JW's NOTES

On our most recent episode of the Judged by the Cover podcast, Phil and I sat down and walked through the nominees. We already knew who won but we were interested in the bigger question: What does this first class of nominees tell us about where cover art is headed...?

Starting a podcast can feel overwhelming, especially when you fall down the rabbit hole of gear videos, reviews, and people arguing online about what microphone is “right.”

Every year on Judged by the Cover, we take an episode to look back at the music, design, and physical releases that stood out most. The Best of 2025 episode was all about reflection — not just on great albums, but on the artwork, packaging, and cultural shifts that shaped the year in music.

This year brought big life changes, unexpected challenges, creative wins, and moments where it felt like time completely slipped through my fingers. It’s honestly wild to be sitting here at the end of the year wondering how we already made it to the New Year and realizing there are still things I wanted to do that I never quite got to. But that’s life. And that’s running a creative business.

What makes a Christmas movie truly unforgettable? Is it the sparkling lights, the heartfelt stories — or is it the music that follows us from living room speakers to local shopping malls, and straight into our collective cultural memory?

In this episode of Judged by the Cover, Phil Hyland takes us on a nostalgic journey through his musical past. He shares the story behind "Reel to Real," a collection of 90s demo recordings recently brought back to life. Josh from JW Creates details the creative process behind the album artwork, incorporating weathered textures and Phil's handwriting to capture the essence of the era.

The short answer: Podnooga is a creative community built for podcasters, content creators, and the people who support them. But the real story runs a little deeper—and it’s closely tied to my own journey as a creator and the work I do at JW Creates.

While Aaron and I were chatting about my recent takeover of PodNooga — a growing podcast network dedicated to elevating creative voices in the Chattanooga area — he mentioned a poetry event he had in the works. Initially, he just needed help figuring out how to record the event. But once I heard his vision, I realized I had everything needed to help bring it to life — from gear and production experience to the creative fire to help shape its visual identity....

When it comes to building a recognizable brand—whether you’re a musician, podcaster, or content creator—your cover art is one of your most powerful tools. It’s not just decoration. It’s a statement.

Have you ever stumbled upon a musical treasure that completely caught you off guard? That's exactly what happened on the latest episode of the Judged by the Cover podcast. Hosts Josh and Phil embarked on an exciting journey of music discovery, proving that sometimes the best finds come from the most unexpected places.

Let’s be real: there are plenty of good reasons why artists, bands, and podcasters choose to DIY their cover art. Budgets are tight. You're trying to get your content out into the world quickly. And sometimes, it feels like slapping something together in Canva or Photoshop is “good enough.”

"From Zero" is more than just a catchy title - it represents Linkin Park's courageous decision to rebuild after the tragic loss of Chester..

Ever wondered how a simple black square became one of rock's most iconic album covers? In the latest episode of the Judged by the Cover podc

Art is incredibly subjective—what resonates with one person might not land the same way with another. That’s part of what makes cover art...

On this episode of Judged by the Cover podcast, Josh and Phil take a deep dive into the standout album covers, physical packaging, and unfor

One day your videos are trending, and the next, your audience can’t find you. It’s a stark reminder that while social platforms are....

In this festive episode of Judged by the Cover, we’re diving into a few unexpected Christmas albums—the ones you didn’t see coming!

Since January 2024, I've had the pleasure of welcoming my good friend Phil Hyland as the co-host of the Judged by the Cover podcast....

In this episode, we explore Crashing Dream by Rain Parade, a lesser-known band that holds a special place in Phil's heart.

Panelists are presented with and judge 4 different album covers, each with its unique story and artistic elements.

In the world of podcasts, a couple of small things can make a huge impact for a show....

Dark Side of the Moon is instantly recognizable. It's a testament to the power of great design and its ability to transcend time.

Come hang out with Josh and Phil as we celebrate Record Store Day 2024.

For musicians, bands, and podcasters, one powerful tool for capturing attention and enticing new listeners is often overlooked...

Go on a journey with us as we discover an amazingly fun album and band by doing some curiosity buying solely based on the cover art!

To kick off this new season, I thought it would be fun to look at some of our favorite album covers, physical packaging, and music from 2023

There is no shortage of Christmas albums…covering everything from traditional hymns to some of pop cultures finest trying to create music...

A special interview episode of the Judged by the Cover podcast, and this time it is with a great friend of mine Brent Crowe!

Pre-made cover art is pre-designed cover options, that are partially customizable with your artist name, your track name, and some allow pho

On todays episode we are going to be looking at an album cover with a little controversy to it.

If you are a band, musician, or a podcaster...you might be asking yourself can I design my own cover art...? I think my answer might surpris

be discusses his new signal Brave the Storm, an upcoming 2 song EP, tips on song writing, a synthwave side project, and much much more!!!

2023 has been a busy year so far. Here's a few updates about what's going on at JW Creates. It's hard to believe that we are already in the last week of August. where did this year go...? It hasn't been an easy year, but I have way more to be thankful for than to complain about. Since I have been a little quiet on here, I figured it would be a good idea to share some of the exiting things happening in the JW Creates world. Judged by the Cover I have been busy growing my podca

New episode of the Judged by the Cover podcast, with the theme Cars on Album Covers.

Welcome back to the Judged by the Cover Podcast, a JW Creates podcast. Today I have an album cover that I am really excited to talk about. As a hint, when I say the name Steve Miller Band….What imagery or album cover pops into your mind…? If it’s not a horse or a Pegasus….then you probably haven't listened to or looked at any of Steve Miller Band's album covers. That's ok because I was actually surprised at how few of their album covers had this imagery…but a couple of their

With all these different options, it can be intimidating to figure out which graphic designer is best for you and your project. I’m going to

Website design projects can be some of the most exciting and rewarding things that I work on at JW Creates. In this note I'll share how I break down a website project using my most recent website for the YWHAG Research Foundation. YWHAG Research Foundation home page Website design can feel very overwhelming for most people because there are so many different aspects to it. Not only does it have to look attractive and get peoples attention, but you have to think about things

Phil Hyland, singer songwriter and a great friend of mine, comes on the Judged by the Cover podcast to talk about his career in the entertainment industry, his band Girlfriend, and his new release Too Good. Hear a snippet of the song, and get some behind the scene info on the song itself. Too Good - Girlfriend Custom Album Cover It wouldn't be the Judged by the Cover podcast if we didn't talk album covers, and album cover design. We talk some of Phil's favorite album covers,

One of the my favorite, most formative albums, Meteora turned 20 this year!!! I never knew what made this album cover so special, but now I

Custom album cover process for the band FACE. Check out the behind the scenes process in creating the album cover for the band FACE.

Since you may not know yet how much I love creating logos and branding, let me take you back to a few logos that helped shape my process.

The group that put band logos on the map Guess who’s back….back again….. Welcome back to the Judged by the cover podcast. After what seems like an eternity, I am back to bring you examples of great album cover design, and some fun behind the scenes knowledge that I find along the way. I will also be continuing our Near Miss segment at the end of the show to discuss some unfortunate cover art design as well. You will notice that there is a slight format change. There will not

My most common projects are logo and branding projects. Look at my project for Land of the Dad, and let me walk you through my design proces

Forget new year, new you... Lets get your brand or business looking fresh and professional with a new website!

How important cover art is for music in our digital streaming music world. In today’s digital world, we don’t interact with physical albums

One of my favorite things to create, and what actually started this business, is album covers. I love getting to visually communicate the story of a song or album through graphic design. To best show you the process for my custom cover art, I thought we could look at one of my favorite projects, the cover design for the song I Never Knew by Brent Crowe. This project is special to me because I got an inside look at the process of this song starting from a rough idea to a fully

Intro When we think of bands, we usually think of a group of guys or gals that start jamming together, writing some songs, they start playing some shows, and then record some music all in hopes to get a record deal. Now that’s probably true for a lot of bands, but not for the band we are talking about today. On this episode of the Judged By the Cover Podcast, we are going to talk about this great album cover, from the self titled debut album for the band Boston. Before we get

Intro Welcome to the first episode of the Judged by the cover podcast. Today we are talking about the album cover that started this thing I call JW Creates. Now this isn’t a cover that I created, but it was the cover that made me want to pursue designing album covers. Let’s begin. I mentioned that this is the album cover that started JW Creates….because when I saw the behind the scenes video of how the designer made the cover my mind literally exploded. It was my lightbulb t

I’m sad that I didn’t grow up during the hey day of vinyl records. What an experience it must have been to go to the store and find the record for the artist/song that you heard on the radio. To pick it up, to feel and study the art work and packaging, and read every single word on the cover. Our modern format of buying and discovering music doesn’t even compare! One of the major things that gets lost in our modern music buying, is the liner notes. Liner notes were usually th