CD Cover Draft: Roses

The idea for this album cover was to give it an indie/alternative vibe to represent the genre of music I was going for. I used dark colours and low key lighting to show the depth of the album and also used a double exposure technique to add in the element of nature. I left the background simple as to not distract from the main image and kept both the font and the album title simplistic to demonstrate the genre of the album. I added a grainy effect on top of the image just so it all blended in better together and looked more complex rather than a smooth finish to the photograph.






I used a darker picture for the background as a connotation of the peaceful yet chilling ambience of the music. I used the double exposure technique again to tie in with the original image on the front cover and bring the two images together. I included spaces in between each letter of the song titles to show that the album is about space, nature and time. This is also represented in the song titles themselves as they all interlink with the elements, darkness and ambience. I wanted to give the album a surreal yet euphoric vibe and wanted to portray that that's how the audience would feel listening to the album.

CD Cover Draft: Fox Track

This is an example of one of my CD cover drafts. The genre for this CD cover is primarily indie with a folk vibe. I looked at various different indie/folk CD covers before putting this piece together and found that the majority of them have simplistic fonts and nonchalant images - this represents the type of music because it's relaxed with a chilled ambience backing. The image I used relates to the album name because it's of a boy hugging a fox and the title is 'Fox Track'. I named the CD 'The Boy With Blood in His Lungs' because as it's an indie cover, the majority come up with a bizarre and original name for their CD's and this gives it more of an indie feel. I decided to use a simple typeface to tie in with the simple song choices and simple colour scheme.

For the CD back cover, I decided to use another simple image of a fox so that both the front and back linked together. I used simple track names that don't particularly have any relevance in conjunction with each other and was inspired by this idea from Foster the People's album, Torches. The beginning letter of every song spells out 'Fox Track' so that the album name is both on the front and back so the audience knows who's album it is from either cover. I used this specific background colour because it linked in with the colour of the image of the fox and overall, goes with the colour scheme of the album. I used the same typeface as the album name because it all ties in together with the whole album, the song titles and the colours.

This is the original image I used for the album cover. I cropped it to fit and colour picked the background colour to fill the rest of the background with the same colour. It wasn't exact so I had to blur around the edges of it. I used the eraser tool and set the opacity to 23% at 0% hardness and blurred it until the edges were no longer visible and it fit nicely in the corner of the album. For the text, I colour picked from the colours on the fox and darkened it a little bit to make it less vibrant. The text layers were two different layers and I scrolled through various texts before settling for the ones I finally did, and I moved the composition around a lot. Originally, I was planning on having the album title The Boy With Blood in His Lungs more towards the left and the album title Fox Track beside it but in bold so the audience could differentiate between the title and the artist, however when I put them side-by-side, I didn't particularly like it. I messed around with moving the text up and down and settled for it centred, with Fox Track above the album name. I finally decided to keep it like this because I thought it made the album cover and looked a lot neater and tidier than with the album name and artist name next to each other.

This is the original image I used for the back cover as it showed the fox in more detail and linked nicely in with the idea I was going for with the covers. I liked how there was a wooden effect and the fact that the fox was framed as it accentuated the image. To get this blurred like on the image on the back cover, I used the eraser tool again, set at the same opacity and hardness as I was using previously and removed all of the background around the oval ensuring I didn't erase the feather. I then centred it in the middle of the back cover and set the opacity to 67% so that it was blurred and moved the text over the image. I added a shadow to the text to make sure it was visible and made the first initial of every song title italic, so that whoever was viewing the album could see that it spelt Fox Track down the side. I used the colour picker tool to select the colour of the background again so that it blended in nicely with the image once I'd added various effects to it. I tried to make both the back and the front as simple as possible because upon researching indie/folk covers, I found that most were and I tried to reciprocate this with my covers.

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CD Cover: Inspiration

This picture by Jon Deunas inspires me for my CD cover because I like the double exposure effect. I think it adds more depth to the picture and rather than just being one image, there's two so there's a sense of storytelling within it. With a double exposure photograph, I like how there's two lots of detail and there's more than just one thing that captures the audience's attention.

  I'd use this style and this effect for my album cover to create depth within it and allow the audience to be captured by it which would represent the music genre I was trying to portray.

One idea I have using the double exposure effect is of a girl in a pure white dress stood in the middle of a field with a forest behind her holding two lanterns with candles burning brightly in them. The double exposure would come afterwards where I'd take a picture of a forest and blend it over the top of the image of the girl and blur it slightly, adding a fog effect similar to the one on the photograph above.

This picture also gives me an idea of doing a close-up shot of the girl's (who is modelling for me) face, then a long shot with her holding the lanterns and so you can see her white dress portraying a sense of innocence, and then the forest and the trees in the background. The song names I decide to put on the album will relate to the nature of the photographs, purity and isolation.

CD Cover Analysis: Indie/Alternative

Rubik are an indie pop/rock band from Finland. Their CD cover shows this because it has an authentic vintage effect and the clothing the models are wearing within it are also relating to the vintage era.

The lighting used is quite lowkey lighting so the audience gets the impression that it's set around dawn - the sun hasn't risen yet, however you can tell it's still warm as they're both wearing shorts and this relates to the album name 'Solar'. Solar means "of, relating to, or determined by the sun"; this image used relates to the sun because not only is it nature, but it gives the impression that they're waiting for the sun to rise. The elements within the image (e.g. the trees in the background, the lake, the cloud covering the woman's face) they pertain to nature and the word 'Solar'. This shows how the type of sound they might be trying to get across to the audience: chilled out and relaxed.

The camera angle used is an extreme long shot and this is used to establish the location and let the audience get an idea of what sort of sound the album has.
The cloud covering their faces gives a sense of anonymity and one song on their album is called "storm in a glass of water", therefore the cloud could be representative of that specific song. The majority of the songs on the album also affiliate with the image used, for example 'World Around You' and 'Sun's Eyes'. The song 'Sun's Eyes' combined with the album title 'Solar' overall gives the album a naturistic and tranquil vibe.

Foster the People are an American indie-pop band. The album artwork was designed by Japayork who's style is represented through the cover and indicates to the audience that it's an indie album. The audience gets this impression because many album covers that are more-so indie than pop, alternative, etc. have some sort of hand drawn artwork on them (for example 'Antidotes' by 'Foals') and this differentiates from the usual photographic image typically displayed.

The figures that have been drawn are smiling and cheerful and this gives the audience the idea that that's the vibe of the album and that the songs produced within it are happy and upbeat.

The colouring of the title 'Torches' is significant to the colour used on the torches held by the figures as everything else is in black and white. This would make the colour pop and as soon as the audience saw it they'd be able to recognise it because all of the torches are coloured and that's also the name of the album.
  The typeface of the title used is very modern and bold so it captures the audience's attention and they know exactly who's album it is.
  It's a very bright and simplistic album cover which shows the sort of music they produce, which is upbeat and bright itself. There isn't a direct link between the song titles on the album and the artwork itself which shows that there's no real structure to the production as there was with Rubik's 'Solar' album, which shows a more laidback approach and fun attitude towards the music.

Snakadaktal, like both Foster the People and Rubik is an indie pop band, originating from Australia. Their album cover has the same feel as Rubik's in the sense that the effect used on it gives it a vintage aura.

The lighting used on this one is highkey lighting because the audience can tell it was shot whilst the sun was shining due to the illumination of the clouds and the added effect of the sun's glare across the sky. The blue effect would've been added afterwards.
Like Rubik's album 'Solar', there's a lake and the image of nature as the main focus.
  This is a representation of the songs included on the album, for example 'Deep'; 'Air'; 'Isolate'; 'The Sun I'; 'Feel the Ocean Hold Me Under', etc. They're all to do with the elements and the photograph used on the cover demonstrates this - for example, there's the lake used and two songs pertaining to water.

The camera angle used is an extreme long shot so it establishes the setting and maybe sets the whole tone for the album. The leaves floating above the hill like kites is something original and unique on the album, therefore reinforcing the indie genre because the majority of them tend to typically include something that the audience wouldn't naturally see.
The title typeface used is very simple however is spread out across the top section of the album which takes up the majority of the space. This makes it wide and big enough for the audience to see however doesn't detract from the main image.

Magazine Analysis: ELLE

'ELLE' magazine's target audience is females, generally 18-35. We can tell this because Megan Fox is around that age and she's focused on the front cover as the main image and it's also evident from the cover lines. For example, the cover line "we've tried everything; surgery, injections, lasers, creams, what really works, what doesn't" targets an older audience because those who are younger would be more youthful and wouldn't be worrying about things such as those at their age. "The secret to looking 15 years younger" also emphasizes this point. Another point is that the magazine cover isn't incredibly busy, this is another way we can tell it's aimed at an older audience because they're only advertising the key things involved within the magazine and aren't overloading it as a children's or teenage magazine might.

'ELLE' is a well-known magazine and the audience can tell this because there's a lot covering the masthead and it's the "25th anniversary edition" therefore as it's been around for 25 years, it shows it must be a popular magazine.

Megan Fox has been selected as the main image and this is because she's an idolised woman within the film industry and many women see her as a role model and aspire to be like her. From the way that Megan's been clothed, we can see that 'ELLE' is a fashion magazine. She's dressed in quite a high quality dress and the audience receives the impression that a high-end designer may have designed the dress and Megan Fox looks glamorous, furthering the idea that it's a fashion magazine - the cover lines add to this as there's "Fall fashion!"; "The top 5 hair & makeup styles ever" and a cover line about the latest items of clothing and accessories available.

As it's a "special issue" this might entice the audience further into buying the magazine because it involves people such as Elle Macpherson, Amanda Seyfried and Lauren Conrad. These are all people that women look up to and may aspire to be like. This meets Katz and Blumler's use of the need for personal identity. The audience may not identify with Megan Fox yet as she looks glamorous but with the new "chic coats, killer boats, must-own bags", it's enforcing this idea that if they're fashionable, they'll be glamorous too and this meets that specific need. It also meets the information use because the audience are being informed about the latest fashion and how to keep up-to-date with specific styles.

  There's also a cover line referring to "love, sex, money, power" which are all things women would be interested in and that's another way the magazine and the magazine producers pull the audience in. The cover lines typically tend to cover the main image, however on this cover in particular, they've included the puffs right at the side so the audience can see the whole of Megan Fox and the dress she's wearing. This is a way for them to advertise the dress fully.

The dateline is "October 2010" and the thematic structure of the magazine coincides with this. This is because there's a lot of red and black used and at the end of October we have Halloween, which is a tradition that's known to be scary and a time of horror. A connotation of red is typically danger and a connotation of black is darkness, so with them choosing this colour scheme specifically, it ties in with the October month and the Halloween holiday. Another reason is ties in is because the cover line "Fall fashion!" shows that autumn is coming and the leaves are falling off the trees within this month in preparation for winter, and the colour of the dress Megan Fox is wearing ties in with the autumn season.

The magazine is priced at $3.99, this is £2.48 in GBP; this means that the magazine is aimed at middle-class women (such as teachers, nurses, etc.) as it's not priced too high so that they can afford it. The magazine producer has included "elle.com" underneath the date and the cost and has enlarged the font. This allows the audience to become involved socially and look at their website which would include more fashion buys and style/beauty tips for those who were interested in it.

Magazine Analysis: Men's Health

The magazine "Men's Health" target audience is primarily men. We can tell this because there's always men centred on the front cover and the magazine is all about a man developing his self-image and gaining confidence by eating the right foods, joining the gym, working out, etc.

The masthead is iconic and the audience know it's Men's Health because it's always in the same typeface and the same colour and this makes the magazine recognisable. It's also a bold text and uses a bright red which makes it eye-catching to those who aren't regular readers and this may coerce them into reading the magazine.

The colour of the masthead ties in with the colours used throughout the issue - there's a lot of red used alongside the masthead and also greys and blues. This also shows the target audience because they're quite masculine colours as opposed to pinks and yellows for a more feminine woman's magazine.

The main image on the front cover is of a man and a half-naked woman and this compliments "The Vice Issue" because the nature of the main image could suggest that it's a sexual vice. The cover line "one month to a body she can't resist" is aiming at those men who care about their appearance and also care about how women perceive their appearance and they want to look attractive for them. That cover line in particular may entice them into buying or reading the magazine because in addition to the main image, they may think that getting fit and healthy will make them attractive and irresistible to maybe the woman they're with or the woman they like.

This is one of Katz and Blumer's use and gratifications, because it meets their need for personal identity. They may not personally identify with the man on the cover just yet but they may aspire to be like him and this is another way they'd pull the reader in, by giving the impression that if they buy the magazine and begin to become healthy and fit, that they can look like him. Another cover line that coincides with "The Vice Issue" is "Beat colds, cancer and old age... with sex!" because it's showing that a portion of the magazine is sexually orientated and further enforces the idea of a sexual vice.

  One of the gratifications of this is that the audience may read the magazine and it may make them feel pleasure from reading it at the thought of wanting to be like that and being given information on how to become healthy. It may inspire them and this may make them motivated and determined.

The dateline on this magazine is underneath the masthead and is in a smaller font compared to the masthead and the cover lines (puffs). It's priced at £3.95 which shows the magazine is aimed mostly at a middle-class audience (i.e. teachers, business men). A reason why the dateline is so small could be that everything else on the magazine has enticed the reader firstly, and that although the magazine is £3.95 and they might not be willing to pay that, they would because everything on the magazine has gained intrigue and makes them want to buy it and read it.