In order for my CD cover to look proffesional, I first need to do some research into popular and succesful CD covers.
Proffesor Green - Alive Till I'm Dead
In this CD cover, the first thing the target audience will see is Proffesor Green on the cover. Obviously this informs the audience that this CD is Proffesor Green's. The design of the CD has been slightly edited to make Proffesor Green look clean and pure and his trademark tatoo 'Lucky' is clearly visible, hence why the photographer did not take a picture of the other side of his neck.
The reason why this album would sell very well, is because everyone knows who Proffesor Green is, as various other famous artists have also featured in his songs, anothey key buying point.
The idea that Proffesor Green is seen looking away from the camera and up into the sky suggests that he is too important to look at the camera, and possibly even to show his tattoo on his neck. The reason behind this is because the artist himself is known to be quite 'hardcore' as he is a rapper - if however he had an album of him smiling and staring at the camera, this may deter his target audience, as this does not reflect in his music.
The album name also highlights the artists' motives, 'Alive Till I'm Dead' implying that his songs are rather meaningful and that he wants to be remembered, this also makes him look more of a badass. The jacket he is wearing is rather tightly fitted to his skin, making him look masculine and manly. The font of both the artist and album name has been simply designed, all in caps lock agaisnt a greyish white background. Two colours seperate the album name from the artist, differentiating which is which.
50 Cent - Get Rich or Die Tryin'
50 Cent is a well known rap artist and has been known to the general public as somewhat of a nutter. His album cover features a picture of him topless, showing off his extremely muscular physical form, emphasizing his masculinity and dominance. The album entitled 'Get Rich or Die Tryin' possibly because of his famed story of being shot nine times and surviving, and also the album cover is him behind shattered glass, again implying he is indestructible. 50 Cent is staring into the centre of the camera, intimidating audiences and again emphasizing his masculinity. The red background could possibly stand for the colour of blood, which promotes his masculinity yet again. The album name 'Get Rich, or Die Tryin' Another famed quote from 50 Cent, basically stating that you are either something or nothing, not in between. The album's main intentions and attractions is to draw in audiences who like rap music and enjoy listening to the likes of 50 Cent with his formidable presence and intimidating glare.
Sum 41 - All Killer No Filler
Depending on the genre of the music, album covers will alter in design. Take Sum 41 for example, their album cover consits of each of the band members pulling disgusting faces throughout the whole front cover. This gives the impression that this band's genre of music obviously isn't of the classical genre, but of something more generic, such as rock. Because of the somewhat disgusting album cover, it suggests that this genre of music is aimed at youths, as the cover is simply young adults pulling faces, showing the immaturity of the band and in some regards the comedic value it holds. The font of 'Sum 41' is bold and stands out well against the disgusting faces, with this bold and eye catching font, audiences will not have trouble determining what music genre the band is. The name Sum 41 doesn't really give any clues away as to what music they are labelling, 50 Cent for example clearly has alterior motives as the name suggests he is quite brutal. The album name 'All Killer No Filler' again highlights the rock theme this band are trying to portray, because of the red colouring of the font is also suggests that the band's music isn't very soft and soothing, but fast paced and hardcore. The mug shot effect the band has used on the front of the album could also suggest they are 'convicts' as such and are ruthless youths.
Lifehouse - Smoke And Mirrors.
Unlike my previous album covers, this album cover does not entail the band member(s) on the front of the CD. The reason for this being, is because Lifehouse are known for their simplicty in music and meaningful songs, their first ever album entitled 'No Name Face' consisted of the album cover having a wooden tribal face smiling at the camera, again this entailed no band members.
The album cover gives the audience a sense of errieness and mystery, as the mysterious blue smoke and dark background suggests the genre of music is quite mellow and meaningful. Therefore this would not be directed at people who enjoy the likes of Slipknot and Lamb of God. The album name and the way the CD cover is presented compliments the album name perfectly, as the title 'Smoke and Mirrors' is seen on the front cover as the blue smoke is mirrored as well as the album name and the band name. The way in which the text is mirrored on the front cover highlights the actual name of the album 'Smoke And Mirrors' as the text is reflected onto the surface. Both album name and band name are seen in small font, therefore making the album seem quite relaxed and meaningful, as opposed to a large font and explosions in the background.
The eerieness and mystery that lies behind the cover of the album draws audiences towards the product, making it a unique buying product.
James Blunt - All The Lost Souls
James Blunt, a popular acoustic/rock artist has released songs which always entail meaningful lyrics and personal emotions. His second album is still set around the same genre of music and is lyrically similar. The album entitled 'All The Lost Souls' implies that this is an album for people who seem lost in their lives, and the album looks to relax them, and specific songs can relate to different people depending on the situation in their lives. The background for the album consists of pictures of hundreds of different people photographed in everyday life, however, all of these photographs make up the face and upperbody of James Blunt, which is very clever, in that he is trying to communicate with the public by releasing such influential music, and the way in which James Blunt has made a portrait of himself out of all these people, suggests that he is a part of those people, and the people influence him to make music. The way the font of the album name is designed is such that it looks like it would be a sign you would see outside a pub, implying that all the people with 'lost souls' should rendez-vous at this pub where they can all relate to one and other. The artist font 'James Blunt' is similar to the font of 'All The Lost Souls' as it looks as if each letter has been taken from a pub sign, or a restaurant sign, again emphasizing how his music is for people from different backgrounds and lives.
The main image is James Blutn staring directly at the camera with a blurred face, making it difficult to determine what he is thinking, once again this relates to the vats majority of the public as he is implying that he is a lost soul.
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