The document analyzes Rihanna's album cover for "LOUD" through five lenses: 1. Characters - Rihanna's red lips and hair imply promiscuity while her edited skin implies wealth. Tattoos make her seem less innocent. 2. Setting - The rooftop setting implies wealth and power, while the rose bush implies love and emotion. 3. Iconography - Roses and a wedding dress imply romance, while colors like red imply love and wealth. 4. Technical Codes - The font and capital letters imply informality and volume. Shadowing makes Rihanna seem mysterious. 5. Narrative Events - Rihanna's pose implies disappointment in love

1. Nicole Greenhalgh

2. Characters
Rihanna’s full red lips and hair are what immediately strike the audience and give them the impression of
potential promiscuity due to the connotations which bold red lips hold. The big red hair make Rihanna seem
confident and loud and therefore links to the album name.
Rihanna’s skin tone has been edited in order to make herself look golden instead of her natural dark skin. This is
used to portray the idea of wealth and desirability. The fact that Rihanna has her face over her shoulder gives
off the idea that she is hiding or that she is mysterious.
Roses typically hold connotations of beauty and innocence, meaning Rihanna is, at first, seen as an innocent
character. Despite this, the use of colour and shots (such as extreme close up of the face which includes tattoos)
take away the initial found innocence and is then replaced with mystery.
Tattoo’s can be found on Rihanna’s neck and ribs and this holds contrast with the wedding dress and roses
within the linked shot. These tattoo’s make Rihanna seem less classy and girly and give her a more ‘dark/street’
approach.
On the reverse of the digipack, Rihanna is found with her hands between her legs with an arched back, this
makes the character seem provocative (especially when linked with the hair and lips colour).
Nicole Greenhalgh

3. Setting
The setting which is used on the back cover of the digipack is one which strongly links with the
previously mentioned iconography. This is due to the photo being taken on what seems to be a
rooftop above America, and when accompanied by gold curtains, connotations of wealth and
power instantly spring to mind.
The front cover of the album cover is taken in what seems to be a rose bush, which once again
directly links to the iconography of love and innocence. The pose which Rihanna is holding whilst
lay on the rose bush also strengthens this idea due to her looking dramatically emotional.
Nicole Greenhalgh

4. Iconography
The use of red roses and what looks like a wedding dress give the album an overall romantic/in
love theme and this is primarily due to the connotations that the roses and dress hold.
In addition to this, the colours white, red, white and cream and constantly used throughout the
album and these all hold connotations of love, wealth and possibly desire. Using these colours aid
the overall aim of making Rihanna seem both desirable and wealthy. The colour red directly links
to the roses and wedding dress and therefore creates a stronger theme of love throughout.
Using the American flag on the back of the album makes Rihanna seem patriotic and proud to be
an American citizen. Despite Rihanna not being American-born, the majority of her fan-base is
within America meaning she aims to impress the biggest section of her fan-base ergo the use of the
American flag.
Nicole Greenhalgh

5. Technical Codes
The simple sans serif font used creates an informal sense and this is primarily due to the double spacing. This
font looks more simplistic ad informal in comparison to using a serif font such as ‘Georgia’or ‘Times New
Roman’.
Using capital letters links directly to the album name ‘LOUD’. This is because we read the word somewhat
shouting whilst in capitals, therefore adding more volume and informality to the album cover.
The close up headshot on the front cover allows the audience a clear view of Rihanna and therefore helps them
judge her on her heavily red make up/hair. The use of heavy shadowing makes Rihanna seem mysterious and
dark.
Rihanna’s name is placed along the very top of the album cover which overlaps with both the primary optical
area and the strong fallow area meaning that it is the first thing the potential audience notices. This is important
as Rihanna is already a very famous/well known artist and if the audience knows that she is the artist of the
album then it could potentially enhance sale performance.
Nicole Greenhalgh

6. Narrative Events
Due to Rihanna’s pose for the front cover of the album ‘LOUD’, I have concluded that it holds
connotations of disappointment and when linked with the colour of her hair and lips, it could
possibly be disappointment due to love. This is due to the colour red having direct connotations
with love and romance .
In addition to this, due to Rihanna’s eyes being closed it seems that she is hiding/keeping a secret.
Therefore, the idea that maybe Rihanna has been hurt in a relationship, or (linking to my previous
point) is disappointed in something she has done whilst in a relationship and is now hiding away
in shame is brought to mind.
Narrative Enigma
Nicole Greenhalgh