2. Bastille – Bad Blood
◦ The front cover of the album is a photo of the lead singer Dan Smith running
down a road, away from a car which is featured on the back of the album. Firstly
the use of lighting with the headlights of the car projecting onto Smith make him
the focus of the cover. Although to fans the figure is easily recognisable as the
lead singer of the band, to people less aware they may not make a connection
between the person and the band, as this is Bastille’s first album using an
ambiguous figure will not isolate people who do not know much about the band.
From the images on the front and back of the album a storyline can be
distinguished, it appears as though Smith is running away from the car, this links
to the title ‘Bad Blood’ as he could be on disagreeable terms with the people
chasing him in the car. The front cover reflects that of a movie poster, with the
positioning of the text for example ‘Bad Steel presents’ preceding Bastille and the
text underneath the title resembling credits, the use of sepia colouring to the
album also reflects the colouring of old films. Iconography is used in the album,
for example the use of a triangle to replace the letter ‘A’ in both Bastille, the title
and the names of songs. The CD itself is a matte black with the title and band
name printed on to it, this matches the neutral colour scheme of the Digipak.
Bastille are an indie band and this album definitely reflects conventions of this
genre, the cinematic feel to the album gives it a quirky and unique vibe, whilst
the use of muted colours don’t make it too flashy.
3. Fall Out Boy – Save Rock and Roll
◦ The front cover of Save Rock and Roll features a photo of a ‘punk and monk’, in an
interview Fall Out Boy revealed that they chose this photo as it represents “the idea
of old and new clashing. Tradition and change coming together”. The ‘punk’
symbolizes rebellion and differing from society, which is shown through him smoking
and the way he is dressed. Contrastingly, the Buddhist ‘monk’ symbolizes religion
and meeting rules that the ‘punk’ most likely goes against. The holding of hands
symbolizes that although they have different backgrounds they can still get along.
The ‘punk’ fits in with Fall Out Boy being a rock band, and reflects a style that their
fans could reflect to. The positioning of the text on the cover emphasizes the two
holding hands; ‘Fall Out Boy’ is written in bigger text to emphasize who the album
belongs to as the cover photo may not give it away. Synergy is used through the
colour scheme of red and the rough styling, for example the use of graffiti on the CD
and panels, this brings the digipak together as a product. This digipak would appeal
to fans of the band; firstly, the alternative styling would fit in with their tastes and
would fit the expectations they have for the band. The digipak includes lyrics of the
songs, which would appeal to fans. The typography is the same for the whole
digipak, the use of capitalization makes it stand out and seem bold. Images of the
band members are included in the paneling for the digipak; this would appeal to
fans, but also makes it more personal, as the members are not included on the front
cover.
4. Foxes - Glorious
◦ The front cover is a medium close-up of Foxes in front of a pink background,
firstly as this was her debut album this allows people to become familiar with
what she looks like. The positioning of the text on the cover is done so that Foxes’
face is not hidden, the bold white font stands out clearly from the background
whilst also fitting in with the simplistic styling of the album as a whole. As a front
cover this fits in with the conventions of a pop album, the focus is on Foxes and
her image, as she is the focus of the cover she is the selling point of the album. In
the photo, from the way Foxes is looking out and her clasped hands she gives off
the effect of being vulnerable, this could be to shows how the album is personal
to her, and also that she is being open about who she is. Foxes style is overall
simple, the main point being her hair which slightly obscures her face, the
minimalistic styling could make her more relatable to fans and shows how she is
not only focused on how she looks. The CD matches the colour scheme of pink
and white which the album has, the same font from the front cover is also used
for Foxes Glorious, this creates synergy between the album as a whole. Although
the back cover follows the same colour scheme, the shade of pink being used is
brighter than that of the front cover, this could be to make the white writing
which is the list of songs stand out more. Overall the colour scheme is very
feminine and could reflect that the album is targeted at a mainly female
audience.
