Album Covers & Digipaks

Album Covers Descending From Most Recent Releasehttp://www.arcticmonkeys.com/release

AM (2013)09.09.13 | Album | DOMINO RECORDS

This is the latest album cover from the arctic monkeys Called AM. The album cover is simple with the white zigzagged lines across the middle of a black back ground. This makes the album cover different to other album cover images and makes it easily recognisable.The image also relates to the music video in the album called ‘’Do I Wanna Know’’ which is made up of lines like this that create music visualisation by moving into images and other shapes in time with the music. The image is simple yet effective as its already become an iconic symbol due to the success of the album and individual song ‘Do I Wanna Know’. Therefore anybody who sees this symbol or any similar symbols from the song will think straight away of the Arctic Monkeys.

Images Found on Google and Arctic Monkeys Website

Album CoversSUCK IT AND SEE (2011)06.06.11 | MP3, LP, CD | DOMINO RECORDS

This Album ’Suck It And See’ Was released In 2011 and again is a plain and simple style.The plain white back ground will stand bright against other album covers on a shop shelf.The background also makes the simple title in block capitals and in bold stand out even more. By standing out the title becomes more of a bold statement for the audience to capture. The style of the title suggests that the title should be interpreted in a non-formal direct way as the boldness makes the title more bigger and stronger and the capitals suggest more of a direct tone than laid back. This style simple but making a big statement relates to the style of the Arctic Monkeys.

HUMBUG (2009)24.08.09 | CD, LP, MP3 | DOMINO RECORDING COMPANY LTD

Brought out in 2009 this album cover shows a gang style in a cornered space smoking. The image appears to be slightly canted the band picture image is layered over and moved around and slightly mirrored . By their body language and gang style representation along with the mirroring and canted image it suggests that they may be under the influence of drugs. We also see a smoke/ hazy background which also suggests the influence of drugs. The Title is placed in a non-liner style across the front of a white hoody. This acts as a statement / brand like we would expect to see across the front of a hoodie. The title not being straight compliments the drug/ youth gang style in the image making it non formal and more laid back as they use a more swirly font. The ‘monkeys’ also doesn’t contain a capital letter making the name again less formal for the style.

FAVOURITE WORST NIGHTMARE (2007)24.04.07 | CD, Album, LP | DOMINO RECORDING COMPANY LTD.

This Album cover, 2007 ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’ is a more grey colour. The design is of a Urban street style relating to run down areas/ towns. The greyness makes the image look like its set in the night time which also makes the rooms lit up in the house stand out. The title is big and distorted and has the style similar to the shape of a shadow against a wall. Again the writing is not level but in capitals makes the title more scary looking. The colour of the title is dull as it fits with the background not standing out. All the dullness makes the rooms of the house capture out attention making us think that there is something in there waiting to me seen similar to our thoughts on the album and its songs waiting to be discovered.Last but not least, I notice the urban style paintings on all the walls of what we see from the house which also adds to the urban, street style culture. This would also attract the street style audience.

WHATEVER PEOPLE SAY I AM, THAT'S WHAT I'M NOT (2006)23.01.06 | LP, Album, CD | DOMINO RECORDING COMPANY LTD.

This 2006 album is a simple style of a man called Chris McClure. I found this information from yahoo answers blog. From this information I now know who he is and a back ground to how this image was to be taken. http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20111114122315AAKdgUb“Chris McClure — a friend of the band, frontman of The Violet May and brother of Jon McClure of Reverend and the Makers — taken in the early hours of the morning in Korova bar, Liverpool after the band had given him, his cousin and his best friend "seventy quid to spend on a night out". The image caused some controversy when the head of Scotland's NHS criticised the cover for ‘reinforcing the idea that smoking is okay’ “

The image of the Chris McClure smoking fits in well with the Arctic Monkey’s laid back style. The mans facial expressions show how relaxed he is making the audience feel relaxed too. The black and white colour makes the image even more simple but effective drawing in the audience. This album also contains the successful song that my group have chosen to use for our music video. ‘I Bet You Look Good on The Dance Floor’

The Digipak from arctic monkeys 2006 album Shows a recurrent theme of black and white and grey throughout. The CD itself is a simple image of a lot od cigarettes. The back of the digipak contains the same man in the cover hanging his head down which shows stress or him thinking. Having his face away from the image shows a less direct image making the audience’s attention still draw more towards the front cover. The back of the CD case also contains information such as the track list an the record label that licences them. The record label and barcode are both situated at the bottom and corner of the package as it is important to have them but does not need to be soo big it takes the attention away from the album its self.The inside page of the digipak book also contains the logo and licencing information . Along wit any other important information. The print is also tiny as we as an audience don’t need to know about it or see it.

This Album is set up to look like a house. The way the album has to be opened up with two flaps makes the audience feel as if they are seeing the inside of a house. This is as the inside of the digipak is set up a bit like the inside of a house (as if you were to cut the house down the middle) a bit like a doll house that opens up in the middle. The inside walls are all painted and are

brighter than the outside of the packaging. This makes the opening of the album more exciting and brighter. The rest of the digipak appears to be grey, black therefore making the bright colours stand out. The walls/ sides of the digipak are designed to all flow together creating the house style. This is seen in the above pictures where even if one flap is closed the front cover will connect to the other side image, and the stood up album shows how the house can look 3D and the shapes still fit together to look like a house. This is a clever design and makes the audience more attracted to it and want to buy it more.

The CD in the middle is green and matches the painting of the house inside but also contains a cartoon image. This image connects with the style the Arctic Monkeys were looking for. Scary, with the horn like hair and mysterious glasses, Cool laid back with the glasses and facial expression, Urban/street again as the image is cartoon like similar to a graffiti style like the walls of the house on the album.

The front cover features a picture of the band but the same image layered over and moved around and slightly mirrored. They have donned a new logo for their name on this album like every other album. The back is quite plain with another logo - a different one again, and the track list with some Domino Records writing on it and their logo. This is promoting the record label as well as the album The colouring of it continues the theme from the front to the back.

Opened up there is a full spread of a picture with two people, although hard to tell this could be band members. Climbing up a golden sand bank against a blue sky, the image has been edited a lot and contrast is at very high level. There is a few shadows which adds unidentified information for the audience to think about. The left hand side has a booklet inside with pictures of the bands and lyrics. On the right hand side there is the CD itself in another sleeve that is covered with the logo of Domino records.The CD itself has an image printed onto it with the initials AM. ~The image I think is a pie with AM letters made onto it. The slightly browner colours I feel are designed to make the pie look more realistic and 3d to the audience.

From what we can see this album is very basic. Its colour scheme is black and white which contrast each other to stand out but be very simple. The front over is dominant but still simple with the title small and simple but bold. The back is again simple but with the Arctic Monkeys logo on it made very big to contrast the small front title. The back again shows the simple track list in the same font as the title along with the bar code and domino label.

The inside is plain and simple and the CD is black with the same arctic monkeys logo on it as the back of the packaging. The CD is Black with white Text whish again juxtaposes the style . I assume that the packaging my be so simple as the idea may be to attract the audience more to the contents of the cd rather than the package its self.

This Digipak follows a similar style to a few of the other albums by Arctic Monkeys as again it has a simple style. The front cover and CD have matching pictures and the book inside is also black with a white Arctic Monkeys Logo on it.This image is featured in their most popular music video from the album called ‘Do I Wanna know’ made up of lines and shapes. I believe that this very simple style off packaging is used as the black and white contrasting image on the package acts as a recognisable symbol with the audiences making them want to buy the CD. This will be as the audience see the image more they will discover that the image is related to the band and every time they see it they will think if the band. The more they see it the more they are likely to think the band is successful and popular and want to buy the CD.