We’ve talked about cover photos (and cover videos and cover audio) a lot lately, from what’s grabbed our attention at Gumroad HQ to our multiple covers feature. The response has been great, and we’re happy to help. So far it’s been broad strokes, though, so why not get really specific? I mean, we have a killer design team at Gumroad, right?
Team, we can rebuild them. We have the technology. We have the capability to make amazing cover images. Our community will have those images. They will be better than they were before. Better… stronger… with higher conversions.
That’s right. Our design team has volunteered to do makeovers for 25 cover images. If you want to have your cover photo redone, tweet your product URL and #gumroadmakeover. Covers will be chosen by who/what we think can be helped the most and, well, by what strikes the fancy of these delicate geniuses.
So, who are these people—these engineers of imagery? Here’s a little about the designers who you’re entrusting with your work.
What’s your design background (school, work, gigs, etc.)?
I spent my formative years in Chicago, working alongside a few studios, galleries, in-house brands, agencies, freelancers, activists, nerds, writers, and artists. I recently moved to California for the express purpose of experiencing In-N-Out and ridiculous income taxes. Somehow through all that I came out alright.
What is your favorite type of stuff to design?
I like making things that create a moment of happiness for people.
What’s your dream gig?
Currently, it’s designing for a streetwear brand.
What’s your design pet peeve?
People who hire designers but fail to recognize that it’s more than just a job—it’s also a culture, a product, a business decision, and a skill that requires years of trial and error.
For this makeover, what can participants expect from you?
Literally, a better cover photo. Ideally, a better way to think about how design fits into their product and practice.
What’s your design background (school, work, gigs, etc.)?
I’m self-taught. I started teaching myself in 7th grade, freelanced in high school, and have grown from there.
What is your favorite type of stuff to design?
I love designing for mobile, specifically iOS. It’s still so new and untouched in a lot of ways and growing so quickly.
What’s something that anyone could do to improve their aesthetic?
Do more work. Be good at receiving feedback—especially negative feedback. Follow great designers.
For this makeover, what can participants expect from you?
I like to keep it simple. Something clean, minimal, and hopefully super swell to look at.
What’s your design background (school, work, gigs, etc.)?
I studied advertising at Penn State. For the past few years, I’ve done mobile design for apps, including a gifting app called Sesame and a beautiful photo caption app called Tiny Post.
What is your favorite type of stuff to design?
I like to live on the extremes—either making cute illustrations or conjuring a darker side of photography.
What makes you go oh maaan I wish I had done that?
I got pretty obsessed with book covers earlier this year and fell in love with the work of Peter Mendelsund.
What’s your design pet peeve?
When things are designed with the wrong intention. For Humans > For Dribbble.
What’s something that anyone could do to improve their aesthetic?
Find a design you love—a graphic poster, a mobile app, a still from a movie, a video game. Then deconstruct it to figure out why you love it. What elements are drawing the most attention? Why was that decision made? Analyze each piece in isolation to figure out how the individual parts contribute to the overall feeling of the design.
For this makeover, what can participants expect from you?
If you need album work, I’m your gal. People not only judge books by their covers, but also songs and albums. Aside from the familiarly of an artist’s name, it’s often the one thing that differentiates a song before being played. It’s fun to see if you can convey the feeling and story of a song within the cover art. I love manipulating headshots for cover art—a picture where there’s something off or missing that catches your eye.
What’s your design background (school, work, gigs, etc.)?
Before joining Gumroad, I worked on projects that focused on creating immersive content experiences for artists including Eric Church, Little Dragon, Trivium, Beats Antique, and labels including Epitaph Records, EMI Nashville, Loma Vista Recordings, and Concord Music Group. From Valentine’s Day e-card generators for metal bands to a song released through a phone call.
What’s your dream gig?
Working as a creative or in the service of other creatives whose work I love. Oh, hey! Look at that.
What’s your design pet peeve?
When a designer talks more about what they DON’T like than what they DO like when critiquing work.
What’s something that anyone could do to improve their aesthetic?
When I studied jazz in high school, to improve our skills, we were instructed to learn the solos of musicians we admired. The same goes for visual aestetic. Take the work of an person you admire and try and reverse engineer it. Create a clone of something you love visually from scratch—you’ll be amazed at how much you’ll learn. But please please please be sure to only use that work for education purposes.
For this makeover, what can participants expect from you?
Don’t expect anything over the top from me. I like clean lines and good typography. My priority is to create something that solves the problem you’re trying to solve, which is to highlight the quality of your work, charge your audience’s imagination, and create something that you’re excited to show off.
So there’s our team. Rather, there’s your team. If you’d like to have your product’s cover image made over this month, tweet the URL with the hashtag #gumroadmakeover. And we’ll be in touch.