Album Covers Analysis

Typical features of album covers

After choosing a range of front covers I can see that the main similarity between them is the use of the artist name, it is often displayed in the form of a logo or a typography that is unusual and memorable. The name of the artist is displayed in the largest font on album covers, as this is the first thing people will be looking for if they are purchasing a CD in a shop. They also show (usually underneath the artist name) the name of the album- it is generally related to the imagery used on the cover, and has a different font and font colour to the artist name. In most cases the band member/s are photographed and shown on the album cover as a way of recognising the CD you want to buy, and it is individual, as no other bands will have the same image.

Not all of the albums use bright and bold colours, it depends on the genre and tone of the album i.e. a pop record is likely to be lively and fun album cover whereas rock will be cool and use greys and blacks. Albums can be distinguished by the tone of their album covers and the images shown on the front can sometimes link with the meaning of the album name e.g. “As cruel as schoolchildren” the album cover image is an overweight child being pointed and laughed at by his peers.

I think that the main function of album covers is to promote the work of the artist, which is why their name is shown large on the front. It could also to be visually explaining a story of a song or a collection of songs, which cannot be illustrated through the music- an album cover is an opportunity to show an unusual idea. An album cover is also created so that the CD or downloadable content is not boring, if an image has to be shown the artist might as well make an interesting logo for the songs they are promoting.