Look at other albums for inspiration. A list of the top 100 album covers as rated by Rolling Stone Magazine in 1991 is listed in the resources section. Compare the images to the music on the albums.
Find a photograph or image that portrays the theme of your album. You can look anywhere for inspiration, including others' artwork, book covers, everyday objects, or even nature.
Open your image or photograph on the computer. Open the image in basic photo editing software. Photoshop or Illustrator work well for this task but can be expensive. Otherwise, you can download free programs online such as GIMP.
Crop the photo and resize it to fit your CD case. The size of a standard jewel case is 12.3 cm x 14.2 cm x 0.9 cm.
Include text in the document and write the album title and band name. Think about placement of the name and title, and consult other albums to see the layout. Think about the font and how it represents the band and relates to the overall album design. Play around with different ideas until you find one you like.
Repeat the process for the back cover. Insert a text box. Write the track listings and details of the album. Include details of band members, recording location, producer and writing credits.