2. “Harry Styles”- Harry Styles
Harry Styles is known for being a member of the chart topping
band One Direction. After announcing they were going on a
hiatus in 2015 each member stated working on solo material.
Harry being third out of the band to release a single. “Sign Of The
Times” debuted at number one on the official charts and a month
later his self entitled album also topped the charts at number one.
Styles decided to venture away from the teen pop music One
Direction were known for and Harry has now developed a more
rock influenced sound.
Front cover- The front cover of the album is a photo of Harry
topless with his back facing the camera, he appears to be
submerged in a pastel pink bath. The photo reveals the most un-
tattooed part of Styles which gives off the feeling of additional
nudity, as there’s no ink visible to show a particular individualism.
Styles is know for being quiet and for keeping to himself and not
revealing too much about himself, so his nudity could also
represent how vulnerable and honest the album is, how he’s
revealing aspects about his character that no one knows about.
3. Colour scheme- The colours used throughout the album
are mostly pale, pastel and feminine colours.
Harry is known for having a pretty “out there” style that
includes floral and bright coloured suits, gold boots and
women’s skinny jeans. So the feminine colours of the album
aren’t surprising.
Back- The white border around the back of the album could
be a way of showing how he is separating himself from the
band where he was told what to say, what to wear and what
to do and starting a new chapter in his life doing.
Intertextuality- Water is a theme that runs through all of
the artwork for the albums artwork. The artwork for his
single “Sign Of The Times” was also him sitting in water.
Fonts- There isn’t any text on the cover, but the fonts used
on the back are very basic and simple, easy to read and
acknowledge.
Synergy – Styles has recently started his first solo tour and
the merchandise as well as the stage “props” all reference
the colours and pictures used in the images for his album.
4. “Loud”- Rihanna
Front cover- The front cover is a close up of Rihanna
with bold red lipstick which matches her hair. Already
representing the album title, “Loud”.
Although it is a simple cover it stands out due to the
bright red colour used.
The artists name is also in very small text which
shows how popular and recognisable she is.
Colour scheme- The same colour scheme is used
throughout the album portraying what the songs could
possibly be about; love, danger, hate, etc.
The dark colours in the background of the inside of
the digipak are a contrast to the white dress Rihanna
is wearing, which connotes innocence and purity.
Most of Rihanna’s albums follow the same layout of
an close up shot on her with simple text and fonts.
5. Fonts- The fonts used are very basic making it much
more easy to understand and acknowledge.
Intertextuality- The music video for “Only girl in the
world” was shot in the same place as the photos for the
album were taken.
Rihanna is showing quite a bit of skin in both the
middle and back of the album, representing “the male
gaze”.
Back- The song list along the back of the album is
simple and in capitals to make it easy to read.
She represented in a sexual way by the little amount of
clothing, the way she’s looking away from the camera
and is surrounded by bed sheets.
The way she's looking away from the camera could
also mean that she is nervous of what she might be
revealing in her album.
Audience- The audience for this album would be
mainly people who like pop music and are fans of
Rihanna.
6. “25”- Adele
The front cover simply consists of a close up shot
of Adele. She is making strong eye contact with
the camera, this could mean that she isn’t
nervous about what may be revealed in the
album, it also makes consumers interested in the
product because it makes them feel involved.
Adele’s eyes are always the main focus on the
front cover of her albums. The fact that the front
cover doesn’t contain any written word such as
the album title or even her name shows just how
popular and recognisable she is.
Colour scheme- The colours used are very
simple and minimal, much like most of Adele’s
previous albums. This makes people focus more
on her music. Black and white also represent her
soulful type of music she writes and sings.
7. Again Adele is looking straight into the camera, a
reference to looking.
She is wearing a full face of makeup, a
voyeuristic representation of women.
Fonts- Some text finally appears on the back of
the album, all in capitals in a clean and a simple
font to make it easy to read and acknowledge. It
is also positioned to the left hand side to avoid it
clashing with the image.
Following the song titles is the barcode and the
record label copy right information as seen on
most albums.
Synergy- During Adele’s world tour the backdrop
all references her album artwork. The concert
starts with a back projection of her eyes opening,
another reference to looking.
8. To the right is an advert for Rihanna’s album “Loud”. Rihanna takes up
the whole page so all the attention is drawn to her. The way the image is
taken could be portrayed in a sexual way, the way she has her hands
over her mouth and revealing her shoulder, the male audience could be
aroused by that. She is also looking away from the camera wearing
sunglasses making her seem mysterious. It could also be that she’s
nervous and shy about what is on the album.
The advert includes the name of the artist and album and when it’s out,
but it also includes the names of the most popular songs on the album
“Love The Way You Lie” and “Only Girl (In The World) so that if the
public liked them they recognise them and are more likely to buy the
album.
They have also included an image of the front cover of her album so
people know what to look for when buying the album.
The colour scheme- The colour scheme and her style are very
feminine. The colours and also her ring which is a rose all connote love.
The thing your are most drawn to when looking at the page is the bright
red of her hair, red connotes love, a possible subject for her album.
Fonts- All the fonts are in a clear and capital font making it easy to read
and acknowledge. Also not having her name in bold shows how she is
recognisable and doesn’t need her name to stand out to sell albums.
9. Adele’s album advert is much more simple than Rihanna’s.
There is only one image and is the wider uncropped version
of the image used on her album. She is making direct eye
contact with the camera drawing the public in.
The heavy eye makeup and slicked back hair gives a very
1950s retro vibe as her music often has an old fashioned
and soulful fell.
Colour scheme- The colours used are black, white and red.
The very basic colour scheme draws more attention to her.
All of Adele’s albums are named after her age. The 25 is in
red separating it from everything, red also connotes what
the album could be about love.
Fonts- The advert has very little text, just her name, the title
of her album and the release date. Her name and album title
are in quite a retro font, linking back to her style of music. All
the text is in capitals and has a basic font to go along with
the simplicity of the advert.
10. Unfortunately I couldn’t find an advert for Harry Styles’ album,
so I decided to use Ed Sheeran’s album “+”.
The main image is of Ed looking away from the camera
smiling, this could mean he’s proud and excited to reveal what
is on the album.
The text includes his name and the name of his album. It also
includes the names of the two most popular songs on the
album “The A Team” and “Lego House”, so if the public liked
those songs they would easily recognise them and there would
be more of chance of them purchasing the album.
A review of the album also appears on the advert along with
the four stars it received to promote his success, this also
informs the public on what to expect on the album.
“The No.1 album” stands out using a bright orange, by
including this it lets the public know that it was a successful
and good album.
Colour scheme- All the colours are simple except the orange
the is spread throughout the page, the border, the album cover,
some of the text and also his hair.
Fonts- The font on the page is all the same, it is the one Ed
Sheeran uses for his logo, so its easily recognisable is you’re a
fan of Ed.