Research Into Print Artefacts: Album Cover

I conducted some research into existing print artefacts so I was able to see if there were any evident codes and conventions I should be following. I decided upon creating an album cover and DVD cover as part of the release, alongside the track. I looked at various album covers of female pop artists, taking into consideration the effect of: lighting, font, colours and size of text. I established that there was a lot of focus on the artist for the albums that I looked at, none were abstract, instead they were simple with the focus being on the artist. Here I have analysed the different album covers:

Duffy - Rockferry:

Duffy's album cover is in black and white, which gives it a classy, sophisticated feel. The font used for the title is simple and understated. In the photo used on the album she looks quite sad, which goes with the theme of her album, as she covers heartfelt, reflective and at times sad encounters of relationships. Her expression and feeling in the image make a person who hasn't heard her music assume it is soulful and that there will probably be ballads on it. The latter, being true.


Rihanna - A Girl Like Me:

The lighting used in this image is quite bright, yet natural. We can see that it is sunny, as the sun is picking up tones in Rihanna's hair. As the sun is associated with a feel-good feeling, the lighting used in the image gives the connotation that Rihanna's album will consist of feel-good music. Her exotic look accentuated by the make-up she is wearing merely suggests that the music on there may have influences of various cultural music, this is true as there are many tracks on the album that sample dancehall and reggae beats. Again, the focus is on the artist and the font used is simple and understated.


Adele - 19:

The colour black usually suggests darkness, used on this album cover I think that it suggests a dark album, by this I mean heartfelt songs with deep meaning that come through with the lyrics of the songs; suggesting that the contents of this album are very soulful songs. This shot of Adele's face doesn't really show her face properly, giving someone an unclear picture of what she looks like, posing a question of anonymity. This may have been purposeful, so that the focus remains simply on Adele's music. The font used is simple, again this simple cover is so that the focus is kept on the music made by the artist.


Corinne Bailey Rae - Corrine Bailey Rae:

The first thing that draws my attention about this album cover is the design of the drawing on the side. To me, this drawing suggests creativity and personality. The font used is different to the others, again suggesting creativity and personality. This might make a person who doesn't know the artist to think that the album consists of different genres of music. The cover suggests that the artist is unique, as there aren't many album covers like this. The lighting used is quite bright, yet natural; making the artist seem classy. The lighting is reminiscent of summer, giving the connotation that this album is perfect for soulful, summery ballads; great for someone who is looking to listen to something laid-back.