I am researching album covers which should give me inspiration when it comes to me making my own album cover and digipak. I am going to look into a variety of sytles to give me a greater insight into the style of the products which already exist as well as what is the most effective style.
Simple:
Foo Fighters- Foo Fighters
Foo Fighter- description of fighters in World War 2. The gun uses imagary which continues to show the meaning of the band name. Simple, natural colours (including the rusty colour of the gun) continue the effect on the viewer. The simple writing of the band name in the font and colour capture attention. The photograph is an interesting, effective way of grabbing attention in shops.
Kanye West- Yeezus
The red lable (suggesting violence- a subject Kanye West is often known to rap about) with the font looking as though it has been hand written. The lack of detail draws the eye to the album cover. I like the stripped back, bare look. A lot of space is very brave, however is very effective to the on looker. The imagary makes the label has been stuct on and the crease (done intentionally) suggests a lack of care which, again, I think is effective.
Arctic Monkeys- Suck It And See
I like the centeral positioning of the album title on the cover as it immediately draws attention to what the writing says. The black stands out well on the pale pink/beige background and therefore makes the title easier to read. The bands logo in the top left corner draws the eye so that they know who the album is by. The clever placement allows the person looking at the album to know all they need to know and then figure out the rest by buying the album. Therefore is extremely effective.
Black and White:
The Human League- Credo
The chunky white writing stands out on the black background well and draws attention to the cover. This cover isn't like any other covers from The Human League so the simplicity of the colours look good. The fact that this is a very different cover adds mysery to the album and would be a bigger inscentive to buy it.
Arctic Monkeys- Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
The image on the front is of a friend of the band and was taken in the early hours of the morning. I think the image is strong and the black and white colours make it stronger and more effective. The logo in the corner shows the person looking who the album is by but doesn't say the title. "Whatever people say I am, Thats what I'm not" is reflected by the image- suggesting that they don't care what people think. Therefore I think the cover is very effactive and reflects the nature of the album.
Kasabian- Kasabian
The word Kasabian originated from the Arabic meaning of butchering or slaughtering and the freaky, weird image on the cover links well to the meaning. I think the white writing and image on the black background really stands out and is really eye catching and is therefore really effective to look at.
Vintage
The Velvet Underground- The Velvet Underground
Pop art was big in the 60s and the album cover with the Andy Warhol image reflects the popularity and the 1960s era. The colour yellow is very bright and attention grabbing and will therefore draw peoples eye to the cover in shops- making them more inclined to buy it. Adding the signature of the artist is also a bigger inscentive for people who dont necessarily like the bands music but like pop art to buy the album.
Scouting For Girls- Everybody Wants to be on TV
Very old fashioned looking with the pin up girl and the purposely badly printed look makes the album cover look very vibtage and very unique for when it was released in 2010. The colours are very bright and would stand out and therefore draw peoples eyes to the album. The images used are very fun and would therefore attract attention as well as reflecting the fun type of songs and music included in the album.
Oasis- Be Here Now
The album cover includes lots of vintage itens including cars, bikes, clocks and the house as well as the costumes which the band members are wearing. Although the album was released quite a while ago (1997) the look is older than it is linking to the vintage style. The cluttered and confused look of the album is interesting and I think it works well.
Animated
Arcade Fire- Funeral
The fun, circus type cover could have been used to attract a younger target audience. Arcade Fire are an indie band and the cover reflects the unique music style they would be looking to achieve. The colours are fun and would be attractive to a younger audience who would be the target audience. The band name on the cover is quite transparent which I think is interesing and overall I like this cover because I think it is really unique.
Frank Turner- Sleep Is For The Week
This animated style cover is different to the arcade fire as this one has been made to look like it has been painted. The watercolour paint effect is really interesting and I think the child-like drawn aspect of the cover works really well. The colours are all quite dull shades which all link into each other well and I like the way that the artists name is the largest piece of text as it draws attention to it- especially in the font colour black.
Maroon 5- Overexposed
This album cover is full of different things which could be looked at and I think that it makes the album cover really exciting. I like that everything links together in a mad, confused way and I think that the cartoon look works really well and reflects the interesting, fun music on the album. I think that the bubble writing of the band name and the album title makes both the pieces of text stand out and would appeal to younger listeners as well as fans of their old work. I think this album cover keeps up to date with current trends which is important.
Whole Band Shots
Coldplay- Clocks (single)
The white writing stands out really well on the black photograph. I think that the image is really striking and would draw peoples attention to the cover in shops. The way the whole band are all staring directly into the camera adds mystery to the cover and could make people more inclined to buy it. The simple cover and colours are also very effective and add to make the whole cover more striking and powerful.
Take That- The Circus
I think that this cover is really unique. The image of all band members on a tightrope links in with the name of the album- 'The Circus"- and the fact that they are all doing the same pose with slight tweaks to each member makes them look like a proper group. The colours are all very blue which I think is effective when you look at it and it draws attebtion. The text on the page also links in well as the band name "Take That" and the album name is done in a font that could be associated with the circus. I love this cover as I think it all works brilliantly together.
Beady Eye- Bring The Light (single)
The unique cover photograph is very striking as it is quite original. I like the idea of the camera looking down as it looks as though the band are in a tunnel- this would link well with the name of the single "bring the light". I think using the natural colours of the photograph (not black and white) has been effective as the image looks like it was taken in the moment. Having the whole band in the intimate setting makes the cover look really unique and the odd choice of text placement adds to the uniqueness of the album. I like the font choices and colours as the black on white/grey- band name- is easy to read and the white on black- single title- is simple and easy to read.
Overall I have found that I like the simple album covers as I think they are more effective and can draw attention due to the amount of unfilled space. I also like the animated covers as I think the idea of being creative and not just using a photograph. This research has made me realise that there are lots of ways in which I could design, make and present my album cover.
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