R&P Post 10: Album covers that have inspired and influenced my ideas

An album cover needs to attract a buyer by standing out from others. It also needs to convey something about the music and give information about the artist. Album art plays an important role because it is the first thing that the buyer notices.

After investigating several album covers, I have noticed conventions that they adhere to:

• Artist name - more prominent on the cover to emphasise the artist brand
• Album title - if the album is eponymous, the artist name only appears once (no repetition)
• Focal image - could be a graphic, photo,
• Use of graphics e.g. animation, CGI
• Institutional information - copyright logo, small print, credits, release date, website, contact information
• Barcode
• Visual motif
• Tracklist on the back cover
• Clear colour theme, consistency, signifiers of the genre
• Spine - reads from top to bottom - always tilt your head to the right in order to read it
• Booklet inside has extra content - lyrics, photos

In addition, a debut album must:

• Showcase the artist/identity
• Establish the genre
• Be eye-catching and attract attention

A few debut albums of solo female artists that I have looked at include:

Katy Perry, 2001

Ariana Grande, 2013

Jessie J, 2011

Taylor Swift, 2006

These debut albums all feature the artist on the cover. While shots vary in lengths from close ups to mid shots, all of them show the artist's face, which becomes a brand in itself. The visual becomes a signifier of the artist's style and therefore, the genre of the music.

I have noticed that many female solo artists have eponymous albums. Not all of them are their debut album but this is a convention that we will take into account. 

5th studio album, 2013

3rd studio album, 2001

4th studio album, 2013

10th studio album, 2014

For our own album cover, we will be careful to ensure that our artist's individual style and personality is shown in the presentation. We will use large, bold fonts for the title - good examples are Shakira and Jessie J's font but Taylor Swift's font disappears into the background. Our 4 panel digipak will be constructed on Photoshop and we will use our knowledge of conventions to conform or go against the norms.