Conventions of design behind the CD.

Images that aren’t relevant to the front cover.

On these three products, the images don’t relate to the album cover in any way, as they all look completely different but still work together really well. I think this has been done by the artist to keep their product interesting and to make it appeal to their fans, so that they can sell as many of their album as they possibly can. In all 3 of these images, none of the artists are looking towards the camera and I think this is because they have already drawn the consumers in with the front cover, so are using the image that is placed behind the CD as a way to illustrate their creative side. It also represents their ideology and personality because:• Miley Cyrus is seen half-naked and covering her

breasts, showing how she is separating herself from her Hannah Montana years.

• Katy Perry is shown in a field and seems to be acting as though she has been set free, showing her carefree attitude.

• Foxes is shown looking out of a window, possibly portraying how she is looking out on something she dreams of maybe signifying her career.

TOP LEFT – MILEY CYRUS ‘BANGERZ’TOP RIGHT – KATY PERRY ‘PRISM’BOTTOM RIGHT – FOXES ‘GLORIOUS’

Images that connect with the CD in some way.

Some artists use a very simple design in their products, which often relate to the front cover, CD or both. They are sometimes the exact same design as one or both of these or are just similar in the colour or pattern used. On Nicki Minaj’s album The Pink Print, she has used a very similar image to the one that is used on her front cover and CD, as this shows how she has been very consistent in her design and understands how important this is for creating a successful product that will sell lots of copies. This image is slightly different as this makes the product interesting as otherwise it may be boring because there would be no differences between the sections. Using this very simple design means that she can focus on creating music that she knows her fans will enjoy rather than making her product look really good, as she wouldn’t have had to go on lots of photoshoots and have these planned out for her album. Lady Gaga’s album Artpop is similar to this in that it relates to the front cover and the CD as these both have the exact same design. Differently to Nicki’s album, she hasn’t used an image of something similar to her CD and front cover design, and has opted instead for a pattern that connects with the CD design. I think she has used this because it gives an insight into what the album will be like, as this album is much more artistic and experimental than her previous albums and singles.

NICKI MINAJ – THE PINK PRINT

LADY GAGA – ARTPOP

Images that follow similar styles to the front cover.

For Ke$ha’s album Animal, she has continually used a font that looks handwritten and used the colour gold to illustrate a particular message to those that buy the album, and also to give an insight to the style of songs the album will contain. Though there is not an image used on this design, I think this matches the overall feel of the album because it represents her laid back attitude to the stereotypes she has been given. As this design shows, the particular album contains bonus tracks that have been specifically chosen by Ke$ha and/or her record label, and I think she has placed these here to reiterate this to the consumer so that they think they are getting a lot more content than what others are getting, which could then make them feel personally involved with Ke$ha (perhaps as if they a friend of hers). Lorde’s album Pure Heroine is quite basic in the way that it is designed, which is not something that I thought I would find with a debut album from an artist, although I think this is something that is quite conventional of an indie artist (although she is specifically categorised in the genre of indie pop). I think that she has not used an image or a pattern on this part of her album because this represents the easy listening quality to her music, but think that she still could have been a lot more creative in the design of this part of the album as in my opinion, this slightly ruins it because it suggests that she hasn’t made as much of an effort as she could have done.

KE$HA – ANIMAL

LORDE – PURE HEROINE

THE CONVENTIONSAs all of the products I have looked at all have different designs and are from different artists from different genres, it is quite difficult to distinguish what the conventions are for every product and why these make it successful as an album.

Each design that it behind the CD – whether it includes an image, a pattern or nothing at all – relate to the other parts of the product, so that everything works as a whole and is consistent which illustrates a professional touch to the product.

Because I am planning on creating a design in which the artist is featured behind the CD, I am going to list the conventions of these and look at why these can help to create a successful product;

• The artist appears in a different way to how they are portrayed on the front cover• The artist doesn’t look directly at the camera• The photo is an expression of feelings in an artistic way

I think that the reason these particular products work is because they are more of an aesthetic image than having an idea or a message to go with them (although I do think the images that are shown in these products are used to represent a particular idea). I really like this idea because it means the artist’s face is repeatedly shown, therefore hopefully increasing sales of future products for the artist.

(BANGERZ)

(GLORIOUS)

(PRISM)