An album cover is very important to an artist. The album cover is going to attract the audience to buy and listen to their music. It is the image they will have with them for a year or more whilst they promote, release singles and go on tour. If they get the album cover wrong then the target audience will not bite and will not be pulled towards the artist. The issues the artists have to think about for their cover are the fonts, the images, the colours, sizes, placement and the way it is presented to the intended audience. This is what I have analysed on a few CD covers of my choice.
Christina Aguilera: The cover shows an image of the artist so appearance is important to them and to the audience. She is looking straight at the camera, with a sli
ght smile, in a very relaxed position, lying on her side and not upright, therefore making direct contact with the audience; this makes it an intimate picture. The gold pillow depicts comfortable wealth. The warm lighting makes it very inviting, and relaxed, an old-Hollywood feel (very Marilyn Monroe). The blue in her eyes and the red of her lips are emphasized; these colours stand out against the generally yellowy, creamy colours, putting more focus on her face. The title ‘Back to Basics’ is a very similar shade of red to her lips; this has an impact because it keeps a limiting number of colours, keeping it simple. None of the colours used are bright, they are soft, this adds to the lad back approach, and goes with the theme of the album, which is going back to the earlier years of music, when lots of bright florescent colours would not be used.
ght smile, in a very relaxed position, lying on her side and not upright, therefore making direct contact with the audience; this makes it an intimate picture. The gold pillow depicts comfortable wealth. The warm lighting makes it very inviting, and relaxed, an old-Hollywood feel (very Marilyn Monroe). The blue in her eyes and the red of her lips are emphasized; these colours stand out against the generally yellowy, creamy colours, putting more focus on her face. The title ‘Back to Basics’ is a very similar shade of red to her lips; this has an impact because it keeps a limiting number of colours, keeping it simple. None of the colours used are bright, they are soft, this adds to the lad back approach, and goes with the theme of the album, which is going back to the earlier years of music, when lots of bright florescent colours would not be used. The White Strips: Front cover shows images of the band so appearance is important to them and to the audience. The colours, red and white, are a reflection of other White Stripes albums; they are always red and white with some black. White reflects their name and also a sense of innocence the white tee-shirt and red trousers on th
e man and the red mini dress on the woman reflect naivety, the hair styles too could be said to reflect this childlike attitude, this is appropriate as they have pretended to be siblings. The colour red connotes, in this case, possibly danger, anger, passion (forbidden love as they are a divorced couple). The image is shot from a low angle showing that the band are dominant or have attitude. The band members are divorced which is reflected in their position on the cover, they are together but not touching each other, their stances are childlike, showing an attitude. Their clothing is alternate to show possible conflict. The images of the band are framed by red and by a film border to show different images of the band. The back ground is like a garage door to give the impression that the photos are not contrived, the red ball looks like a lollipop, again reflecting childlike image. The font is white on red and similar to neon lights showing that they are aware they are performers, breaking with the naivety of the images.
e man and the red mini dress on the woman reflect naivety, the hair styles too could be said to reflect this childlike attitude, this is appropriate as they have pretended to be siblings. The colour red connotes, in this case, possibly danger, anger, passion (forbidden love as they are a divorced couple). The image is shot from a low angle showing that the band are dominant or have attitude. The band members are divorced which is reflected in their position on the cover, they are together but not touching each other, their stances are childlike, showing an attitude. Their clothing is alternate to show possible conflict. The images of the band are framed by red and by a film border to show different images of the band. The back ground is like a garage door to give the impression that the photos are not contrived, the red ball looks like a lollipop, again reflecting childlike image. The font is white on red and similar to neon lights showing that they are aware they are performers, breaking with the naivety of the images. 
Pixie Lott: The cover shows an image of the artist so appearance is important to them and to the audience. The cover gives no indication as to what kind of music the artist does, this means that all kinds of audiences will be attracted to the cover to gain information about the artists genre (with the exception of heavy metal and perhaps one or two other genres, which are more obvious to the public). The name ‘Pixie Lott’ is very large and noticeable, with the colour white contrasting to the back ground, making it stand out more. The font looks like someone has written it. This makes it more personal and original, for the onlooker the writing is new and fresh. The artist herself is a cross between well presented, looking at her outfit, and dishevelled, if the focus is on her hair. This effect of disorderly/well-dressed, gives an impression for the onlooker, that the artist is more relatable, but still cares enough about her presentation. In addition, her natural make-up adds to the relatable approach, especially to the female audience. There is no indication as to what the title of the album is called; it is only the artist name. This is perhaps because, ‘Turn It Up’ is her first album and her image is not well known enough to just have the album title on the cover, moreover she still needs to develop her image, and to get more publicity to be known by the public.
Paramore: this album cover looks like a school scrap book; this is then the theme, a group of young, 
rebellious people, doing what they want. The font is also consistent with this theme as it looks hand draw and out of control. The word ‘Riot!’ is scribbled everywhere and made to be very obvious that it is the title. The title of the alum ‘Riot’ is clearly indicated as the word written in orange and given a very central position. Riot can mean unrestrained revelry and an unbridled outbreak, of emotions and passions, this idea is seen in the style and writing. The group’s name (Paramore) is not in the album artwork as a main title. The band’s name is instead positioned to the as part of the scribbles. This is perhaps because as this was their second album their image had been developed enough for them to be known merely through a picture and the name Paramore was no longer required on the cover for them to be identified.
rebellious people, doing what they want. The font is also consistent with this theme as it looks hand draw and out of control. The word ‘Riot!’ is scribbled everywhere and made to be very obvious that it is the title. The title of the alum ‘Riot’ is clearly indicated as the word written in orange and given a very central position. Riot can mean unrestrained revelry and an unbridled outbreak, of emotions and passions, this idea is seen in the style and writing. The group’s name (Paramore) is not in the album artwork as a main title. The band’s name is instead positioned to the as part of the scribbles. This is perhaps because as this was their second album their image had been developed enough for them to be known merely through a picture and the name Paramore was no longer required on the cover for them to be identified. 
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