No Idea for Your Cover? Answer These Five Questions

Having no idea for the cover is one of the most common places artists get stuck, and it is rarely a lack of imagination. It is usually that nobody has asked the right questions. Answer these five for yourself and a concept tends to assemble on its own.

What is the song about, and what does it feel like?

Start here, because the answer sets the colour and the atmosphere of everything that follows. A track about a bad year and a track about a win do not share a palette.

Do you want to be on the cover yourself?

This is the decision that changes the most. If the answer is yes, keep going: in what position do you want to be shown, and with what expression on your face? Those details are what let a cover actually read as you rather than as a generic figure.

What is happening in the frame?

Action sets the dynamics of the whole piece. A cover where something is taking place gives the viewer something to work out, and that is what holds their eye past the first second.

What are you wearing?

Clothing is a large part of your image. Work out which look suits the song — everything from the shoes to what is on your head.

What is behind you?

The background hides more of the idea than anything else in the frame. It might be a view of your hometown, a highway at night, or a place tied to something that actually happened to you.

Write the answers down

A well-described idea is the thing that most reliably produces a cover you are happy with. Five written answers beat an hour of conversation.