One of my current projects is a CD design for “Xerox The Clouds,” a compelling collaboration of spoken word and improvised cello from poet Susan Hoover and cellist Sera Smolen. The tracks were recorded by legendary producer Julie Last.

For the artwork, the clients provided images from old magazines that had been run through a color photocopier. I scanned some of the images and together we chose one for the cover and interior panels behind the text.

The clients have chosen a standard, clear jewel case with a full-color tray card and a 4-panel insert. I recommended mixonic.com for the short run manufacturing. Mixonic is an affordable CD manufacturer with an easy-to-use web interface. Their templates are .psd files. Artwork files must formatted as psd files at 300ppi, so the final layout must be done in Photoshop. But first I bring the template into InDesign and layout the text over it. Then I export the .idd to a pdf file, which I place as a layer in Photoshop, where I can also manipulate the images.