Wear your art on your sleeves: tight budgets are forcing artists and designers to be even more imaginative and resourceful, as last week's I See Music event highlighted.(Creative design & packaging)

Although much attention is currently focused on digital downloads, there is no doubting the enduring importance of the record sleeve for enhancing--or even transforming--the simple act of listening to music. Strong artwork can improve not only fans' perception of the artist, but even their perception of the value of the physical product

These were certainly themes of the Music Week-backed exhibition I See Music, held last week at the ICA in London for the first time. Spun out of the annual Creative & Design Awards in order to showcase music-related design in a gallery setting, the show underlined the diversity and richness of the work of UK-based designers, illustrators and special packaging experts (see breakout, right).

It is little secret that record companies across the board are under pressure to cut their marketing budgets, but the message currently coming from members of the design community is that, far from undermining their creative output, tighter budgets are forcing artists and designers to be even more innovative and resourceful.

Jon Forss, art director and designer at Non-Format, which produced projects for Red Snapper and Cursor Miner featured in the show, says tighter budgets for record packaging can make things more interesting. "Big record companies make more and more generic design. The challenge for independent labels is side-stepping the mainstream design," he says.

Indeed, there are those in the design world who see the budget restraints as a blessing in disguise. Jo Marsh at Intro, the studio whose sleeves for Primal Scream's Dirty Hits and Broadcast's Haha Sound campaign featured at the ICA, says that although budgets may be tight and sometimes unevenly spread between artists, "it doesn't stifle the creative output".

"On the contrary," says Marsh. "Designers prove that by using music references and collage they can do something fantastic on a small budget."

Kathryn Craddock, Sony product manager for bands such as The Zutons, The Coral and Hope Of The States, says that while there is generally less money available for special packaging, interesting ideas are ultimately driven by the creativity of the music itself. "The more musically creative a band is, the more creative their imagery will be. It has always been the case," she adds, noting that her role as a product manager is to "mix and match the artists with the designers".