After looking at varies album covers from different artists, I have realised that the codes and conventions of an album cover are…
Front
- Main Image (usually close ups)
- Name of Artist
- Title of Album or a Song from Album
- A recognisable style of logo/font for the artist
Most of these albums cover with close ups are of popular, well known artists. They are usually a solo artist and the main image on cover can attract audience who likes that particular artist to buy the album. The reason why consumer likes this is because they prefer to physically see the face of the artist as there won't be chances to see it close up in real life. This is a technique to get good sells as the audience feel comforted since they can view the artists face in high quality. This also contributes to 'star image' of the artist.
When it comes to groups/bands, they are always posing in a range of heights (some standing, some sitting and some bending down). This is because it creates an interesting composition for the album cover as no close-ups can be used since there are more than one of them and there isn't enough space. They are mostly in long shot to show their fashion styles because they are the inspirations to where the public get their fashion ideas from. They also tend to use more vibrant colours in group album covers to show their 'enthusiasm'. These album covers are more targeted at teenagers who likes to follow idols.
However, some album covers don't always follow the trend and they don't include any images of the artist on the front cover. For example, Sam Smith used a colourful painted background and simple black text for its cover. These are targeted at more sensible, young audience at around the age of 17-25 and the music tend to be slower and contain less pop songs.
Back
- Track List
- Special Features
- Possibly another predominant image underneath the text
The back of the album covers are usually quite graphic-based with minimal images and lots of typography. Editor likes to use unique fonts to connote the genre of the album. The tracklist is always big and clear to view for audience.
Institution Information
- Price
- Barcode
- Record Label
- Year of Publishing
- Copyright
- Individual Track Writers, Composers, Engineers, Producers
- A Reference Number
- Band Members
- Guest Performers
- Social Network Links
Spine
- Name of Artist
- Title of Album
- Record Label
- Reference Number
Inserts
- Further Institutional Information for each Individual Track
- Song Lyrics
- Photographs of Artist
- Thank Yous
Purposes of an Album Cover
- To Protect the Album
- To Advertise the Contents
- Using the Artistic Design to Reflect the Creative Intentions of Artists
- To Reflect the Principles, Attitudes etc of record label
- To Stand Out, to be Interesting and Eye-Catching
- To Boost Sales, Enhance Profit
- Attracts on Retail Shelves
- Enables Product to be Resold through in Different Modes/NMTs
- Art becomes the ICON
