ANCILLARY TASK 1: RESEARCH AND PLANNING
The Neighbourhood - I Love You.
The album cover SUCKER by Charli XCX features a mid shot of Charli XCX, holding a lollipop with the album name 'SUCKER' on it. The colour scheme of this album cover is pink/red, as the background is a baby pink colour while the lollipop and her lipstick are both bright red. Her name is printed above in white, connoting innocence and purity; which links to her fans being referred to as 'angels'. She is also wearing cheetah print and the back of the CD has small illustrations of things such as headphones, stars and smiley faces in pink. Songs such as 'Need Ur Luv' have words shortened down to resemble text speak. This gives the album a 'bubblegum pop' and 'girly' feeling, which is more likely to attract a young female audience who identify with her and aspire to be like her; especially in their earlier teenage years. The lollipop is in the shape of a love heart, suggesting that the music will predominantly be about love, which is also likely to appeal to this audience. However, Charli XCX has a more serious, seductive and intimidating facial expression which shows a direct mode of address, which contrasts the bright nature of the album cover but displays her confidence. This along with her messy hair and the album's actual name 'SUCKER', and the font of this name on the back resembling slime, suggests that the album as a more rebellious, punk edge to it. Most of the songs on this album also have a very rebellious, feminist attitude to them, which is evident in the titles such as "Break The Rules", "Body Of My Own" and "Die Tonight". Fans are more likely to support her edgy message, however others may not agree with her beliefs and reject this; which supports Richard Dyer's 'star theory'. The song titles on the back are created to look like they have been printed on a scrap piece of paper with doodles. This connotes that Charli XCX does not intend to look too professional, and that the songs may be personal to her.
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This album cover by The Neighbourhood shows what looks like a mirrored monochrome photograph of clouds during a storm. The clouds could be a symbol of religious imagery, however with a dark twist. The darkness and gloominess of the clouds indicates that the music will also be dark, eerie and almost atmospheric. On top of this image is three symbols: an upside down triangle with an eye inside it, a love heart and an upside down house. This is presumably an alternative way of writing the album's name 'I Love You', although the house symbol is also the logo of the band itself; this connotes that there may be a deeper meaning or message behind the symbols. This could also suggest that the band expects their supporters to know what the symbols mean and recognise their logo, as people who are not supporters or have not heard of them are less likely to know who the album is by as their name is not on the cover. People may also associate the upside down triangle with the eye inside it as the illuminati, as a common symbol of the illuminati is the All Seeing Eye. This may cause people to reject the album/artist which links to Dyer's Star Theory, since they do not agree with the artist's values and what they see.
The album cover does not feature the band itself, which is common for covers of alternative rock albums. This may connote that the band prefers for consumers to focus on the music or buy the album for its actual music rather than because of the appearance of its members; they want consumers to appreciate the art instead. The album cover is simple rather than having too much happening at once, however its originality is likely to attract a niche/underground audience and possibly some of the mainstream audience too. The back of the album denotes a similar picture of the clouds during what looks like a storm, which carries on the idea of the music being atmospheric and dark. This is also supported by some of the song names, such as 'Afraid', 'Everybody's Watching Me (Uh Oh) and 'A Little Death'. The album's actual name, 'I Love You.', is shown clearly on the back, large and in bold in a simple font. The simplicity of the title adds to the mystery of the album, leaving consumers curious about what the music will be about. They are presumably free to make their interpretations on what they believe the band means by their title; whether they believe it is aimed at the audience or at someone that they do not know about. |
Live.Love.A$AP - A$AP ROCKY
The album cover for You Should Be Here by Kehlani shows an illustration of a girl's back, looking into the distance. The fact that the whole cover is an illustration rather than a real photograph suggests that the album is more artistic, and the illustration along with the use of warm but bright colours to resemble a sunset is likely to catch the consumer's eye; additionally it implies that the music on the album is relaxing and peaceful. As the audience can only see her back, it gives the album a sense of mystery and possibly the idea that she is vulnerable. People who are aware of who Kehlani is are likely to know that the album is by her even though her name is not on the front, especially her fans, as the girl on the cover has the same tattoos as her. The scenery she is looking at seems like the city of San Francisco from above; this is evident as the city's famous Golden Gate Bridge can be seen. This could suggest that San Francisco is very relevant to Kehlani or to the album, as she may have created the album there or experienced what she has written about in that city. The fact that Kehlani is looking out on the city links to the album title 'You Should Be Here' as it reflects the idea that she wishes someone was there with her in the city and she is thinking about someone; in this case the audience are likely to assume it is her love interest. The title is in a font that resembles handwriting, which gives the impression that the album is personal to her and written by her. This is also reinforced by the girl (Kehlani) being surrounded by her laptop, a small keyboard and shoes. This implies to the audience that she is producing music on her laptop, which shows that her music includes her raw emotions and she played a huge part in the production of it rather than other artists who do not put as much work into it. The trainers (Vans) and casual clothing rather than flashy expensive clothes suggest that she is like any other average girl, which along with the title suggesting that she misses her lover helps the audience feel as though they can identify with her more; especially a younger female audience. This links to Blulmer and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory, which states that consumers choose texts that enable them to identify with the character/artist.
The back cover is very simple but shows a link to the front cover by using the same coloured text (purple) and the same colours of the sky on the front cover. As the track list is made to look as |
Live.Love.A$AP features a black and white mid shot of artist A$AP Rocky with a stern expression in front of an American flag, with smoke coming out of his mouth. This suggests his power or influence, or his pride in where he is from; however it can also resemble a mugshot, suggesting that he has experienced run ins with the law which is a common convention of hip hop artists. By smoking, A$AP Rocky is also following the convention of hip-hop artists smoking and taking drugs; this suggests that he has a carefree and rebellious attitude. The front cover being black and white may be a reflection of the music on the album, suggesting it may be dark and deep. The album title is displayed along the side of the cover going downwards, resembling scruffy handwriting which suggests that he has written it himself. It is common for "Live love" followed by a third word such as "Laugh" to be used as a phrase/saying, in this case the artist's name "A$AP" is used. As audiences are likely to recognise the phrase they are more likely to take an interest in the album, it also suggests that him and/or listening to his music is just as important as living life or as love. In the bottom right corner is a parental advisory warning label, suggesting that the album contains mature content; for example to include inappropriate language and music about violence and drugs.
On the back of the CD is a photo of A$AP Rocky sat down with eight people in masks beside him. They are all in black and white, however the flag behind them is purple suggesting its relevance to A$AP Rocky and/or to the album. This image may be interpreted in different ways by different people, which links to the reception theory. Their interpretation of the image is likely to be influenced by factors such as their age, gender, class, ethnicity and cultural experiences. One idea may be that the people surrounding A$AP Rocky are his squad who keep him safe and follow his orders, on the other hand another interpretation may be that he is being held hostage by them. However, it is more likely that the audience will believe that the people in masks are part of A$AP Rocky's squad due to his laid back and nonchalant body language. Their casual clothing of hoodies, baggy jeans connotes that they partake in gang culture and gives the audience the impression that they are up to no good and by wearing masks, they are hiding their identity because of it which is known as deindividuation. Linking to Dyer's Star Theory, some consumers may identify with this lifestyle or with A$AP Rocky's past experience, therefore they enjoy his music and agree with his beliefs and values; meanwhile others may not and therefore will reject him because they do not support this lifestyle. |
though it is in the clouds, it could represent that the songs are her thoughts and by listening to them the audience can find out her secrets. Many of the song titles on the track list are only one word, for example "Jealous", "Wanted", "Runnin", "Yet" and "Bright". This may not make sense to the audience, therefore to make sense of the songs and understand what she really means they may buy the album to listen to them properly. After each song title, the producer of each song is put in brackets, which gives the producers clear credit.
common LABELS FOUND ON ALBUM COVERS
The parental advisory label is used on the front of CDs if there is content in the music that is unsuitable for younger audiences. This warns these audiences and suggests to them that they should ask permission from a parent or guardian before listening to the music. It also helps older consumers to be aware that they should be wary of buying the music for of playing it around children.
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The barcode is put on physical CDs so that it can be scanned when it is being sold. This is also used to see how many of the product is being sold or the amount left in stock, as each one has a unique code.
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It is very likely that a CD will have the logo of the record label the artist belongs to on the back. This is so that the label gets credit and the audience is aware of which label the artist and album is backed by, and they might choose to search up more information about this label or get in contact with them.
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FEMALE R&B/HIP-HOP ALBUM COVERS
I have noticed that nowadays, album covers of female hip-hop/R&B artists are simple and there is not so much going on on the cover. It's common to use either a close up or a midshot of the artist so that the focus is on them, and they usually have a seductive look on their faces. The artist is not always in the middle of the album cover, sometimes the rule of thirds is used and they are to the side. The font is usually also simple and thin and in either black or white.
album digipak plans
In my first design, I thought that a close up shot of the artist with direct mode of address would be effective as it displays the artist's confidence and lack of vulnerability. The back of the album digipak is a mid shot of the artist, with the album name and the artist name at the bottom followed by the tracklist. The booklet is of the artist's back, which shows her outfit/style but also gives off a sense of mystery. The font used is simple, as many hip-hop/R&B albums use simple looking fonts which gives off the idea that the artist is simplistic and genuine, rather than flashy.
This design has a long shot of the artist from the front on the front cover and a long shot of the artist's back on the back cover, which shows the artist's full body and the clothes she is wearing as though they have walked around her. This design may appeal to people with a similar style as her and people who feel inspired by her style or aspire to look like her, and others may be attracted to the album because of her body. Her style may also make the people who are unaware of her music realise her genre is hip-hop/R&B, or any other type of urban style music as her fashion reflects her genre. The CD booklet is a shot of the artist's body only; her face is cut off. This focuses more on the fashion and again reinforces the idea that her style is heavily influenced by her music, which the consumers will notice. However, other consumers may instead be focusing on her actual body; because of this some may think that her body is being used more than anything to sell her music, which links to Mulvey and Voyeurism. Although some may not have a problem with this and may feel she is empowering herself and has every right to show her body, others may disagree and believe it is not right or think that by doing this she is being a sellout; therefore they are likely to reject her as an artist, which links to Richard Dyer's star theory.
On this album digipack I decided to give the artist a more vulnerable look as I featured a mid shot of her with her hands on her chest on the front cover, and a side profile of her looking down facing the trackless on the back cover. This makes the consumer see her soft side and feel as though she is hiding a secret, one that may be revealed by listening to the songs on the album. This creates enigmas for the consumers as they may begin to wonder what these "Little Things" are. Instead of having the artist right in the middle, she has been put to the side on both the front and back cover. By using rule of thirds the covers look more interesting and rather than just focusing on the artist's appearance, they also take notice of the other things on the covers such as the album name, the artist's name and the tracklist; which could show that she wants people to notice more than just how she looks. Both the CD and the booklet feature two different types of graffiti/street art which fit with the genre and the urban style; giving people more of an idea of the style of her actual music.
PHOTOSHOOT SCHEDULE
Get camera equipment
12:40 - meet Huldah at college/Bermondsey station
1:15 - arrive at Southbank, take photographs at skate park
1:45 - go to Leake Tunnel
2:00 - arrive at Leake Tunnel, take photographs
12:40 - meet Huldah at college/Bermondsey station
1:15 - arrive at Southbank, take photographs at skate park
1:45 - go to Leake Tunnel
2:00 - arrive at Leake Tunnel, take photographs
We encountered a problem as the day before we were planning to go and take photos, our artist fell ill. She was still feeling unwell on the day we were supposed to go, so we were almost about to reschedule. However, because she was feeling slightly better later on in the afternoon, and we were tight with time so she decided to come when we had originally planned to.
Photographs were taken using a Canon 100D camera, which enabled us to take good quality pictures of our artist.
album digipack photoshoot
My group and our artist went to both Southbank and Leake Street tunnel to take photographs for our album as we felt as though it these areas look urban and would therefore fit our genre.
creating the digipak
The first photo was the first digipack I designed while I was just getting used to some of the features on photoshop. I decided to create a brand new digipack as I didn't think it worked well. The font I used was called Avenir, which was already on photoshop.
I found my next font choice on the website dafont.com; I felt that it fit with the R&B genre as I had found that the text on R&B album covers are usually simple and clear cut.
![Picture](/uploads/3/9/3/4/39344667/4273527_orig.png)
I did not think that the text on the CD was very good, so I changed it and decided to have the artist's name and album title going around the CD with the use of the warp and the rotate tool.
I initially liked the end product, however after receiving my first pieces of feedback from friends and both of them saying that it "looks like a pop CD" I realised that this was true and it therefore didn't suit the genre I wanted it to.
Due to this, I decided to go with a less colourful theme by changing the colours of the background of each side to more grey colours, as I felt this suited the R&B genre more than bright pinks and yellows and reds.
I also had to make the background of the back cover where the text is lighter, as it was hard to see the text with the original background. It also gives the album and the artist a sense of mystery, which will intrigue the audience and encourage them to buy the album. The artist being in colour on top of a dark background brings more attention to the artist herself and makes her stand out more. I decided to move the photograph of Huldah on the booklet to the left side instead of leaving it right in the middle to reinforce rule of thirds. Putting pictures of graffiti gives the album a hip-hop feel, even though the colour scheme is more R&B inspired; which implies a cross between two genres.
I remembered that my album digipak would also require a barcode and a parental advisory warning label, as some of the songs will use language unsuitable for younger audiences. This also reinforces the idea that the target audience is more mature. I also included a logo of the record label on the back and on the spine, as well as the album and artist's name and a serial number on the spine.
FINAL DIGIPAK
After responding to feedback by making the font of the track list slightly more thick so that the audience would be able to see it, I remembered that the booklet was supposed to be upside down. By turning it upside down, it would be facing upright if the digipak was to be folded. I also decided to put the artist's message of thanks on the booklet as this is common on CD booklets therefore makes my digipak look more realistic.