What makes an effective CD cover design?

Question:I'm making a broadway-themed CD cover, and don't know where to start. Any ideas? What makes a CD cover stick out? How can I make it look professional, eye-catching, and creative?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I'm making a broadway-themed CD cover, and don't know where to start. Any ideas? What makes a CD cover stick out? How can I make it look professional, eye-catching, and creative?

Ultimately, you want tocommunicate with your audience effectively. What type of people likme Broadway? Who has also produced broadway themed artwork/design?How was this recieved? What are the shapes of broadway? What are the colours of Broadway? Look at Graphic Design and "grid Layouts" to get hints on profeesional design. HAve a look at colour theory. To be creative, start out with all these ideas, and then use imagination to metaphorically abstarct and twist these ideas. Sometimes a nice simple B+W photo is also nice ha ha!