.

Every Kingdom is the first

studio album by British singer-songwriter Ben

Howard. It was released in the United Kingdom on 30

September 2011 as a digital download, on CD,

on LP and as a 200 copy limited edition cassette.

His music would largely fall under the genres of

folk/acoustic. I think the concept of this artwork is

to represent what kind of person the artists is, the

image of a figure in the

sea could be illustrating Ben Howard's love for

surfing - which is shown in his charitable work to keep

England's beaches clean.

As you can see ‘Ben Howard’ is written in large,

bold white font. This seems to place value and importance on the artist himself and his name.

This could be due to the fact that not only is he a solo act but this is also his first debut album,

therefore his name is important as he is introducing himself in to the music industry. The

use of white for the colour of the font could be reflective of how his music and folk/acoustic

music in general is simplistic and wholesome.

The use of colours in in this

cover can have a deeper meaning. For example, the

bright light in the corner where the sun is shining through the

sea could connote the artist’s bright hopeful future in the music

industry, or this could be interpreted in more of a general

way, for example new beginnings, happiness, peace,

purity etc. Another connotation can be seen in the darkness of

the water at the bottom, this darkness could represent

unknown and mysterious places.

Aspects of Barthes’ enigma code can be recognised within

this cover as what it means is a mystery and it allows for

ambiguity, which means the audience can interpret it in

different ways through different perspectives. The figure in the

cover, which I’m assuming is the artist himself, also creates an

element of mystery and the audience is unsure as to who he

is or what he’s doing.

Reception – The preferred

audience -would receive this album cover in a

positive way as they would already like music

of this genre, and they would enjoy the simplicity

and ambiguity of the design.

Oppositional Audience – may not be received

positively because they may think it’s too simplistic.

Goodwin’s idea of demands of the record label can be recognised here, as the record label has obviously tried to sell Ben Howard to the public here by

placing his name in such big lettering, and showing only him in the picture.

The figure in the picture, as I have

previously mentioned, is the key signifier therefore it dominates the

whole of the image, yet we don’t know who the person is. I think it is

the artist which creates the idea that

he’s important. The figure is placed roughly in the middle of the artwork

to allow it to be the central focal point of the cover, this means the

audience can look at it and their eyes will instantly go to the figure.

They will also link the figure back to the title and assume that it is the

artist who features in it.

It could be argued that this cd cover is stereotypical as it

contains the title/artist in big

bold writing, and a picture, and is adhering to the rule of thirds.

It could also be said to be stereotypical of the genre as

well, as simplistic photographs including nature and plain font

are both common features of this genre CD Covers. This CD

cover would stand out on a shelf due to the brightness of the blue

water and the piercing sun along with the bold title.

I think that this CD cover has

codes and conventions that can be recognised in other CD

covers in the genre. As I have previously mentioned the fact

that the artists name is in big lettering is conventional of not

only the folk genre but also the solo artist genre, as the aim of

the artwork is to promote the

artists music and what kind of people they are.

It could also be said that this CD Cover is not conventional as it does

not contain any detail on it and is very simplistic. As the CD cover I will be

producing myself will be the same

genre, I would like to use some elements that this one has used such

as the big, plain, bold font and the simplistic image. I think that this

allows the artwork to look attractive and not too busy and not too much

like others.

The use of a photographic image

showing elements of nature is also a convention of the folk genre, as seen

below in similar album artworks of

the genre: