The document provides an analysis of the album covers of four dubstep artists: Skream, Benga, The Prodigy, and Pendulum. It examines design elements of each cover like fonts, colors, images and layouts and attempts to interpret what these elements communicate about the artist's brand, background, and message. Key points analyzed include Skream establishing himself as a new artist, Benga focusing on raw emotion over glamour, The Prodigy portraying themselves as paramount over other genres, and Pendulum appearing more mainstream through their computer generated underwater scene.

1. Naomi Boland Album Covers

2. The black typography on the yellow background makes it stand out because they are contrast each other. This makes the name of the songs stand out which highlight that music is important to the artist. This is further highlighted by the fact that it is the centre of the page with no pattern or image surrounding it like many Pop or R’n’B albums. Even though the album cover looks low-key Skream is still the focus of the cover. Everybody else in the scene is not facing outward toward the person who picks up the CD. The reason for this is because it is the artists first album and therefore want to establish what he looks like because he is relatively unknown. The name of the artist is in the centre of the album and the centre of the album and in bold yellow typography, contrasting with the image behind, to highlight is name because he is a new artist. The exclamation mark at the end suggest that he is putting himself out there and promoting himself. Skream-Skream! The barcode is at the bottom of the album which is trying to show that the artist is all about the music rather then selling as many albums as possible. No logos are shown on the album cover either which suggest there are no sponsors and Skream is making dub step music because he loves it rather then being a mainstream artist and making as much money as he can. The picture on the front looks like it is from a party. This reflects how the dub step scene use to be. It was all underground and not mainstream which is reflected in the scene portrayed. It isn’t about glamour. The simply clothing also shows he is not making a show of himself and isn't being moulded like mainstream artists.

3. The names of the songs are in white while the background is black making them stand out. It is also written on the left side which is more conventional unlike Skreams album which contains them in the middle. The reason for the reason for this could be because it is called a diary it is like a contents of that diary. The fact that there are no images at the back to distract the audience shows that this is Benga, his diary, he is not hiding behind anything. The name of the artist is written in a clear font at the top left corner. After the image this is the first thing an audience will see. The typography is clear and is the same as the one at the back making it look professional but not overly stylized which is the opposite of what dub step artists what to be seen as. The white background allows the audience to purely focus on Benga and the emotion that is pouring out of his “Diary.” The white background with the sole image of Benga suggests that the music is solely about him and his emotions. There is no fuss. Benga- Diary of an Afro Warrior The simple black background clashes with the right as there are polar opposites. One interpretation of this could be that there are two sides to Benga. Another is that he has chosen this colour because it is plain and doesn’t allow him to hide behind any image. Again, the album is about music and is not one that a top company has thrown out there. The album starts with the name “Diary” suggest something personal and emotional this is reflected in Benga not facing the audience like he “cant bear to look out”, because the album is so emotional. Also because it is not his first album it allows him to do this because he doesn’t have to promote himself to the audience or draw them in because at tis stage in his career they are either going to like his music or not.

4. The name of the band is placed at the top because this is the first thing a consumer will see. The jagged typography suggest that there du step songs may be darker then other DJ’s out there. This is also suggested by the name of the album which states “Invaders must die” The Prodigy- Invaders Must Die The contrast between the black and white up top and the orange colour below suggests that those in the hair and on the ground are in opposing. Since the ground is orange similar to the orange in the word invaders suggest that those on the ground are the invaders and “The Prodigy” which is in black are again these. The fact that the Prodigy name, which is suggested to be linked to the aircraft which is above the invaders suggests that this band view themselves and the genre of dub step to be paramount, above everything else. The arrow on top of the name of the album draws attention to the name of the band again. The typography of the album is the same of the name of the band which makes everything in unison and not messed up. Also the word “die” is the largest word on there which suggests dark music. The font and colour also suggest that the DJ’s are heavily into the music and everything is blocked out. The title of the album could possibly be aimed at mainstream institutions because as mentioned earlier dub step at the point of this album release are not as mainstream.

5. The two people underwater suggest freeness because they are able to do what they want. Also they are not dresses and so backs up the point. This could reflect the artists who are also free to do what they want and are not under the pressure to follow an institutions order to have them on the cover. Another reason the artist may not feature on the cover is because they are a well known group and therefore are allowed such a creative and original album cover. Pendulum-Immersion The scene on the front cover is in correlation with the name of the album which is called “immersion” it portrays two people underwater. This doesn’t relate to the genre of music but is appealing to the eye and would appeal to a wider audience because it is so creative and unique. This uniqueness is probably what the artist brings to the dub step genre more then the others. The name of the group is in silver font and matches also the name of the album. This font stands out but still matches the tone of the album. The fonts colour seems similar to the colour of a sumberine and fits in underwater. The cover suggest that this artists is trying to be more mainstream and probably as a bigger finance backing then other dub step artists. This is connoted by the computer generated image which would cost more to create and design compared to Benga and Skream simple pictures on the front of there's. Another reason this cover may be more high end is because they are a well known grounp with lots of backing and therefore may have a lot of companies who are willing to invest and bring them further into the mainstream and charts.