Case studies for album art workHere I have researched conventions of album art work in order to ensure

when I create my project I am following convention for it to look like a real media project. I have looked at artists from my genre and outside my genre

Imagery

I picked Paloma faith as she relates very closely to the genre and house style of Lana del rey the artist we will be trying to create a CD package for. I was very intrigued by the art work on all her singles and found them simple but effective. The use of colours, although not necessarily bright are still eye catching, the colours have been saturated In order for the oranges and the yellow to stand out, Palomas red hair is very much her trade mark and is part of her brand and in saturating the image it has allowed this to stand out. They have also used the colours of her clothes to further emphasise her hair, by using deep blue’s which contrast with her hair it again allows her hair to stand out. Also in keeping with the genre she hasn’t used lots of bright colours and lots of skin showing like artist such Rihanna. The saturation allows a shadowing round her face, high lighting her cheek bones. The lighting is not bright but neither dark, however more on the dark side.

Imagery

The shot of the artist is a medium shot, the shot is face on shot to clearly display the emotion on the artists face, which is one of distress and upset . The artist is looking directly into the camera to connect with the audience. She appears distressed, this relates to the title and the overall synopsis of the song. In terms of her body language she is standing up with her shoulders slightly closed inwards   , connoting un-comfortableness and again slight distress. This is all to set the mood and create an overall vibe from the cd. The song and the lyrics link to create an overall package

House styles and conventions

The writing on the single is right at the top of the cd cover. The name if the artist is bigger and bolder than the name of the song, suggesting it has more importance. The name of the single doesn’t stand out that much, this could be because the name of the artist is what is needed to capture audience attention. The font used is the same font she uses on all her singles and albums; this could be a marketing technique, its instant recognition that this is a Paloma faith product.

Ideas I can subvert

When designing my own CD I want to looks into the idea of doing something simple much like this, the image on the front was all that was needed, there isn’t much Mise en scene but its not needed as the cover is still effective. The title is ‘picking up the pieces’, through the artists body language and the expression on her face this can all be seen with just her standing there. The fact that the image correlates with what the sing is about is also something I feel is important to do when designing mine. Lastly in keeping with the conventions of most singles, having the artists name stand out is essential when creating mine 

Lexis and house style

The font used is somewhat child like or could more be interpreted as feminine, its curved and swirly, stereotypically a design when

targeting females. The artists name again stands out more than the name of the album, as it is right at the top. The writing is white and on a black background which is also helps it to stand it more. The title of the album

is across the artists body and because if this makes it slightly less

easier to make out. However this may be because the artist wanted to

bring attentions to fact she is wearing a pair of lungs.

ImageryThe image used is a drawing not an actual photo graph, the image shows the artist from and medium to close up cutting off at just below her waist with her head turned to the side, her eyes are closed. By The artist looking to the side and not connecting with the audience suggest the artists is giving more importance to the music rather than promoting herself as a brand. Her posture and white clothing connotes a nature of innocence which is reinforced by the fact the artists eyes are closed and she looks peaceful as if she is sleeping She is also wearing lungs; lungs are an essential part of singing and projecting your voice and are also a direct reference to the title of the album. The lungs also help to connote the natural, pure theme of the front cover, as well as the flowers which also add to the feeling of nature and purity.

Imagery: Lighting & editing

In terms of studio lighting, editing and use of airbrush there’s not much to say as the image is a drawing, it’s not a bright vibrant cover, but a dark edgy cover with deep colours, like dark green and deep purples, however the flowers in the background continue to reinforced the purity and natural image

The same idea of femininity is considered on the back and the disc print, the inside of the CD cover is the same floral print as is on the front, so that the CD has a sense of continuity. The back cover to the album shows the anatomy of a pair of lungs. The font is white and there to stand out against the black background, the font although not swirly still seems as though it is targeted to the female market.

The back also includes a website were the audience can obtain more information about Florence and than machines and more material. From the artist Like many other CD cases this one contains a barcode.

From looking at this case study, what can be subverted in to my music video is the fact there's a constant running theme which in this case is a pair of lungs, when doing my media pieces I will ensure my product has continuity . Also conventions such as a websites, barcodes and record label information must feature in mine.

The CD links very closely with our case, in the sense its in black and white and also has a mysterious edge to it

In terms of the inserts one side of each page there is a song title and on the other side there is a picture of the artist. The insert continues to reinforce the theme of innocence; the images on the inserts are different to the outside of the CD package. The images are actual photographs, the lighting is brighter, the images have been edited to highlight the greens and yellows.

ImageryThe next artist I picked was Katy Perry, although Katy Perry doesn’t fall in to the exact same genre as Lana Del Rey they both are quite confident and out there with their brand image. The front of the album is the artist lying in a bed of candy floss; unlike the other two case studies here we can see there is a lot of air brushing done to smooth out the skin to create the stereo typical perfect image. The artist is wearing nothing but candy floss to cover herself, connoting a more seductive and sexual image than the other cases studies

Imagery 

The artist is looking directly at the

audience on the front cover and throughout

the inserts. This is done to entice and connect with the

audience. As afore mentioned her poses are quite seductive,

which attracts a mass male audience and is

further emphasised by the fact she has a lot of

flesh showing.

House style & lexisOnce again in keeping with the conventions of all the CD’s I’ve analysed the title of the artists is bigger and bolder than the name of the album, this is instant brand recognition. The writing is swirly and pink in keeping with the overly sweet and girly theme. The name of the album teenage dream is made out of candy canes again this is in keeping with the girly theme. There is a recurring motif of sweets and the colour pink throughout the digipak and the whole of Katy Perry's advertising and marketing campaign for 'Teenage Dreams', has created a strong brand identity.

Recurring themes and motifs

The CD had been made to look like a doughnut and throughout the inserts there are more pictures of Katy Perry posing with large sweets, popcorn and candy floss.

Conventions The back of the CD is quite average, it still contains the backing of candy floss to keep in line with the theme, it has the track list in a simple format of just a simple straight forward list, The back also contains all the conventions of professional and legitimately made album/single, the barcode / songs list / copyright and production information

Katy Perry has a song sense of brand identity and knows her target audience and seeks to attract them through all aspects of her CD from front cover, to inserts, to the actual disc. When doing mine I hope to appeal directly to my target audience just like her and keep within the conventions of my genre. I will definitely take note of the fact that the artists name must be something that stands out as all three cases studies I have looked at have shown me the importance if this

Katy Perry's brand identity is different to Lana Del Reys as you can see by looking at the album cover an design, the bright pink which stereotypically what is said to attract girls Katy Perry juxtaposes Florence and the machines due to the use of bright colours and the confidence that the artist puts across to her audience in photographs, Katy Perry's Digipak design would stereotypically attract girls younger than her target audience.