In 2017 the prolific gospel group, The Blind Boys of Alabama, reached out to Amazon Music to release their final album. “Almost Home” is a combination of original songs and covers. As the lead designer for Amazon Music Originals, I was asked to design the artwork. The imagery was captured by renowned photographer, Jim Herrington. Before the photoshoot, I requested that he get a shot with all of the members grouped closely together, as I already had a composition in mind.

The album was recorded in four different studios, by four different famous producers. The band’s management team wanted that information included on the CD’s track list, which posed an interesting design challenge. 

When the album was nominated for a GRAMMY, Amazon Music decided to press vinyl. I reconfigured the designs for the CD packaging to fit the specs for the vinyl packaging.

I wanted the sicker on the B-side of the album to be the illustration of the stain glass window that I designed for the back plate of the the CD package, so I needed to find a creative way to put the full track list on side A. Since the album is about going to heaven, I called the sides “This Side” and “The Other Side.”

I used another photo from the shoot in the church and more lines to bring visual interest to the insert.