The Weeknd’s website has a simplistic black and white theme. The black is powerful and 
strong. The red used in some of the pictures match some of the colour filters in the artist’s 
videos as the colour is used to connote violence. This is a common connotation of the 
larger hip-hop genre. 
The header at the top of the website is very similar to the title on the artist’s album cover 
using the same black and white colour scheme as well as the same font. This font is used 
everywhere in the website. 
The website uses a blog-style layout to make for a very simple navigation. There is very 
little writing on the site as it features a lot of visuals such as photos from performances, 
official music videos and promotional posters and adverts. An official video is the first thing 
that pops up as you open the website from the artist’s VEVO. 
The abstract photography on his website promote his tours as visually, they are made to 
look like an exciting experience to the audience which adds to the appeal of his music. This 
is also reflected in his videos which show abstract and artistic images and reflect the artist’s 
personality. 
The shop also features the simplistic black and white theme however the white is the 
overpowering colour. It gives the site a more pure and clean feel. It also features a large 
majority of pictures over writing as the online shop features a slide show of models and 
products. The photos traditionally represent both men and women with the women 
wearing revealing items from the clothing line. Where as men look strong and powerful. 
The clothing line is featured in some of the artist’s videos and the products use large logos 
to make the audience feel like the artist that they idolise.
The Weeknd has a very particular and recognisable style of video. The 
key feature of any of his videos is the hard lighting and high contrast. 
This creates defined detail on the artist, a darker background and very 
strong shadows which can be used to create shots that are just of the 
silhouette. Some of his videos use the same simplistic black and white 
effect as his website however he also uses colour filters and coloured 
lighting. This is either blue or red which are both powerful masculine 
colours, red connoting violence inspired by the genre’s hip-hop 
influences. The videos often feature extreme close ups especially during 
performance. The artist in his videos is often shown to look very 
isolated with the hard lighting acting as a spotlight and empty 
backgrounds in the shots. The cuts in his videos are very closely based 
on the pace of the video as the cuts can involve flashing images or shots 
can last up to 30 seconds. Videos such as ‘Live For’ feature both 
extremes of pace.
The cover of The Weeknd’s album, Trilogy, uses the same 
themes as the website. A simplistic black and white layout is 
used with a border to the photo. The clear separation of the 
picture and writing makes it really easy to understand the 
cover a sit is easy to understand the website. The Kiss Land 
cover uses this same simplistic layout. However, the photo 
and the font share the turquoise colouring. It adds to some 
of the oriental themes of the font and some of the videos 
from the album. In both covers the artist’s logo is the same. 
In both the covers, the artist is the only focus of the picture. 
In the Trilogy cover there is a girl but the shallow depth of 
field and hard lighting focusses only on the artist. In the first 
cover he is not giving direct address. However in Kiss Land 
he is looking down at the audience with an arrogant feeling 
direct address. The costume on both covers is the same as in 
his videos in that it is all black and this means that the 
audience are not focussed on it at all.

Task 5 artist

  • 3.
    The Weeknd’s websitehas a simplistic black and white theme. The black is powerful and strong. The red used in some of the pictures match some of the colour filters in the artist’s videos as the colour is used to connote violence. This is a common connotation of the larger hip-hop genre. The header at the top of the website is very similar to the title on the artist’s album cover using the same black and white colour scheme as well as the same font. This font is used everywhere in the website. The website uses a blog-style layout to make for a very simple navigation. There is very little writing on the site as it features a lot of visuals such as photos from performances, official music videos and promotional posters and adverts. An official video is the first thing that pops up as you open the website from the artist’s VEVO. The abstract photography on his website promote his tours as visually, they are made to look like an exciting experience to the audience which adds to the appeal of his music. This is also reflected in his videos which show abstract and artistic images and reflect the artist’s personality. The shop also features the simplistic black and white theme however the white is the overpowering colour. It gives the site a more pure and clean feel. It also features a large majority of pictures over writing as the online shop features a slide show of models and products. The photos traditionally represent both men and women with the women wearing revealing items from the clothing line. Where as men look strong and powerful. The clothing line is featured in some of the artist’s videos and the products use large logos to make the audience feel like the artist that they idolise.
  • 4.
    The Weeknd hasa very particular and recognisable style of video. The key feature of any of his videos is the hard lighting and high contrast. This creates defined detail on the artist, a darker background and very strong shadows which can be used to create shots that are just of the silhouette. Some of his videos use the same simplistic black and white effect as his website however he also uses colour filters and coloured lighting. This is either blue or red which are both powerful masculine colours, red connoting violence inspired by the genre’s hip-hop influences. The videos often feature extreme close ups especially during performance. The artist in his videos is often shown to look very isolated with the hard lighting acting as a spotlight and empty backgrounds in the shots. The cuts in his videos are very closely based on the pace of the video as the cuts can involve flashing images or shots can last up to 30 seconds. Videos such as ‘Live For’ feature both extremes of pace.
  • 5.
    The cover ofThe Weeknd’s album, Trilogy, uses the same themes as the website. A simplistic black and white layout is used with a border to the photo. The clear separation of the picture and writing makes it really easy to understand the cover a sit is easy to understand the website. The Kiss Land cover uses this same simplistic layout. However, the photo and the font share the turquoise colouring. It adds to some of the oriental themes of the font and some of the videos from the album. In both covers the artist’s logo is the same. In both the covers, the artist is the only focus of the picture. In the Trilogy cover there is a girl but the shallow depth of field and hard lighting focusses only on the artist. In the first cover he is not giving direct address. However in Kiss Land he is looking down at the audience with an arrogant feeling direct address. The costume on both covers is the same as in his videos in that it is all black and this means that the audience are not focussed on it at all.