ANALYSIS OF EXISTING FRONT COVERS

ANALYSIS OF EXISTING FRONT COVERS

Main image of the artist taking up the entire page – ensures people recognise who she is and that this is her album

Simple image and design

Simple colour scheme – black and

white

Artist and album name –

bold font, capital letters,

stands out

Artist name bigger than album

name to draw focus to her

Main image of the artist taking up the entire page

The image itself promotes her as quite innocent, demure, naturally beautiful, which suits the sound of the album

GABRIELLE APLIN ACOUTSTIC EP

ONE DIRECTION FOUR

Two main images of the band so it’s clear who the album is by; this also follows conventions of their previous three albums, creating a cohesive style

Artist and album name – bold font,

capital letters, stands out

Artist name bigger than album name to draw focus to the band. Also written in the font that has become associated with the band’s name, creating a logo and helping to make it even more recognisable.

Fairly simple image and design

Cohesive colour scheme made up

through the mise-en-scene: costumes,

background, fonts etc.

Image promotes them as united, fun, young etc.

Costumes allow them each to be individual

whilst still following an overall style

TAYLOR SWIFT 1989

Main image of the artist, but she’s recognisable enough that her whole face doesn’t need to be displayed for people to buy the album

Artist is famous enough to not

even put her full name on the album, using

initials insteadAlbum name – short, simple, memorable and related directly to the artist as it’s her birth year

Polaroid style and handwritten font gives it a much more personal

feel, interaction with fans

Colours are quite muted to add to the vintage look

of the polaroid

Use of iconography associated with the artists: red lipstick

Quite simple/casual costuming to portray her as down to earth and ordinary

BEN HOWARD EVERY KINGDOM

Conventional use of artist and album name

in large, bold print

One main image, not of the artist,

but still an image linked to his sound

and style

Nice colour scheme of soft

blues/greens and the cream colour

of the text

The lack of an image of the artist is counteracted by his name being printed so large – it’s the first thing you see

Typical of this genre to have an image that looks good visually/is a bit ‘arty’ instead of an image of the artist

VAMPIRE WEEKEND CONTRA

One main image, not of the band but of a chosen model

Album and artist name printed in large, bold font so that it’s easy to read and recognise

Costuming is fairly casual, makes her look young and current which reflects the band’s image and relates to their target audience

Lighting and colours altered to add a retro feel to the image, feels quite 70s

Border around the image adds to the

retro feel as it looks like an old

photograph

Conventional of this band not to

have an image of themselves, as

their other albums also feature

random images

LORDE PURE HEROINE

No image at all – of the artist or otherwise which is fairly unconventional

Simple black and grey colour scheme to make the words stand out as much as possible

Album and artist name printed in large, bold font so that it’s easy to read and recognise

Minimalist design is actually very effective in simply representing the artist and her sound

Could be seen as ineffective

for some as the album

cover tells you very little

about what the songs

sound like or who Lorde is, but I still think

it’s effective

CHILDISH GAMBINO BECAUSE THE INTERNET

One main image of the artist, very clear who the album is by

Image takes up the entire cover to promote him as the most important thing

Unconventionally, no artist or album name so it’s unclear what the album actually is, or who the artist is if you’ve never heard of him

Mise-en-scene is colourful and vibrant, reflecting the artist’s image

Costuming makes him look young,

current, fashionable

Lighting emphasises his face and makes it the central thing your

eyes are drawn to

ARCTIC MONKEYS AM

No image of the artist, instead just a simple art design

Simple colour scheme – black and

white

Artist name is at the top to identify who the album is by; this is done

through the use of the band’s logo

Album name is incorporated subtly

into the design of the cover art

The image relates to music as a whole as it resembles sound waves, so implies they are a band focused on the songs and not necessarily their image

Created iconography as one of the music videos for the songs on this album uses similar images

KANYE WEST MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY

This artist conventionally uses art on his album covers; a cohesive style is created

No album or artist name, the album is being promoted solely on the image here, possibly because he’s famous enough to get away with itBold colours to grab

and hold your attention

No image of the artist, instead just

a simple art design

The art gives it quite an upmarket/high

class feel which contrasts what

people usually link this genre to but suits the artist’s

expensive ideology

Parental advisory caution printed to warn of explicit content – this is conventional of this genre and clearly outlines the target audience as older

ALT-J THIS IS ALL YOURS

No image of the artist, instead just

a simple art design

Bright, vibrant colours and an abstract style makes it look young,

happy, fun etc.

No album or artist name, the album is being promoted solely on the image here, possibly because of the Indie genre which typically breaks conventions

The art looks quite childish and carefree which suits the sound of this album compared to the

band’s others

Although it’s unusual in terms of conventions, it’s still a striking and eye-catching image

The lack of text may actually encourage people to buy it more, as they’re intrigued

YOUTH LAGOON THE YEAR OF HIBERNATION

No image of the artist, instead just

a simple art design

Cohesive colour scheme with the pinks

and purples

The image has a dreamy quality to it which reflects the low-fi sound of the artist

No album name, perhaps because of the length of it or because it might distract from the image

The artist’s full name is not printed, instead initials are placed centrally to imply they are the main focus

Fairly unusual image which suits the niche genre and audience:

this is clearly not a mainstream artist

CONCLUSIONCONCLUSION• There is huge diversity in album covers, ranging from

simple images of the artist to abstract art covers with no text at all. Whilst some conventions are followed, they are just as often being broken and so I can hopefully experiment a lot with my own design whilst still retaining a professional look.

• Particularly within the Indie genre, which is the genre I’m working in, conventions tend to be broken rather than followed.

• As a general rule: the design is simple and eye-catching whether it’s an image or not, the colour scheme is cohesive and links to the band’s image, and if the artist and album name is printed the font tends to be bold and easy to read.