Sunday, 6 November 2011

Album Cover Analysis

Drake- Take Care





Drake, one of the biggest Hip-Hop artists in the world released his new song ‘Take care’. The album cover is mainly dark with the artists name in white writing making it stand out. The face of the artist Drake make up the most of the album covers because he is famous and will be recognized quickly and easily. The Parental Advisory is also on the cover making it suitable for the younger generation.




We thought the fact that the album covers not having much writing on the front made the magazine look simple and neat. We also though by putting the white writing on top of the black background made the writing stand out and made it much clearer. We also thought by having the Parental Advisory mark increased sales as parents were positive there was no bad language and nudity in the song or magazine making it suitable for children to read.




However we also did think very little information on the front cover made the album look plain and boring as well. We felt it looked too simple and lacked in information. The dark effect used on the face of the artist Drake, making his face look s mixture of blue and green made it look unrealistic.




I think the target audience is 17-29. But I think this will also appeal to younger and older generations. The magazine is very simple with no additional information.





Example- Stay Awake







The album cover of example ‘Stay Awake’ has a simple cover with a black background with the letter ‘e’ in yellow at the middle of the cover. ‘Example’ is written within the letter ‘e’ with the release date is also written at the bottom. The ‘e’ is linked with the video as the letter ‘e’ is referred to many times in the actual music video.



The black background with the big letter ‘e’ in yellow makes the album cover stand out to the audience. Also the fact that the album cover is simple with not much writing or pictures gives it a different style of cover than the usual album covers in the market.


As a group we thought the colors used made the album cover stand out and thought this was one element that we would consider when designing our own album cover. Also the way the album cover had very little text apart from the artist and the release date made the album cover look neat and tidy. However we that the fact of not having a picture made the album cover look boring and dull and decided that when designing our own album cover we were not going to do this.



As a group we decided that the idea of Tinnie Tempah holding a city in his arms was a very clever idea. This made the cover not only looks good but also made the audience think about the picture. Having a picture within a picture was a good idea and something we would try do when making out own album cover.




Tinnie Tempah- Discovery






Tinnie Tempah’s albums cover for the song ‘Discovery uses a various number of dark colour tones on the album cover. Firstly the font on the top left is not just a standard font of writing but a much more sharper and pointer font making the text more noticeable and attractive. The colours used and the background and the background itself of the stars makes the artist looks as though he is in space. This makes the album cover look adventurous and Sci-fi. The colours used make the album an outer space look making the cover also more attractive and noticeable. We can also see that the picture has been edited very much and different types of effects have been used giving it more of an adventurous look.



However we thought that the whole album cover was too ‘busy’. There were too many colours and editing making the cover, we thought too imaginative.




I think the audience is teenagers and young adults aged between 14 and 22. This is because the album cover looks adventures and creative. Also the genre of the music is one which is more likely to be listened to by a young audience.




Rihanna- We found love







I think with this album cover its target is men aged 14-28. This is because the artist is a very good looking woman as the front cover attracting male buyers. However we also thought that picture was too simple and some buyers would think it would look a little dull and boring. Also the costume of Rihanna is very casual and normal.


The album cover of Rihanna’s- we found love is a simple cover in black and white. The picture is of Rihanna walking down a street looking at the camera. On the bottom right of the album it has the letter ‘R’ and the title of the song. The letter ‘r’ stands for Rihanna. Because she is such a famous powerful artist, most people know what the letter ‘r’ stands for. The black and white effect shows the audience the song is sad and depressing. It gives it an emotional effect to the song as well.


As a group we that the black and white effect gave the album cover an emotion, a connection with the audience. Also we thought the album cover has very simple to do and did not consist of a lot of editing which would save us time and money.


Jay-z- The Blueprint 3










The album cover of Jay-z is a collage of various different musical instruments such as a keyboard; guitar, saxophone etc put all together all in white with a white background. The writing of Jay-z on the top right of the album cover makes it clear to the buyers who the artist of the album is and stands out to a certain extend because the writing is black on a white background. There are also three parallel red, bold lines in the middle of the album cover which could relate to the album name ‘Blueprint3’ which is on the top right corner of the album. Next to the album name are also 3 parallel lines but in black.

As a group we thought the collage of the various music instruments was very clever because it was an image not seen before but also an image which would stay in the mind of buyers. Also the white and red made the album cover look simple but attractive. Also the black writing on the white background made it clear for the buyer to read the text. But mostly we thought how the album cover had a website was a clever idea. This could increase recognition of the website and also the album which we had not seen on any previous album covers.


However we also thought the album cover was to boring by it being mostly white making the album cover not attractive. We also thought it would be hard to recognize what genre of music the album was by looking at the album cover due to all the various instruments in the picture. Also we thought that the choice of text for the name of the artist a bad selection because it was not neat and tidy.

I think the album is targeted at a wide audience. I think there are many songs targeted at certain age groups. This is because of the various instruments on the album cover symbolizing the different tastes of different people and age groups.


Cobra starship- Hot mess






The album cover of Cobra starship is unique and very eye catching. The big writing and the ‘funky’ font of the artist group makes it stand out from the rest and attract the attention of buyers e.g. in a shop. The background of the half naked women will attract buyers but also portray a specific genre of music. The name of the album is placed on the album in a very clever place so that it is seen by everyone. The semi naked woman is biting a sweet which has the album name on it.

However we also thought the picture of thee semi naked women was inappropriate and would not fit into the audience we are targeting for. Also we think due to the picture it would stop many parents from buying the album.


We as a group thought the font of the title was very attractive and the colour made it stand out. We also thought the album name being put on the sweet the women is biting made the album cover and name of the album name memorable.


I think the album is targeted and young adults aged between 18 to 25 year olds. I think the album cover comes out as an high beat, high tempo sings at party’s. Also the font makes the name of the group hard to read and make out. This could be a problem if the group are not well known.

No comments:

Post a Comment