The Album Cover Art for Your Story Competition is an opportunity to celebrate creativity, practice design skills, foster reflection, and showcase your talent! You'll create a digital project exploring one of the following themes. Your challenge is to create an album cover art that embodies the selected theme and incorporates elements of the design prompts. 

The Album Cover Art competition is sponsored by Tulane IT's Innovative Learning Center, Tulane University Libraries, and Adobe Campus Partners. 

Selected Themes:

Design Prompt #1: Back to School

What's your back-to-school soundtrack? Design the album cover for your back-to-school soundtrack using images, text, colors, and all the tools in your Adobe Express template. Create something original and true to you. 

 

Design Prompt #2: Summer Memories

Imagine an album that perfectly matches your summer memories, and design an album cover that best fits. Use images, text, and color in your Adobe Express template to make the perfect cover art for your summer memories album. Create something original and true to you. 

 

Design Prompt #3: The People in My Life

What soundtrack best fits your relationships with the people in your life? Using images, text, and colors in your Adobe Express template, create your own album cover art for the people in your life. Create something original and true to you.

Competition Guidelines

1. Eligibility: Open to all currently enrolled students at Tulane University. 

2. Themes: Choose one of the following themes:

• Back-to-School: What's your back-to-school soundtrack?
• Summer Memories: Capture the mood of your summer in visual form.
• The People in My Life: Design an album cover that reflects your relationships.

3. Design

• All designs must be created in Adobe Express using the album cover template[LH1] .
• Submissions must include images, text, and color elements. 
• Artwork should be original, and all content used in the project should either be created by you or from the Adobe library of licensed content. 
• If you use Adobe Firefly, you'll need to disclose how it was used and the prompt you used to generate the work. 
• Submissions do not need to be directly related to Tulane. Interpret the theme in the way that makes sense to you.

4. File Format & Submission

• Export your design as a JPEG or PNG file. 
• Submit via the Express Yourself: Album Art For Your Story Canvas assignment. 
• File name format: LastName_FirstName_AlbumTitle.png (or .jpeg)

5. Deadline

• Submissions are due September 25, 2025, 11:59 pm to be eligible for the competition.

6. Judging Criteria

• Originality & Creativity (unique, personal design choices)
• Visual Impact (strong use of images, text, and color)
• Theme Connection (how well the design matches the chosen theme)

7. Recognition

• Up to 20 selected designs will be featured in the public art display on the 6th floor of the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library
• Competition winners will be acknowledged in university newsletters & publications
• Prizes will be awarded to one album cover artist from each design theme

Submit Your Art: Adobe Express Album Cover Art Competition

 

Express Inspiration

September 1, 2025

Groove at the Library Book Exhibit (Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, lobby) & Album Cover Art Contest Launches

 

September 15, 2025

Groove at the Libraries Listening Room, HTML 602, 10:00am-4:00pm

This is an in-person only event.

Discover treasures for your ears in crates of LPs from our library collection, specially selected for this event by guest curators. Drop in to room 602 to dig through the crates and listen to albums on one of the LP players. Participants in the Album Cover Design Competition can find inspiration from the many albums available for browsing. Listening room Sept. 15th only.

Express Yourself: Album Cover Art for Your Story, HTML 306, 12:00pm-1:00pm

This is a hybrid event. In-person seating capacity is 30 people. Register for the Zoom link to attend online.

Create your own album cover art with Adobe Express. Although the theme will be album cover art, the graphic design tools in Adobe Express are for everyone. This workshop will teach you how to use tools that even non-experts can use to make professional-looking designs for your business or for fun. Participants in the Album Cover Art Design Competition will definitely want to attend!

 

Published 8/25/2025