Conventions of a back cover

TRACKS PLACED ON AN ANGLE ON BACK COVER.

(LADY GAGA – THE FAME MONSTER)

(M.I.A. – MATANGI)

WOULD I CHOOSE THIS DESIGN?

This design is used by artists who are trying to illustrate the genre of their music in a visual way, and don’t want the text to interfere with the image that they are using. I think that the artist has purposefully chosen to place the text at a 90 degree angle so that the focus is on the mise en scene of the image. Although this is an unusual way of placing the track list on an album, the rest of both of the designs have a barcode, their record label(s) and an image of the artist. M.I.A. has used an image that has been edited into a negative design which represents the genre of music she is categorised into which is mainly electronic dance. Lady Gaga has opted for a black and white, grunge-like image which shows how her music in this album is going to be quite dark and sad. They both do this so that consumers understand what it is that they are buying.

I really like the concept of this design, and how it makes the back cover look really interesting and appeals to the audience of the artists. I think that this is a possibility for my product because I would still be able to use an image of my artist, but also think that the album should be really easy to understand for the artist I am going to create and think that this design may be a bit too confusing for a debut album of a new artist.

TRACKS IN A FANCY DESIGN.

(KATY PERRY – PRISM)

(MILEY CYRUS – BANGERZ)

WOULD I CHOOSE THIS DESIGN?

These are two of the more interesting designs I found when looking through the CDs that I own, and think these look really fun and exciting. They also illustrate the type of music both of these artists make; pop, due to the way the track lists are placed and how they aren’t in a generic straight line. In the mise en scene of the image of Katy Perry, she is seen to be staring straight into the camera which I think is used to represent how she is a strong woman in the music industry. The track list for her album is in a triangular shape, which reflects the title of the album as it is called ‘Prism’ and this is also consistent through the font she uses. Although it seems to be one image at first, the Bangerz back cover consists of two image which are placed together like a collage. I think this relates to the age of her fans as they are quite young and would most probably be stereotyped as being arts and crafty. She is also seen to be looking away from the camera which could be used in an ironic way. I think this because it seems as though she is shy through this back cover, but she is in the news quite often for doing things that are considered to be ‘outrageous’ by some people.

I think this design is really creative and would appeal to the genre that I am going to aim my products at, but this is slightly too advanced for the type of product that I want to create. My product will need to be easy to read to make it a successful product, which I don’t think these products are, due to the artist I am going to create being a new one.

TRACKS IN A BASIC DESIGN.

(FOXES – GLORIOUS)

(NICKI MINAJ – THE PINK PRINT)

WOULD I CHOOSE THIS DESIGN?

These back covers are two of the basic designs that I have found, which I think still work really well even though they aren’t very interesting to look at. The simplicity of the use of only 2 colours on Foxes’ Glorious really reflects her style of music and really calming aspect to her voice. This was a very good decision by Foxes I think, because it gives the consumers an insight on what to expect from the album, although it is all about interpretation from individuals as this isn’t how everyone will perceive this back cover. The album for The Pink Print by rap artist Nicki Minaj is another album that I have that is really basic in the design of the back cover, and I think this is something that would be expected from a rap artist because I feel that the lyrics of the songs are much more important to this genre than the aesthetic of the album itself. One difference that I think is really obvious is how only The Pink Print includes the album name on the back. I think this is really strange as this is something that would be expected from more of an unknown artist like Foxes, rather than the globally known Nicki Minaj.

I really like the concept of this design and I think that this is a possibility for my product. The aim is for my back cover to use a picture, (of what I am currently unsure of, although I was thinking of my artist appearing here also) but this may prove to be too much and may be too many images of the artist so I may use something similar to this. I may also still use a picture for the back but have one that isn’t of the artist but is still relevant in some way.

TRACKS IN A MORE COMPLICATED/ARTISTIC DESIGN.

(LADY GAGA – ARTPOP)

(KE$HA – ANIMAL)

WOULD I CHOOSE THIS DESIGN?

Lady Gaga’s album Artpop is a very aesthetically pleasing as it is very creative and interesting to look at. This design for the back cover is similar to a famous optical illusion in which the middle section appears to move when it is a 2D design. This is a consistent theme within the album as she refers to art a lot, whether this be in the form of a pattern or sculpture. I think that the choice of colour for the text doesn’t really stand out and isn’t very easy to read, as it is a very bright pink colour. This could lead to someone not buying the product, for this simple reason. Ke$ha’s album is very different to Artpop in the way it is designed, because they are two very different artists who are trying to illustrate a different message to an audience. She has continued to use a gold, handwtitten font like what appeared on the front of the album and the inside cover which shows how she is attempting to be consistent in her product. I think that this back cover looks a little too overcrowded and personally believe it doesn’t look very professional. This is because of how it seems to be unorganised and fills the whole of the back cover which doesn’t happen very often on an album.

I think this design is far too advanced for a new artist, as I think the information that is included on the album needs to be clear and easy to understand. These are the reasons that I don’t think I will consider this type of back cover for my product.

TRACKS TO THE SIDE OF THE DESIGN.(DIANA VICKERS – SONGS FROM A TAINTED CHERRY TREE)

(RITA ORA – ORA)

WOULD I CHOOSE THIS DESIGN?

This is one of the most common designs that I came across when looking at back covers of albums, as it includes the information that the album needs and also has space for an image. This makes the back cover look really appealing to the audience that the artist is aiming to sell their products to, as they are able to see who is singing the songs that they are going to be listening to. Rita Ora has chosen to use lots of images of herself on her album Ora, and placed them in a way that resembles a collage. This looks similar to the design of a newspaper and could maybe suggest that she is very popular as an artist and is in the news a lot. The font used is very bold and bright on this back cover and stands out against the black and white images used. This is different to the back cover design that is used for Diana Vickers’ album Songs From A Tainted Cherry Tree as the font she has used is quite unusual, and mixes upper and lower case letters together. Out of the two, I think that the placement of the image on Diana Vickers’ back cover is more aesthetically pleasing than Rita Ora’s back cover, but Rita Ora has used a font that is a lot clearer and think that a mixture of the two would create a very successful product.

This is the design that I thought would look the best before I did any research into existing products, and still think that this is a design that would work really well for a new artist’s album as I could include an image of the artist which would make the design appeal to the audience I am going to aim my product at. I could also use an image that still relates to the other parts of the album in some way, but isn’t of the artist as too many images may ruin the product and make it less effective.

TRACKS TO THE TOP/BOTTOM OF THE DESIGN.

(ONE DIRECTION – UP ALL NIGHT)

(NICKI MINAJ – PINK FRIDAY ROMAN RELOADED)

WOULD I CHOOSE THIS DESIGN?

This is also a design that is quite basic, and I think that these are really interesting to look at and really represent the personalities of the artists. The album from One Direction shows them having fun on a beach as if they are running towards the sea, which illustrates how they are friendly individuals. This will appeal to their fans as they are mainly young girls and they will feel as though they can relate to people that are famous, that they look up to and that they possibly think are attractive. On Nicki Minaj’s back cover for Roman Reloaded, she is seen to be covered in paint and is laid down staring into the camera in a seductive way (the paint splatters also follow on to the text which makes the back cover flow as a piece). This suggests that she is seen in a sexual way by fans (supporting Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze Theory) and also gives an insight into the type of music she creates. This is something that fans of the rap artist will already know, as she is famous for her use of sexual and taboo language, but is something that people who haven’t heard of her may not know. This image is a great starting point for the artist to portray herself how she wants to be seen in the industry, and coincides with the track list as these also suggest a sexual individual.I think this is a possible design for the product I am going to create, as it enables me to use both imagery and text to create a fun and exciting product which will then in turn make it successful.

THE CONVENTIONS.There are the things that appear on each back cover I have looked at, which are:

- Record label(s) the artist is signed to- Barcode- Tracklist- Relates to the rest of the product

I am going to look at the conventions of the designs that I think would work for my product, rather than look at ones that I don’t think would be suitable for what I am going to create.

TRACKS IN A BASIC DESIGN.

On this design, the conventions are really simple and there isn’t many, as there isn’t much happening on this particular design. The conventions on this particular design is:

- Track list- Record label(s) the artist is signed to- Name of the album (possibly)- Barcode- Font stands out against background; creating a clear, professional product.

If these conventions are followed, the product can end up looking really professional and interesting. Sometimes, the product may look slightly undesirable if this style doesn’t suit the genre of the artist, so I would need to think about whether this particular style would suit an indie-pop artist. I would most likely use a pale background and a darker font colour to make the track list really stand out and look professional. I think that this would make a successful product because it would look really simple and would reflect the type of artist I want to create.

THE CONVENTIONS.

TRACKS TO THE SIDE OF THE DESIGN.

This is another design which is quite basic, but think it is a lot more interesting to look at than a back cover with only text and no image. This design is also used quite a lot because it enables the artist and their institution to be as creative as possible, mixing both imagery and text. The conventions for this design are:

- Image(s)- Track list- Record label(s) artist is signed to- Track list not covering the artist’s face on any image- Colour of text stands out against the background of back cover- Barcode

There are a lot more conventions for this design, as it has a lot more happening and uses a lot of different things to create the product. This would be a really good idea for the design for the artist I am going to create because it would allow me to be as creative as possible, using an image of the artist or something that relates to the album in some way, alongside the track list to the side of it.

THE CONVENTIONS.

TRACKS TO THE TOP/BOTTOM OF THE DESIGN.

This design is very similar to the one in which the track list is placed to the side of the image, as it follows a lot of the same conventions:

- Barcode- Image of artist or something relevant- Track list- Record label(s) artist is signed to- Font of track list stands out against the colour of the background- Track list doesn’t cover the artist’s face

I think this is also a design that could work for the product I am going to create because it is a design that is used by many artists, so will be able to take inspiration from lots of different artists when creating my album. It is again a design that will enable me to be very creative and experiment with whether the track list works better above or below the image.

THE CONVENTIONS.