2. The title of album having the word “Computer” links to
the mechanical semantic field that seems to be quite
prominent due to the machinery type drawings on both
the front and back covers. The typography is quite bland
and has a formulaic look, linking to the mechanical and
well oiled overall aesthetic. This would give a good
overall impression of the album as it alludes to it being
professional and well thought out with every detail
having been carefully considered. This modern
technology type theme is carried out through the
names of the songs also as “exit music (for a film)”,
“Airbag”, “Electioneering” and “Paranoid Android” all
have technological links in some way.
There isn’t a distinct main image as the whole
effect of the covers is to be hard to make out. Most
prominently would be two roads going in different
directions at the bottom of the front cover, perhaps
being a metaphor for decisions and trials and
tribulations you face in life. The main image on the
back cover would be the piece of blue weaponry or
machinery with a theme of blue carried throughout.
The colour blue has a number of connotations and
the most apt when it comes to Radiohead’s genre of
music being quite depressing demonstrated in
songs such as “Let Down” and “Karma Police”. Again
this is a link between choices on the covers working
with the songs within it.
You can make assumptions
about class from the genre of
music as well as the artwork of
the album. The lyrics are quite
complex alluding to intelligence
thus stereotypically them being
of a higher class. However, their
gender only becomes clear
when you a) hear the voices and
b) see pictures of the band as a
whole but isn’t really very
important. On top of this, their
age isn’t obvious nor is it
extremely important.
3. The main image is quite creepy and ghoulish. As a result of the dark clothing
and skull head we can assume the genre isn’t going to be pop. The darkness
contrasting with the bright pink background gives off a feel of metal or hard
rock. On top of this would be the slash through the O making a Q at the
bottom centre of the cover. It is blue but looks like blood and adds to the
death metal feel of the whole cover.+
The font of the album title and
band name is in a fairly faint
style and colour to as to not
overpower the drawing which is
clearly wanted to take
precedence as it is in the middle
as is very big.
The vampire type cloak and
scene that has been set up
in the drawing also has
allusions and connections
to death so again helps to
work out the genre.
Though the background is bright and vibrant, the connotations provided from
the drawing are quite the opposite. This makes the colour choice almost ironic
or purposefully not fitting. On the other hand it could be just because the pinky
red is quite a regal colour and would match their name “QUEENS” of the stone
age.
4. The font for the band
name is quite grungy
and looks as though
dripping in slime. This
works with the grungy
genre of music they
pertain to. As well as
this, the fact the band
name is far bigger than
the album title is very
unusual. This could
show that Green Day
are perhaps a very big
brand as well as band so
will need to stand out
more. This is different to
the Queens of the Stone
Age album as they
aren’t as possible and
the art work was more
of an attraction for
them but the band
name in this case is the
most prevalent. Adding
to this, everything is
extremely dark apart
from the band name
which is in a bright
white colour so stands
out even more.
The main image is of two people kissing and the positioning of their
arms around each other suggest they are in love/lust. This would then
allude to the type of themes within the songs, namely love or lust.
This then has a further to the title of the album “21st Century
Breakdown” which pertains to some kind of heartache.
The colour scheme of
burnt orange and black
and yellow and red all
suit themes of fire and
burning. This could be
symbolic of a fiery
passionate love or
conversely a fiery
personality of the
significant other
leading to heartache as
discusses previously.
The fact the two people in the main image are in black and white and everything else
is colour is also significant. It could represent that their love is old and traditional and
romantic but the mention of the 21st century in the title of the album and the word
breakdown again shows their old fashioned love can’t perhaps survive in modern
conditions suggesting the content of the songs being quite depressing.
5. The main image in the
foreground stands out as it is
placed in the first third of the
shot using the rule of thirds.
This is appealing as the
audience are drawn away
from the centre where the
picture usually is. The main
picture also relates to the
title “Recovery” as it links to
the well known expression
“road to recovery” and the
image has a long road before
the man.
The picture is quite clearly the artist (Eminem) as he is wearing the clothing he
mostly always wears so this has given him some kind of identity. The clothing
also links to the genre of rap he performs in as the hat and jeans and hoodie all
link to lower class kind of archetypes which is on the one side of the spectrum
that rappers talk about. The other side of the spectrum is about having lots of
money and Eminem is quite individual in that sense.
The font for the album
title is very simple white
text that is bold so it
stands out on the front of
the CD cover. Other
elements have been added
so it stands out even more.
An example would be the
“o” being replaced with a
medical sign which could
relate to the title being
recovery. Also the “E” is
turned around and this
adds to the idea of
continuity as he does this
in other albums.
The parental advisory sign shows that the album is designed for
people of a certain ages as perhaps his music relates to himself at
certain ages. If he’s discussing something slightly inappropriate it’ll
be there as a warning. However it may be there just to enhance his
bad boy image.
6. Part of the title of the album
and her name are in a dull
grey colour and the word
“pink” is in pink. This is kind
of an obvious motif but it is
effective as it is of the same
colour as the background of
the picture above. There is
definitely and quite clearly a
pink theme with the pink hair
dress and shoes matching
where she’s sitting and the
background. This matches the
genre of pop that appears in
most of her songs. However,
she also majority of the time
raps so the pink kind of goes
against the stereotypical
colours used when in
reference to rap music such as
black, red, gold and white.
However, since women
rapping is fairly unusual she
probably wanted to add some
femininity to the whole aura
of her album.
The way she is sat is quite provocative with her legs fairly spread with
her cleavage on show. Since everything is pink and girly she probably
thought her sexuality would appeal to a male audience making her
album and music kind of unisex meaning a larger amount of people
likely to pick up the album.
Considering the fact she’s
quite a well known artist,
having her on the front is
completely necessary. The
fact her name and the album
title are quite faint is not
important because she’s got
a very distinctive look so it
will be unlikely that the
people she’s targeting won’t
know her. The outfit is also
quite eccentric which adds to
the brand she’s created for
herself with numerous
outrageous outfits in the
past. However, the outfit is
still quite soft and pleasant
so adds an innocence to the
whole album cover-
appealing to a younger
audience. However there is a
parental advisory on there so
kind of contradicts the
innocence she portrays.
The facial expression she’s pulling is quite
harsh, juxtaposing her outfit, and could
symbolise the harsh lyrics she has in her
songs, which is in conjunction with the
parental advisory sticker at the bottom.
7. The artist name and
album title both stand
out quite significantly
through the use of bold
block capitals and
contrasting colours. The
artist name sits on a
simplistic background
made up of a mid blue
which is contrasted when
the album title (blue) is
placed on a white
background (her shirt).
This is done in order to
keep in with the constant
colour scheme. These
colours were probably
chosen because they are
light, summery and quite
feminine. However, the
title is extremely
depressing and talks of
how we are born to die.
This is a huge
juxtaposition to the light
and pretty colour scheme.
The main image is a
photo of the artist
herself. She is making a
direct contact with the
viewer as she is staring
down the lense. In a
way she is drawing the
reader in in an almost
hypnotic way by staring.
She is not posing, she is
not doing anything
special but for some
reason she still looks
appealing and she
makes you want to read
the advert. The fact the
artists name is placed
behind her shows her
face is the most
important part of the
advert, further proving
the idea she is trying to
draw you in.
8. The text on the entire advertisement is
extremely clear because it is in a vey large
and bold font with a contrasting white to
the black background. The artist and self
entitled album name is the biggest text on
the advert which is due to it being their
debut album and they need to make a
name for themselves. As well as this, the
haunting and silhouette type main image
alludes to an alternative feel of music
also. Throughout rock bands
advertisements they are always rather
basic and simplistic and this is due to
them not needing to dress up their album
as they just need to provide the
information and hope the audience is
intrigued enough to give them a listen.
This is extremely different to a pop
advertisement because they are more
likely to add bright colours and sparkles
and try to make the advertisement as
appealing as possible. This is due to the
music probably needing an advertisement
to match the bright and sparkly songs.
At the bottom of the advertisement there is details on how to access and download
the music. As well as this it tells the audience how to access other forms of the album
(vinyl, online download etc.) and this shows them as being versatile and have the
ability to provide music for however people need. This will be appealing to people with
record players or conversely a huge online library of music.
9. The main image is an explosion
of colours and naturalistic
imagery. This gives off the
impression that the band have
quite interesting music with an
explosive edge. The colour
yellow that has been used in
the image is then used further
down the page when talking
about the release date of the
new album. This continuation
makes the date stand out and
since it’s important information
this is significant. The contrast
of the artist name (in black) on
a white cellotape type effect
background makes their name
stand out. Which again is
important due their name
possibly being a brand as they
have already been popular prior
to this album. As well as this,
their name is near enough in
the centre and this positioning
again adds to its importance.
The background is a
relatively dull grey/brown
colour and acts as a non
distracting placement for
the image and texts. The
fact its quite neutral allows
the text on top to stand out
even more, further
illustrating their
importance.
The font used for all the
majority of the writing
is very bold and in
capital letters in order
to emphasise their
existence. However, the
title of the album is in a
handwriting style of
font (unlike the rest of
the text) and could
suggest that the album
will be different to
anything the band have
ever produced before.
10. The first thing that stands out is
the close up shot of the artist
herself. She is a very popular
artist and having her and her
name placed below her allows
an audience who likes her
music to see it very quickly. Also
by having her staring down the
lens its as if she’s looking into
the audience’s eyes and
therefore intrigues the
potential buyer. This is a
popular convention with pop
music because they’re an artist
because of their image as well
as their music.
The use of this facial expression could be implying
that this particular album has a variety of emotions
explored within the lyrics of each song.
The colour scheme used is
black and gold (black lips,
nails, hair and clothes) (gold
and white writing). This gives
her an edgy look in
comparison to other
archetypal female pop artists
who would perhaps choose
lighter and more bright
colours like pink and yellow.
This makes her not only stand
out in the magazine she’s
being advertised in but in the
whole of the pop industry.
The use of gold is usually a
symbol of wealth so could add
to perhaps the themes
implored in her music, Price
Tag being a prime example.
The information at the bottom is minimal and the positioning is important as it does not detract
away from the main artist. Rock and alternative bands do the opposite as they are less of a
“brand” than say pop artists like Jessie J are.
Having the artist’s name in a
large gold font allows it to stand
out against the black clothing,
making her brand stand out and
be noticed.
