Ancillary Task

1. Ancillary Task
Harriet Davies-McLeod

2. Beyoncè – I Am Sasha Fierce
The image on the album
cover is very simplistic but
very effective. Beyoncè is
the main feature of the front
cover. The fact that there is
no bright colours and the
cover is very simple shows
the power and dominance
Beyoncè has in the music
industry and she doesn’t
need to have a stand out
cover as people will always
notice her whatever the
image.
Because Beyoncè is naked
this could represent her
vulnerability which could be
connected to the theme of
her album and the messages
she is portraying in her
songs.
The ‘nakedness’ of the
picture used exposes her to
the male gaze, which also
links to the idea of her being
vulnerable which is then
reflected in her music.
This album cover was from Beyoncè 3rd Studio album I am Sasha Fierce. This album cover is
very different from her previous ones and is a lot more natural and bland colours are use. The
cover shows a more vulnerable side of Beyoncè that we may not have seen yet before.
Because the album title is quite small, simple and not in the centre it add
more focus on picture of Beyoncè rather than the album title.

3. Matching typography to the font use on
the front cover of the album.
The image used on the back of the CD is very
different to the one used on the front but one
thing they have in common is that they both
express Beyoncè beauty and again it also
exposes her to the male gaze.
The colour scheme matches the front cover
in that bland and natural colours are used.
Matching typography to the front
and back album covers.
The colour scheme matches both the front
and back album cover .
All the images used on all three covers are
very different but all show Beyoncè beauty
and expose her sexuality.

4. The same typography is used on the tour poster as the
fonts on all three artworks of her album cover and CD.
In all the artwork produced for Beyoncé's album ‘I am
Sasha Fierce’, she is very much the focal point of each
product .
The same typography is used in all of the products as well
as the colour scheme.

5. Ed Sheeran - ÷
Ed Sheeran’s album ÷ was released in 2017. The album artwork was very similar from his previous
albums as they are all very simple and clean.
The colour blue often
connotes depth and
stability which could
reflect the meaning of
the songs on the album
or where the artist is in
their life.
Because the artist isn’t seen on the front cover it could be showing that he doesn’t want to be the
centre of attention and that he wants the focus of the album to be on the music he has created
and not him as a person. This convention isn’t a very common convention as most artists are
seen on the album not only to promote their music but to also promote themselves as they use
themselves as a selling point. For example many females expose themselves to attract a male
audience.
All of Ed Sheeran’s albums are
very alike. Firstly the names of
the three albums are +, x and ÷.
But they are also very minimal
and straight to the point. The
reason for this could be that Ed
Sheeran understands that he will
have success no matter what his
album cover looks like. This
therefor shows his power and
status in the music industry.

6. The matching
typography used on the
front and the back tie the
artwork together.
The divide sign again shows that
the artist doesn’t want any
attention and he want the
attention to be on his music.
The blue colour scheme is used
throughout all the artwork, this ties
the product all together.
Like to front cover both the CD
and the back cover are very
simple and clean.

7. When Ed Sheeran released his album he
released artwork for each individual
song.
Each song had an image that linked with
the message of the song.
The artwork ties in with the style of the
album artwork as they used the same
colour scheme of blue and black and
they were all again very clean and
simplistic.

8. The same typography is used in all of the
products as well as the blue colour scheme.
Ed Sheeran isn’t features on any of the product
which reinforces the idea that he doesn't want
his products to be focused on him but only on
his music.

9. Ariana Grande – My Everything
Because the artist is wearing vey minimal clothing she is
exposing her sexuality to her audience and trying to gain
male attention. Also this idea of attracting a male
audience could be supported by where the album title
has been places as it makes you look at her torso area.
Ariana Grande’s album My Everything was released in 2014. The Album artwork was quite similar to her
previous album as they both come across as very feminine.
The typography used on the album
cover is very fine and intricate and
also very feminine which could
reflect the style of music on her
album.
The typography used for the
Name on the cover is very bold
and eye catching this could
show that Ariana is trying to
establish her name in the music
industry and that she is trying
to stand out from the crowd.
The colour purple often
connotes royalty, luxury, power
and ambition. This could show
the type of person the artist is
hoping to become, an artist of
these characteristics.
The minimal background and the fact Ariana is the only
image could connotation that she wants to be the centre of
attention.

10. The same typography is used on
both the front and back of the
album artwork. The back
incorporates both texts used on the
front cover which ties the artwork
together
The same colour scheme is used in
all three products.
The CD art is very simple and clean
which fits in with the other album
artwork.
Because Ariana is the only image on the CD and she
stands out because of the white boarder it fits with the
idea that she wants to be the centre of attention and also
the theory of the male gaze as she is the only focus so
attracting attention to herself.

11. The same style typography is used on the tour poster to the album
cover. They aren’t identical but Ariana’s name is in bold type like on
the front album cover and it’s a stand out feature on the poster.
Ariana is featured as a focal point on the
majority of the products showing that she
might be using her feminity to further her
target audience and then therefore have a
better response to her music.

12. Taylor Swift - Red
The same typography is used for both the album title and the artist name this is used to have a
bold and eye catching impact and having the album title in the colour red intensifies the album
cover and it also links the with the image as the colour of her lipstick.
The shadow covering
her eyes add a
mysterious feel to the
album. It suggests that
she is trying to hide her
insecurities. But the
shadow also adds
emphasis to her red
lipstick which could be
used to attack male
attention.
This album cover was from Taylor Swifts album Red. In contrast to her previous albums, the
style of this album was completely different in style, colour and the way Taylor is presented.
She is now being presented as much more mature and grown up and could trying to target
herself to a different audience in order to be more successful in the music industry.
Other than the Red colouring, the
other colours used are very natural
which could represent her beauty
The Red and the White
colours are very contrasting as
Red represents love, anger
and danger where as white
represents innocence and
purity. These contrasting
colours could reflect the songs
on her album.

13. The Text on the CD matches the typography on
the album cover.
The simple red and white design was used tie in the
CD with the theme of the album cover.
The album songs are listed around the CD.
Matching typography.
The stripes on the back that list the songs on th
album match the red stripes on the CD.
The use of natural colouring and bright
lighting matches the image on the front
album cover.

14. The Text on the Tour Poster
matches the typography on the
album cover.
The picture used in the poster
matches the picture on the front of
the album as well as the use of
natural colour and the lighting.
The Red lipstick is still emphasized
and stand out from the natural
colours.
The red and white colour scheme
is used throughout the marketing
campaign for the album.

15. All of the products tie in together very well. They all
show the same image type as well as typography.
The most common feature that runs through
all of the products is the use of the colour red
which also links to the title of the album again
linking all the products to the album title.