Album cover art that looks professionally art-directed, not AI-generated

Design [genre] album cover art for [ARTIST NAME] — album title "[ALBUM TITLE]". The music sounds like [REFERENCE ARTIST/SONG or a 5-word sonic description].

Mood: [moody / euphoric / raw / melancholic / aggressive].
Central image: [ONE strong concept or visual metaphor — not the artist\'s face unless you have a strong reason]. This single image must carry the entire cover at thumbnail size (300×300px on Spotify).
Composition: square format, strong focal point in the center or rule-of-thirds intersection. Keep the top 20% and bottom 15% relatively clean — this is where the artist name and album title will sit in post-production. Avoid fine detail in these zones.
Style: [choose ONE direction matched to genre]:
  • Hip-hop/rap: bold graphic shapes, high contrast, saturated or monochrome, maximalist energy
  • Indie/folk: analog film texture, muted earth tones, generous negative space, imperfect/organic
  • Electronic/dance: abstract geometry, neon gradients, chromatic light leaks, futuristic surfaces
  • R&B/soul: warm cinematic lighting, rich skin tones, soft bokeh, intimate framing
  • Rock/metal: gritty texture, dramatic chiaroscuro, desaturated with one accent color
  • Pop: clean, bright, bold color blocking, playful composition
Color palette: [2–3 specific colors, e.g. "deep burgundy, gold, and black"].
The image should feel like a deliberate artistic statement, not a collage of ideas. One concept, fully committed. --ar 1:1 --s 750 --q 2

Workflow after generation:
1. Generate 4 variations → pick the strongest composition.
2. Upscale to at least 3000×3000px (Spotify requires minimum 3000×3000 for best quality; print needs 300 DPI at 12"×12" = 3600×3600).
3. Add typography in a vector editor (Figma, Illustrator, or Canva). Place artist name top, album title bottom. Use a typeface that matches the genre energy. Do NOT bake text into the AI image — it will be blurry and misspelled.
4. Export: RGB sRGB JPEG for streaming platforms, CMYK TIFF for physical print.

Tip: the #1 mistake is cramming too many ideas into one cover. The most iconic album art in history (Dark Side of the Moon, Unknown Pleasures, Blonde) uses ONE image, committed fully. If you can\'t describe your concept in 5 words, simplify it.