This document analyzes the album packaging and branding of singer Rihanna's album "LOUD". It discusses how the packaging conveys Rihanna's brand through the use of the color red across the CDs, booklet, and digipak. The digipak images portray Rihanna as gentle, feminine, sexy, and innocent through poses and facial expressions that emphasize passion and vulnerability. The cohesive visual theme synergizes Rihanna's brand across all her media and grabs audience attention. The packaging aims to convey that the music will have emotional themes of love and heartbreak through a powerful yet upbeat sound.

1. Target Audience
Age: 16-30
Gender: Both
Ethnicity: Black & White
Interests: Gardening, Nature, Romantic Novels/Films, Shopping,
Socialising etc
Location: America/UK
Spine
Back image
Record label branding
Colour/Style
Artist name
Folds
Image of artist
Booklet
CDs
Colour/Style
Track list
Barcode
Recording information
Websites
Credits

2. The CDs are creatively decorated
with light pink followers. They give
off a feminine feel as they connote
love, passion and beauty, all of
which is the artists brand. The
theme of flowers is yet another
element that continues across all
texts, they are most evident in the
music video for Only Girl.
The album is entitled LOUD. This
is contrasts the main image as
she connoted as being peaceful
and innocent. The typography is
simple with big gaps between
each letter, which emphasises
the bold and vibrant red colours.
It connotes her attitude towards
music and its effective in grabbing
the audiences attention.
This image spans across three folds within the inside of the digipak - this is
unconventional as you would expect to see three different images however
in this case it is very effective as it holds emotion and deep meaning. The
artist lays across a bed of vibrant red roses and wears a white dress. The
colour saturation has been manipulated so that the red in both the roses
and the artists hair stands out because its a theme that has been carried
out through all of her media texts from all her music videos to her pictures
(also the bold colours enhance the genre of pop). This was done because
red connotes all things associated with love but also danger and blood.
So, the colour helps highlight the themes and also helps establish the
songs content.
She lays limply on a bed of roses connoting that the idea of love and the
beauty of nature comforts her. This is further connoted as she has her
eyes closed, this highlights how she can feel the music and this is shown
through her expression of passion. This gives the audience an impression
that the music will be very emotional and raw.
There is a close up shot of the artist looking down (possibly eyes closed)
and her lips are parted. She looks away from the audience which is
unconventional because artists normally make direct eye contact in order to
invite the audience in. Rihanna still achieves this because the image
connotes her as being attractively vulnerable and by looking down and
away it connotes her mysterious side, this therefore draws the audience in
as we want to know what she's hiding. The close up focuses on her face
and her body is not shown off. This shot type connotes the artists personal
and enclosed pose. This intrigues and grabs the audience attention as we
want to know what has caused her to shy away and be protective of herself.
Her gentle pose is contrasted by the bold red hair and lipstick. This
connotes her sexual appeal as it emphasises her femininity and simplistic
beauty, that the audience will notice and appreciate.

3. The artist sits in a bundle on the floor. Again she wears
a white lacy dress which connotes her innocence and
vulnerability. Also, it emphasises her sex appeal as
her dress is partially see through and her legs are
revealed. She wears an usually large bead
necklace.This fashion statement could be related to
religion as prayer beads are used to meditate and find
peace. Therefore, this album could be about coming
into terms with a subject matter since she holds the
beads tightly as if in a contemplative prayer. In addition,
she sits hunched over as if trying to avoid something.
This is further connoted through her facial expression
since she looks away. The colour palette is soft and
gentle and with the combination of her body language it
makes her seem angelic.
The spine have the artists
name and album name on
it. The colours are very
bright and eye catching,
making.
This is a
barcode which
is very
conventional of
an album.
There is a clear narrative being portrayed in each of the
images. I guess its about relationships and how she is
distressed about them because when looking at all songs
on the track list, it seems that love and lust seem to be the
key themes the music is about, as their are songs entitled
love the way you lie, which could be about cheating and
mistrust. This then explains the reoccurring theme of red
and pinks. The audience can relate to her emotions as
they may have also gone through the same situations,
therefore they can connect with artist as they will feel she
understands them.

4. • Who is the artist?
Overview
This artist is called Rihanna.
• How are they branded?
The artist is branded as being gentle, feminine, sexy, simple, attractive and innocent. This brand is strongly
portrayed through the use of the colour red and also her expression - the closed eyes.
• How does it synergise with other representations of the brand?
The artists star persona has been built around her bold coloured red hair. She has pushed boundaries and it is
something that has gained massive attention across the world. She has set a trend and now people crave to get
Rihannas red look. The institution used this to their advantage to then create a continuous theme through her
different texts which the global audience will instantly recognise as its bold and inviting.
• How is the digipak constructed?
It consists of 8 panels, CDs and a booklet. They have chosen to do this in order to get the artists brand across to the
audience and also clearly connote what her music is like through the narrative based images.
• What message does the cover give to the audience?
As a whole the cover gives off this very powerful and emotional vibe. The use of red across all texts creates the
expectation that her music and music videos will establish the theme of love/heartbreak/death. The colours used are
bright and vibrant so it tells the audience that the music will be upbeat and LOUD just like her album title said.
• What will you use or not use and why?
When it comes to making my digipak i want to make sure i have a distinctive theme that runs through all three
mediums that me and my partner are creating, so that its instantly recognisable and portrays the artists brand
effectively. However, unlike Rihanna inside cover i will use three separate images instead of one whole image that
goes across all three folds because i want to establish the artists personality and the music's themes.