Drafts of The Front Cover, Back Cover, Inlay Design of My CD Album

The Front CoversArtist’s name and album: The artist’s name is in block capitals with purple streaks around the letters. As this is designed to be the debut album of the artist, I believe it would be fitting for the font to be in capitals so the audience would be immediately drawn to this new artist. The purple streaks around the letters are to give off a sense of superiority, a theme dominantly seen within the Hip-Hop genre. This directly links with his name ‘Royal-Tee’ which plays on the word ‘royalty’. . The 'Better Than' is in the purple for the same reason as the inverted 'E' in the artists name, however, the 'Yesterday' is in a box. I drew this as it radiates the impression of isolation, whereby in this album, 'Yesterday' is seen as negative, whereas the present and future are seen as positive. This automatically allows the audience to distinguish what message the album promotes.

Background image: The background image is of the artist looking upwards which symbolizes hope and links with the name of the album ‘Better than Yesterday’. His cap and muscles links with the conventions of a hip-hop artist, in which they take care of their appearance. The left side of the picture is of rain, which represents sadness and failure whereas on the right side of the picture, positive connotations are portrayed through the tree and birds and the artist’s posture. There is a shadow of the artist to represent the sun being present to link to the positive connotations with the future, as opposed to the sun being visible in the picture, as I believe this would divert away from the dominant representation of hip-hop artists (hard and tough personality). This enhances the meaning of the album- the desire for a better life, without subverting Hip-Hop conventions.

Artist’s name and album: The artist's name is in a simple black font with an inverted 'E' which is in purple. As the artist's name 'Royal-Tee' links with the word 'Royalty', I used purple so the regal connotation can be seen through the artist's name. This adheres to the Hip-Hop genre, due to the high status level portrayed through the purple- this is associated with the boastful nature of Hip-Hop artists. The 'Better Than' is in the purple for the same reason as the inverted 'E' in the artists name, however, the 'Yesterday' is in a box. I drew this as it radiates the impression of isolation, whereby in this album, 'Yesterday' is seen as negative, whereas the present and future are seen as positive. This automatically allows the audience to distinguish what message the album promotes.

Background image: The background image is of bricks, which I believe adheres to the Hip-Hop genre, as the common theme within it is starting from a poor background and progressing to success, which is suggested through the bricked wall.

Draft 1

Draft 2

The Inlay Designs

The left side of the inlay designs discusses his campaign that he has proposed which was found on the artist’s website (http://iamroyaltee.com/). As this is his first album, this allows the audience to familiarise themselves with the artist, and couple his music with the activities he participates in his free time. The pictures show some merchandise which can be bought on his website which links to the audience getting to know the artist. The right side of the inlay design shows that CD disc with the artist’s name and album title, in which the audience remember what they are listening to.

Draft 1

Draft 2

The left side of the inlay designs is a picture of the artist with a quote. This also allows the audience to understand the emotions and reasons for the messages behind the songs in the album, in which they may be able to identify with it. These aspects are personal to the artist, which is fitting for a debut album, as it allows the audience to form a relationship with him. The right side of the inlay designs has the same font of the front cover, which allows the audience to view brand identity with the artist.

The Back Covers

There is a close-up of the legs to visually see the artist walking from the past to the future. This back cover directly links to the front cover of Draft 1, which provides the audience with continuity whereby the same connotations given- the left side of the picture is of rain, which represents sadness and failure whereas on the right side of the picture, positive connotations are portrayed through the tree and birds and the artist’s posture. This also features the song names and a barcode, which allows the audience to see the songs and matches the conventions of a CD back cover.

Draft 1

Draft 2

There is a medium long shot of the artist walking forwards but looking back to the camera. This represents the artist looking back at the past, which links to the album title ‘Better Than Yesterday’, providing the album with continuity, There is a track listing, informing the audience of the songs on the album and a barcode, which adheres to the conventions of a CD back cover.

The Magazine Adverts

Draft 1

Draft 2

The magazine advert includes a date that the album will be out by which informs the audience of when they will be able to purchase the album. It also includes a pre-order availability. As many if my target audience listen to their music electronically, this allows them to order it on iTunes first (a music app). The artist is on a bench, whereby he is thinking. This links to the album ‘Better than Yesterday’ as it allows the audience to know that he did have a past and has overcome it. As this theme is seen through my front cover and back cover, this provides the audience with reassurance as there is continuity between the 3 covers. There is also a link to the artists website, allowing them to know more about the artist.

There are reviews with in this magazine advert, which allows the audience to see what has been said about this album. There is a picture of the front cover, which allows the audience to link all aspects of the album together. The font is the same on all covers of the album, providing the audience with continuity. There is also a picture of the artist holding his cap, which directly links to the Hip-Hop conventions, whereby caps are associated with this genre.