Lana Del Rey is the main subject of the album cover, conforming to stereotypes of a glamorous female singer with heavy makeup and flowing red hair. Her facial expression suggests unhappiness and attitude. Her white bathing suit has connotations of purity but opposes the themes in her songs, possibly paying homage to Marilyn Monroe. The cover uses design principles like the rule of thirds, with Lana occupying the primary optical area and palm trees and a pool suggesting Hollywood glamour, wealth, and luxury as themes in her music.

1. CD digipack analysis - Lana Del Rey – Born to die
(paradise edition)
On the Lana Del Rey – Born to Die albumcoverit becomesclearwhothe main
‘character’of the albumcoveris,and that isLana herself.She isrepresentative
of the female gender, she fullyconformstothe stereotypeof female
glamouroussingers.She isheavilymade upwithredlips,pinkeyeshadow and
herhair flowingdowneachside of herface butleavingherface free of hair,
suggestingrawnessandasense of truthwithinthe album, whichactually
relatestothe albumitself.
Howeverthe makeupalludestohowshe isstill conformingtoPop’sgenre of
typical heavymade upcharacters.Her redishhairgivesanindicationtohow she is slightlydifferent
to mostartists inthe industrycurrentlyandhow hermusicis differenttothatof todays.Her facial
expressiongivesoff avibe of anger,andattitude asshe looksas thoughshe ispouting,suggestingan
unhappiness. Hercostume alsoalludestohergenre butjuxtaposesherstyle andmeaningof songs.
The white bathingsuitshe has on has connotationsof purenessandsuggestsatraditionalist theme
whichagainopposesthe songsonher album. One couldargue she iswearingthisto paypastiche to
MarilynMonroe,the ideaof white andredlipsandbecause Monroe alsohad fame inLA, it would
make sense.
In termsof the Guttenbergdesignprinciple,itisclearthatthe primaryoptical area isoccupiedby
hername inhuge goldenletters,almostlikecitylights,possiblyhintingatwhere she’sfromadding
iconographytothe album. Del Rey’sheadslightlycovershername,reinforcingthe ideaof the idea
that itis personal. AsLana Del Reyisbasedin LA it’ssafe tosay thisalbumpresentsthatinthe idea
of location,asthere ispalmtreesoneitherside of hercreatingsymmetry,there isalsowhatlooks
like apool in the backgroundsuggestingasense of HollywoodglamourthatDel Reycertainly
presentsinhermusic,alsosuggestingwealthandluxurywhichissimilartothe style of hermusic.
The rule of thirdsisreallyobviouslypresentedonthisalbumcover,asLana is inthe centre of the
coveroccupyingthe primaryoptical area,meaningshe isthe subject andthe ‘background’ is
surroundingherratherthanovertakingher.
The lightingof the albumcoverisorange-yandwashedout,suggestingasense of vintage style,
whichagain,Del Reycarriesin hermusic.Withher influencessuchasMarilynMonroe especially
well showninhercostume andmakeup.Herbodylanguage suggests confidence,she hasone hand
on herhipand is pouting,hershouldersaren’tslouched,andshe isshownasa strong woman.