What is the CD Cover Game?
Originally a popular internet challenge that appeared in the early 2000s, the CD Cover Game is a creative exercise designed to generate a new album cover for a fictional band. It combines three elements: a random Wikipedia article (the band name), a random quotation (the album title), and a random image (the album art).
Some CD Cover Game album covers
A Tool for Graphic Designers Design Students, and Enthusiasts
Sometimes for design students and even seasoned professionals, a blank page can be off-putting. This tool acts as an instant Design Brief Generator. It provides the raw assets you need to practice layout, typography, and composition.
Use any layout software you like. Adobe InDesign or Affinity Studio are excellent choices for professionals, and Canva.com is great for everyone else. (Both Affinity Studio and Canva are entirely free, so what are you waiting for?)
Use this generator to:
- Warm up before starting a major project.
- Teach students about grid systems and text hierarchy without getting stuck on content creation.
- Challenge yourself to create a cohesive visual whole from unrelated random elements.
The Rules
1. The Band: A random Wikipedia article title.2. The Album: The last few words of a random quote.
3. The Art: A random stock photo (safe for commercial use).
4. The Challenge: Download/copy the assets and design the front cover of a CD jewel case (120mm x 120mm).
You must use the text elements and the image that are provided by the Creative Challenge Generator. Reloading to get better titles or a better image is cheating; see what you can manage with what you're given!
