# Sama Frequency — Album Artwork Standards

Machine-readable production guidance for release artwork across the Sama Frequency label.
Master manifest: https://samafrequency.com/brand/ai/brand-manifest.json

## AI image generator boundary

Never include an official artist logo or the Sama Frequency logo inside an
image-generation prompt.

Do not ask an image model to place, draw, reproduce, approximate, trace, stylize,
or render an official logo.

Correct workflow:

1. Generate the artwork background with intentional empty areas for branding.
2. Generate no artist branding and no label branding inside the generated pixels.
3. Download the official artist logo from the artist manifest.
4. Download the official Sama Frequency logo from the label manifest.
5. Composite both logos after image generation.
6. Add release title typography separately.
7. Validate final dimensions, safe zones, and logo integrity.

If the execution environment cannot composite files, return the generated
background and report that final brand composition remains required.

Never substitute an AI-generated logo. Never ask a person to upload one — every
official asset is publicly retrievable from the URLs in the manifests. If a fetch
fails, report the failing URL.

The machine-readable form of these rules is
https://samafrequency.com/brand/ai/artwork-task.json — read it before generating.

## Album artwork requirements

- 3000 × 3000 pixels
- RGB
- 1:1 aspect ratio
- logos inside the defined safe area
- title legible at thumbnail size
- no watermarks
- no DSP or platform branding unless explicitly required

## Core rules for AI tools

Sama Frequency is the parent record label.

Each artist has a separate identity and must use only that artist's official assets.

Never substitute one artist's logo for another.

Never use the Sama Frequency logo as the artist logo.

Never use an artist logo as the Sama Frequency label logo.

Never combine artist identities unless the release is officially collaborative.

Never generate, imitate, redraw, trace, reinterpret, or approximate any official logo using AI.

AI image generation should normally produce only the visual background.

Typography and official logos must be composited afterward from approved assets.

Always verify the artist name and release metadata against the artist manifest
(https://samafrequency.com/brand/ai/artists/{artist-slug}.json).

Default release artwork dimensions are 3000 × 3000 pixels.

Default release artwork aspect ratio is 1:1.

Do not generate fake Arabic typography.

Do not add cultural symbols merely as decoration.

Do not assume every Sama Frequency artist has the same visual aesthetic.

Use artist-specific artwork rules when available.

Use Sama Frequency's global artwork standards only as shared production guidance.

## Technical defaults

```text
Canvas: 3000 × 3000 pixels
Aspect ratio: 1:1
Color space: RGB
Preferred master format: PNG
Accepted delivery format: high-quality PNG or JPEG
No unintended borders
No watermarks
No streaming-platform logos
No unlicensed third-party marks
No AI-generated imitations of label or artist logos
```

Safe-zone templates (guidance, not a mandatory layout):

- https://samafrequency.com/brand/shared/album-art-safe-zone.svg
- https://samafrequency.com/brand/shared/album-art-safe-zone.png
- https://samafrequency.com/brand/shared/social-safe-zone.svg
- https://samafrequency.com/brand/shared/social-safe-zone.png
- https://samafrequency.com/brand/shared/logo-placement-guide.svg
- https://samafrequency.com/brand/shared/logo-placement-guide.png
- https://samafrequency.com/brand/shared/thumbnail-legibility-guide.png

## Global quality principles

Desired: premium, intentional, emotionally expressive, musically responsive,
culturally informed, contemporary, legible at thumbnail size, strong composition,
controlled visual hierarchy, appropriate negative space, suitable for professional
streaming distribution.

Avoid globally: invented logos, wrong artist logos, fake Arabic typography, random
decorative symbols, cultural motifs without relevance, generic tourist clichés,
excessive instrument collages, overcrowded compositions, cheap concert-poster
layouts, unreadable AI-generated text, arbitrary gold effects, unrelated monuments,
repeated faces, duplicated musicians, anatomically incorrect hands, excessive
visual noise, watermarks, platform badges, accidental text, misspelled titles,
mixing artist identities.

**Important distinction:** these are global quality principles, not a universal
house aesthetic. Each artist may have a different mood, palette, genre language,
cultural identity, photography treatment, illustration treatment, level of
abstraction, typography, and logo presentation. Do not force every artist into the
Algerian Vibes visual language. Do not assume all artists require gold, Arabic
geometry, North African architecture, orchestral imagery, calligraphy, the same
typography, the same color treatment, or the same logo positioning.

## Required production workflow

1. Identify the correct artist manifest.
2. Confirm the exact title, artist, label, release type, and subtitle.
3. Read the artist-specific artwork rules.
4. Generate or design the visual background.
5. Keep generated backgrounds free from official logos.
6. Keep AI-generated title text out of the background.
7. Add title typography using real fonts.
8. Add the official artist logo from the approved asset library.
9. Add the official Sama Frequency logo from the approved asset library.
10. Export a 3000 × 3000 master.
11. Review at full resolution.
12. Review at streaming-thumbnail size.
13. Verify spelling.
14. Verify artist identity.
15. Verify official logo files.
16. Verify logo proportions.
17. Verify margins and safe zones.
18. Verify that no other artist's identity appears.
19. Save release-specific source and export metadata.

Use the release template at
https://samafrequency.com/brand/ai/release-artwork-template.json to plan and
QA-check each release.

## Collaborative releases

- List all artists explicitly.
- Retrieve each artist manifest independently.
- Do not merge or redesign artist logos.
- Document logo order and hierarchy (`collaboratingArtists[].displayOrder`).
- Do not imply that one artist belongs to another artist's brand.
- Keep Sama Frequency clearly identified as the label.
- Complex multi-logo arrangements require owner approval.

Last updated: 2026-08-16
