The Album Cover Project: Every great album begins before you press play. Before the first lyric, the opening chord, or the song you inevitably replay until it loses all meaning, there is an image — a first glimpse into the world the artist has created. Hosted by Her Campus at MUJ, The Album Cover Project is a national-level online creative competition inviting students from across India to imagine, design, and create an original album cover entirely from scratch. There is no prescribed theme. No aesthetic to follow. No genre to imitate. No creative box to squeeze yourself into. Instead, we're giving you the blank square. Create the album that exists only in your imagination — and then design the cover that would make someone want to hear it. The Brief: Your Album. Your World.: Maybe your album is an indie record about a summer that changed everything. Maybe it is bubblegum pop dipped in glitter and bad decisions. Maybe it is a haunting concept album about grief, a jazz record from another decade, a Bollywood-inspired love story, an underground rap mixtape, an experimental electronic record from 2086, or an album consisting entirely of songs that would play during the apocalypse. There are no thematic restrictions. You decide the artist. You decide the album. You decide the genre. You decide the story. You decide what its world looks like. Your submission should function as the official cover artwork for a fictional album conceptualized by you. It may be photographic, illustrative, typographic, abstract, collage-based, surreal, minimalist, maximalist, or something we haven't thought of yet. We're not looking for six different versions of an album that already exists. We're looking for the one that doesn't exist until you make it. What Can You Submit? Unlike our open-medium creative competitions, The Album Cover Project is centered specifically around visual design and album artwork. Your final submission must be presented as a square album cover. You may create your artwork using: Graphic Design Digital Illustration Traditional Artwork Original Photography Typography Physical or Digital Collage Mixed Media Any combination of the above Experiment with composition, photography, illustration, texture, type, color, symbolism, visual storytelling, or whatever else your fictional album demands. The Concept Note: An album cover becomes much more interesting when we know what we're supposedly listening to. Along with your artwork, submit a short Concept Note of up to 150 words explaining: Album Title: What is your fictional album called? Artist Name: Who supposedly created it? This may be your own name, an alias, or a completely fictional artist. Genre: What would the album sound like? Concept: What is the story, idea, emotion, or world behind the album — and how does your cover represent it? The concept note is not an essay. Think of it as giving the judges the imaginary record before they put their headphones on. What's in It for You? Because if we're making fictional albums, the recognition should at least be very real. All participants will receive Certificates of Participation or Excellence, recognizing the creativity, conceptual thinking, and visual storytelling behind their submissions. Judging Criteria: Your album cover will be evaluated on: Creativity & Originality Conceptual Depth Visual Storytelling Composition & Layout Typography & Design Execution Aesthetic Impact Connection Between the Cover and Album Concept Overall Technical Execution A visually beautiful cover alone isn't necessarily the strongest cover. We're looking for artwork that makes us wonder: "What does this album sound like?" Judging will be conducted by Her Campus at MUJ's Executive Committee. All decisions made by the judging panel will be final and confidential. Rules & Guidelines: The competition is open to school and college students across India. Each participant may submit one final album cover. Entries must be original and created by the participant. The album itself must be fictional and originally conceptualized for this competition. Participants may not redesign, recreate, or submit alternate artwork for an existing album. Existing artists, bands, albums, logos, or copyrighted album artwork may not be used as the primary concept of the submission. AI-generated artwork or imagery is strictly prohibited. Plagiarism, tracing, or substantial replication of another artist's work will result in immediate disqualification. Original photography used within the artwork must be clicked by the participant. Third-party stock images, copyrighted illustrations, or uncredited visual assets are not permitted. Fonts, brushes, textures, and standard design resources may be used where their respective licenses permit. Entries may include text in English, Hindi, or another Indian language, where relevant to the concept. Only individual submissions are permitted. Group entries will not be accepted. Content must be non-offensive, inclusive, and respe