CD-19

Instructions: Please read all of the following information carefully:

Create a new folder on your “My Documents on daisy” student folder, call it “lastname_CD.” All of the work for this CD will be saved into this folder and the folder will be submitted for grading. Download the file called "CD_Cover_Template.PSD" and save it into your Lastname_CD folder. Open this file in Photoshop.

This CD is a “mini project” which will allow you to demonstrate all of the skills that you have learned over the year. It is primarily a “Graphic Design Process” exercise, but please make sure to incorporate as much of your learning as you can into the project:

• Filters • Blending Options • Fills
• Layer Blends • Attach Text to Path • Cutting Objects from Backgrounds
• Shapes • Strokes • Image Adjustments
• Patterns • Gradients • Transformations

In addition, I would like to see evidence of the various Visual Communications exercises which we did this year, as well as some of the “History of Graphic Design” problems completed this semester.

THE PROJECT:

You are a graphic designer and you have been given the opportunity to create the CD graphics for a new album. Before you get started, you should review the following information regarding your album:

Genre: Rock
Artist: We Came As Romans
Album Title: "To Plant a Seed"
Short Review:

Songs like “Roads That Don't End and Views That Never Cease” bring out the band's metal side, beginning with choppy rhythms and riffs that run all over the fretboard, whereas tracks like “Beliefs” effectively show their pop song writing skills. The band doesn't let up through the album's duration; there simply isn't a bad song out of the ten. “Intentions,” “Dreams,” and “I Will Not Reap Destruction” are all stand-out tracks, in fact. What plagues the band, however, is that the majority aren't memorable. The songs run together after a while, but do hold their own individually. Another issue I have with the album is that when the band attempts to make a moment heavier, they sometimes turn to the tritone breakdown. While this technique was innovative a few years ago with bands like Norma Jean, it has simply become watered-down and screams, “We couldn't think of anything heavier to write, so we did this.”

To Plant a Seed is a fantastic album that is hopefully able to plant a seed in the band's decaying music genre, as well as be the first of many from We Came As Romans. They certainly have the musicianship, song-writing skills, and let's face it, the image necessary to get even bigger than they already have. Be sure to keep your eyes open for this band in the future, and if you're looking for a positive and refreshing album from the post-hardcore realm, look no further.
Sound clips from your album:

-Clip #1: Dreams

-Clip #2: I Will Not Reap Destruction
Song Listing:

1. To Plant a Seed
2. Broken Statues
3. Intentions
4. Roads That Don't End and Views That Don't Change
5. Dreams
6. We Are the Reasons
7. Beliefs
8. I Will Not Reap Destruction
9. Searching, Seeking, Reaching, Always
10. An Ever-Growing Wonder

Production Company: ©2009, Equal Vision Records, Inc.

NOTE: I HIGHLY recommend that you do not look up the actual graphics of this album, or if you are familiar with the album, put the graphics out of your mind, as preconceived notions will make this assignment MORE difficult, not easier.

To start, download this template file for your CD graphics and save it in to your “lastname_CD” folder. You will be creating your CD cover on this Photoshop file.

You will be creating the following for your CD graphics:
1. A nice typographic representation of the Group or Artist’s name, as well as a typographic representation of the title of the Album (these SHOULD NOT look the same!) Create these two graphics on separate files and copy them into your CD project when needed. Please save these two files as .JPGs into your “lastname_CD” folder.
2. Graphics for the front cover of the CD (and possibly continuing onto the back cover, as well) which fit the mood and theme of the Album. This is where much of your Graphic talent with Photoshop will come in. Use your blending, cutout and filter skills here! Feel free to get images from the Internet, as needed, to bring about your graphic. Remember, the Template is the outside border of your CD, do not go over it!
3. Text for the spine of the CD which includes the Group or Artist’s Name and the title of the CD.
4. Graphics for the back of the CD which follow a similar theme to the CD. On the back of the album, you will include the Song Listing.
5. Include the production company information on the back of the CD as well.
6. Place your Artist and CD Title graphics onto the cover of your CD as you see fit to enhance the look of the work.

When you have completed your design, please save the work as a .JPG file and place it into your “lastname_CD” folder. Using “My Computer,” COPY your “lastname_CD” folder to the class drop box on the M: Drive. (If necessary, see highlandtechnology.org FAQ page regarding this step)