The document discusses the conventions and design elements used across different components of a music album release, including the front and back covers, spine, CD disk, and magazine advertisement. It analyzes existing examples to identify common conventions, such as featuring the artist's name and image prominently on the front cover and track listing on the back. It then describes how the design of its own album components, for an artist named Jess Kelly, follows these conventions to look professional and be consistent with existing products. Key elements included are the artist's name, album title, image of the artist, and information on purchasing.

2. Digipak

3. The conventions of a front cover
After researching different front covers, I have picked out the
conventions of front covers of CD’s which helped my product look
professional.
• A main image of the artist which takes up the majority of the
frame with the artist looking directly at the camera. The shot used
is usually a mid shot.
• The artists name in large font at the top of the page.
• The album title either larger or smaller than the artists name,
sometimes in different font or colour.

4. Comparing
my album
cover to
existing
products
Here is my album cover compared to a selection if pop album covers
that I have picked out. These existing album covers are what I drew
inspiration from whilst creating my own which feature artists such as
Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato. I liked the style, layout and colour
schemes of the album covers, especially Demi Lovato’s and Rita Ora’s.
All covers have just the artist in a close-up/ medium close-up shot
with most of them looking directly at the camera. I followed this
convention, having my artist re-create this and taking her photo from
a medium close-up. Whilst editing, I decided to make the theme black
and white with red, like Rita Ora’s album cover. Overall I think that it
looks professional because I followed the conventions of existing
products.

5. The conventions mine follows I have placed the artists name at the top, centre of
the cover to follow conventions and because I think
it looks good there. The text colour I chose is black
because it contrasts well with the white backdrop
and makes it stand out more as oppose to it being
at the bottom of the cover. The font I used is off a
website called Dafont.com and under the title
‘Basic Font’. I like this font because it looks clean
cut and it doesn’t look clustered.
The main image is of the featuring artist, Jess
Kelly. She is giving direct address to the audience
which helps connect the audience to the artist
and is a good technique to catch someone's eye.
I used a medium close-up to also follow
conventions but also because it looks
professional. I got the artist to wear black so that
when I placed the red text on top of her it would
stand out. The costume also goes well with the
colour scheme.
Like the artist name, I have used the same font
to show continuity on the album title ‘Sexy Lady’.
I used red for this text to connect with the lips
on the main image.

6. The conventions of a back cover
After researching different back covers, I have picked
out the conventions of back covers which helped my
final product to look professional:
• The track list in clear font
• Either, an image if the artist or an abstract design
which matches with the front covers colour scheme
• Copyright text at the bottom of the page
• Barcode

7. Comparing my
album back
cover to
existing
products
For my back cover I had one certain
existing product that I really liked and
wanted to re-create it. The product
that I am talking about is from Demi
Lovato’s album ‘Demi’ where there
are lines that are scattered around
the cover and text, following the
colour scheme black and white. I used
a similar style on my own product,
adding red on the text to give it more
colour.

8. The conventions mine follows The track list is a convention of back cover. I
have placed the list in the centre of the cover
to be the main focus. It is in a similar font that I
have used on the front cover and is in red to
stay with the theme of black, white and red.
The background of the cover is a numerous
amount of lines placed in certain places. They
are all black because, like the ‘Demi’ album, to
look good and interesting to look at.
Towards the bottom of the back there is the
‘compact disc’ logo, barcode and copyright
rights. These are conventional to have on the
back of a CD cover because things like the
barcode allow the customer to buy the CD.
The copyright text informs the customer and
any other people that this CD belongs to
artist.

9. The conventions of a spine
After researching different spines, I have picked out the
conventions of them which helped my final product to
look professional:
• Artists name
• Album name
• Serial number
• Record company logo

10. The conventions mine follows
This convention is essential because it lets the audience
know who’s album it is. It also connects the front cover to
the spine as it includes the same text as the front. I kept the
colours of the font the same as the front cover to ensure my
product had continuity.
The serial number is a
convention I found
from researching
existing spines. It gives
the CD an individual
number of identity.
The record label is
usually included on
the spine. This shows
the audience what
record label the artist
is signed to. In this
case, I have chosen
to use Sony Music as
a record label.

11. The conventions of CD disks
From my research on exsisting CD
designs I have picked out the
conventions of a CD:
• Artists Name
• Album Name
• Disc Numbers
• Copyright Texts

12. Magazine Advert

13. The conventions of a magazine advert
After researching different album magazine
adverts, I have picked out the conventions of
magazine adverts:
• The name of the artists
• An image of the artists
• Release Dates
• How to purchase the album
• Social Media Icons
• Reviews

14. Comparing mine to existing products
Here is my magazine advert compared to some existing
products, including adverts such as Olly Murs and Ellie
Goulding. They all have the same conventions applied to them
which I have applied to my own. Jessie J’s advert gave me my
main inspiration for my poster because I like how the main
image is at the top and the text at the bottom.

15. The conventions mine follows
Name of the artist and Album
title: I have followed a similar
layout to Jessie J’s poster whilst
considering the layout of the
poster. I have put both texts in
red to show continuity
throughout the ancillary text
Reviews: Here, I have used 5
stars for the reviews which are
from Q Magazine and Heat
Magazine which informs the
audience that this is a 5 star
album and will make them
want to buy it.
Main image: The main image
here is of Jess and is an
important convention to have
because it lets the audience
know who’s album it is.
Release Date: On my poster,
the released date is ‘out now’
which informs the audience
that the album is out now.
Social media icons: This is an
important convention because
it lets the audience know that
the artist is on social media. I
got the icons in black and
white to match the colour
Where to buy the album: I
have included the icons Google
Play and iTunes because these
icons inform the audience
where they can buy the album
or single from.