The document discusses design considerations for album covers. It notes that while cream backgrounds keep the design simple, they can make the cover appear dirty compared to pure white. White backgrounds are recommended to maintain legibility when adding text and keep the image as the bold focal point without being compromised by the color. Shadows in images on a white background can provide more depth than images that look out of place.

1. Album Cover
Backgrounds

2. Cream/off-white
While the colour of these albums keeps
the design simple, the cream makes
them seem to be ‘dirty’ compared to a
pure white cover.
It also allows the images to blend into
the background more than they would
on a white background. I want my image
to be the focus of the cover and poster,
and to not to be compromised by the
choice of background colour.

3. Colour
There are a range of bright and dull
colours used in album art of all genres.
The issue with using any colour other
than white is the reduction in legibility
once text is added to it.
I want to keep the design simple and the
image bold, so lots of colours would
make the design appear too crowded.

4. White
The legibility of the design will not be
altered by the use of a white
background if I use black text.
Plain white looks smoother than colour,
as shown by The XX’s cover (top). The
image added straight to a plain
background makes it appear very crisp.
The RHCP’s album cover contains
shadows, giving it more depth than the
other cover. It may be more effective to
have an image with shadows, rather
than an image that looks out of place.