R & P Post 10: Album covers that have inspired and influenced my ideas

The primary purpose of an album cover is to entice a buyer or music fan into buying the product. It needs to do so by standing out with an original, often eye-catching design, however to be effective album covers must also:

-convey relevant information about the music included

- give details about the artist(s) through their name, as well as codes which could associate them with a certain genre

-include necessary institutional and purchasing information such as record company logo, address, smallprint and barcode

(Please click to enlarge)
Some of my notes on album covers
and their functions & conventions

This need to stand out to sell an album means that album art has an extremely prominent role and must include a series of conventional features such as:

-Artist Name: often in large text & a specific typeface and/or colour to ensure the artist is given prominence on the album.

-Album Name: If the album is titled, this will often appear close to the artist name. First albums are often eponymous - named after the artist themselves - in which case the only text on the front cover would be the artist's name.

-Institutional Info: such as the record company's logo, smallprint detailing their copyright information and relevant address or contact details.

-Focal Image: the standout feature on the front cover, often via a graphic, print or photo, which promotes a particular artist and their album.

-Barcode

-Consistent, synergistic typeface and colour scheme

-Continuing visual motif

-Information on the back detailing track list, and album and artist details on the spine (which must always be readable if turned 90 degrees clockwise)

Inspirations and Influences:

We analysed numerous different album covers in order to gain inspiration and so, using the above conventions and functions, we could construct an idea of our possible album cover. I have looked at 4 in particular which I feel provide useful signposts as to how we can progress our own project. 

Please access the Prezi below for my analysis of these 4 album covers:

I believe that my research into existing album covers can be extremely useful in a number of ways, as it will not only provide inspiration for what creative content we will include in our own album, but also means that we have gained vital recognition of the forms, conventions and purposes of album covers. We will now aim to include a closely-framed & eye-catching focal image, clear text, typeface & colour scheme, as well as including codes which will hint at GiGi's personal background, such as her beliefs or identity.