As part of the introductory work set for the coursework for A2, I was given the task to create a draft example version of an album cover for a music artist. Beforehand, I needed to research and pick out a certain music genre to look into and also base this album cover project on. The chosen genre that I decided to look into was the Pop genre as that genre is the most common genre of music that I listen to. I then researched other music artists of the same genre such as Rixton, Ed Sheeran and Ellie Golding, for me to familiarise myself with the typical conventions of a Pop music CD cover. Due to the chosen genre, this album cover is therefore targeted at an audience who prefer to listen to Pop music.

 

Firstly, I visited a few different locations around the local area to find a suitable place to have photographs taken for the album cover. One of the locations I chose was one of the group member’s gardens as it was filled with greenery, and as he also had access to props such as guitars, which I thought would look extremely attractive and followed the typical conventions of a Pop genre CD cover. The chosen image is a long shot, which captures all three of the band members standing together, with two of the members playing guitar. This portrays the style of music that would be featured on the CD, with the guitars showing that guitar will be one of the instruments in the music. Also, the use of the mid shot can clearly show the figures’ clothing and NVC including their facial expressions and body language. My facial expression in the image shows that I am looking directly into the camera, which therefore expresses that I am looking directly at the audience. This gives the audience a sense of direct address, as if I am interacting with the audience which lures them in to the CD and encourages them to listen. I am also pictured in the image wearing very casual and basic clothes, including a plain navy skirt and plain white t-shirt with a logo on. This makes my character appear very close to normal everyday people, and therefore makes the audience feel like the artist and their music is very individual, as they have an individual and normal dress sense. Also, my hair is tied up into a messy bun, and my make up is very natural which again complements the normal and natural atmosphere that is being portrayed through the image. The other two members are looking down to their guitars, which can portray that they are passionate about the music they are playing. This then makes the audience assume that we are proud of the music, and that we want them to listen too. They are also wearing casual clothes, such as jeans and t-shirts, which also portrays to the audience that they want to appear as normal everyday people, and therefore gives the audience a sense of personal identity and closeness to the artist, as they feel connected to the artist. 

 

In addition, once I had all of my desired photographs taken, I then needed to edit my chosen image to make it more appealing and alluring to the audience. The first editing change that I made to my chosen image was cropping the image from a landscape size photograph to an almost square shaped photograph, as I had researched that almost every CD cover is of this shape. I completed this editing technique in an editing program on a computer called Corel Photo Paint as it is easy to manipulate and can adjust photographs easily. I then decided to experiment with the different settings to enhance the image, such as changing the brightness, contrast, exposure, and adding tints and hues to the image. As I wanted the colours of the grass to be more vivid than what they were in the original photograph, I changed the contrast of the image to make the colours more intense. As green is a happy and neutral colour, I wanted the intense colours to symbolise the upbeat type of Pop music that this band would portray. Once I had changed the settings of the image, I then wanted a specific filter applied to the image to really bring out certain colours of the image. However, the editing program that I was using did not have the correct settings to do so. Therefore, I decided to find other editing software with filter features, and I came across Aviary which had been previously installed on the Wix website. This software had the different filters that I could incorporate in my image. After experimenting with the different filters, I decided to choose a filter that enhanced the blue tones in the image, which linked with the name of the group, and I thought that this filter looked the best out of all of them. 

 

Afterwards, I then needed to create the text that would be applied over the image, which would inform the audience of the artist name and the CD name. Whilst thinking of the name of the CD, I had already decided of a name to call the band, which was Blue City because it made me think of cool, calm but upbeat music that links to the Pop genre, which is the genre that I have chosen for the artist to be. Therefore, I then decided to change the colour of the font from a regular black font colour to a light blue colour, which would then complement the name of the band and also emphasise the cool and upbeat music that the band would produce. After then, I decided to produce the name of the CD to go along with the name of the band, as most popular Pop music CD's have the name of the artist and the name of the CD on the cover of the CD to inform the audience of what the CD is trying to show. I then decided to call the album 'Obscure Happiness' as in my opinion, the phrase seems to create a positive atmosphere and is also quite similar to other album names, such as Pop singer Mariah Carey who has released many album containing similar happy associated words like 'Music Box' and 'Charmbracelet'. After choosing a name, I then decided to change the colour of the font using the editing program Corel Photo Paint. Again I did not want the black colour for the font as black is a colour that usualy connotes death, mystery or the 'unknown' and these words do not correspond with my album genre of Pop. Therefore I changed the colour to the same light blue as the artist name, but in my opinion it did not stand out from the CD. So, I then changed the colour of the font to white as there are elements of white in the image behind the text. In addition, white is a colour which is usually associated with purity, honesty and light which easily corresponds with the album style and emphasises the music's individuality and the artist's honesty of the music being their own. Next, I then wanted to change the font style to make the album more interesting and eye-catching for the audience. To do this, I again used the program Corel Photo Paint and searche through all the different font styles that caught my eye. I knew I wanted a sans-serif font as they are the informal styles of text, and the music that is being portrayed through the cover of the CD is informal. After flicking through the list and experimenting with different styles, I decided to keep the font style called 'Kalinga' as it was clear, easily readable and simple, which also supports the music style of the artist. I applied the font style to both pieces of text and was reassured that this font was the most suitable for a young target audience who enjoy listening to Pop music.

 

Finally, I needed to decide on where I should position the text on the cover of the album, and at what size I should place them. I firstly began with the name of the artist, and started to move the text around the cover to experiment with different positions. I also referred to other existing Pop album covers for inspiration and guidence when positioning the text. I also noted that the size of the text also matters and can help to portray and sell an album if used correctly. For example, I used existing covers such as Rita Ora's album called 'Ora' which has the album text larger than the text displaying the artist's name. From the examples, I then decided to position the name of the artist at the bottom of the image. Also, as it is a blue font, I needed to position the text over a suitable background so it could be easily read. I then needed to decide where to position the name of the album. In addition I also used the 'Line of Vision' technique which is the natural pathway the eyes go to when looking at an article or image. The 'Line of Vision' starts at the top left hand corner and scans across the top to the right, and then follows diagonally down to the left again, to carry on scanning to the bottom right, like a 'Z' shape. When taking this into account, the only places in which I could place the text would either be along the top or along the bottom, as the whole middle section is being taken up by the image on the cover. After experimenting with the different positions that I could use, I decided to again place the text at the bottom of the image as the text stands out from the background and it is in the 'Line of Vision' which makes it easier to be read by the audience. However, to make both pieces of text sit on the bottom of the image, I needed to adjust the sizing of each piece of text. From the examples of album covers I looked at, I decided to make the album name larger than the artist name, as the album is the more important and it is trying to be marketed. Therefore I changed the text size from 12pt on Corel Photo Paint, to 35pt and placed it along the bottom left hand side. I then took the artist name and changed the size of it from 12pt to 24pt and placed it along the bottom right side of the image, making both pieces of text to fill up the whole of the bottom section.

 

In my opinion, I think my draft album cover is successful at being appropriately designed for a Pop music artist and album, and attracts a suitable target audience too.