE POSTER DESIGN

INSTRUCTIONS

Take your various designs and create a final presentation with all of your pieces on one document. Be creative, maybe you can find pictures of record shops or record players on a table to put into your final design. Search the Internet to look for images to use for your final presentation:

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  • Record Shop Storefronts 

  • The inside of a record store

  • A picture of your room taken at home

  • A model holding the record

  • Incorporate headphones, stereo, speakers, etc.

  • This link has some great ideas for possible layouts:

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SPECIFICATIONS:

  1. The poster design is on 11"X17" paper and MUST be VERTICAL. The file size is 11"X17" @150dpi

  2. The album layout is 17X11" HORIZONTAL @ 150dpi

  3. Stock Images can be pulled from the Web and need to be at least 700 pixels wide or high

  4. The poster MUST show the latest National Record Day with the date. This can be found on the Record Store Day website below. This poster will promote your album being released on this day

  5. Your album design needs to be on the poster

  6. Photoshop may be used to enhance the photo's you take or get from the Internet

  7. Combine your designs into one final presentation on an 11"X17" paper. The file size is 11"X17" @150dpi.

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ITEMS TO SUBMIT

National Record Store Day Poster Promoting Your Album

  • The final layout of the Album Front,

  • Back, Album Sleeve, a

  • Record with label on one piece of paper. SEE THE IMAGES ON RIGHT

Guardians vinyl layout.jpg

PART FOUR - RECORD STORE DAY PROMOTIONAL VIDEO

INSTRUCTIONS

Take your complete album design and make a 60-second video that features it for National Record Store Day. 

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SPECIFICATIONS:

  1. The video is 60 Seconds

  2. Features the album you made

  3. Promotes National Record Store Day

  4. Needs to have the date of the event, which can be found on the Record Store Day website.
  5. Needs to have the link to the Record Store Day website: https://recordstoreday.com/
  6. You need to pick a local record store where the album can be purchased. You can pick anywhere you want

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FINISHED STUDENT EXAMPLES

RESOURCES

ARTIST 

SUBMISSION

FORM

 

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NATIONAL

RECORD STORE

DAY WEBSITE

 

ALBUM PROJECT

TEMPLATES

 

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PROJECT 

RUBRIC

 

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PROJECT 

CHECKLIST

 

Student Objective:

After completion of the lecture and the class exercises, the students will develop a complete design package for the album along with a promotional video to promote the album to be sold on National Record Store Day. Billboards, t-shirts, and poster designs will also accompany the promotional materials.

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Lesson/Project Overview Here:

After completion of the lecture and the class exercises, the students will develop a complete design package that consists of an Album front and back cover, inner, sleeve, and record label. If time allows students will have the opportunity to create a 60-second promotional radio spot with a voice-over recording and original music from the artist. The use of titles and music will also be used for the video. Music can be pulled from the Internet and mixed together to create an album song list

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Lesson/Project Task List:

​201 Use graphic software to create, format, and edit documents. 

202 Change application settings and manage files within a graphic software application. 

203 Prepare files for appropriate output.

207 Use a bitmap-based application.

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Total Hours To Complete:

(10 Days - 20 Hours)

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