This document analyzes the cover artwork and design elements of several album covers. It discusses symbolic elements on the covers of Kanye West's Graduation, Jay-Z's American Gangster, Lily Allen's Alright Still, Tinie Tempah's Discovery, and Eminem's Relapse. Common elements examined include imagery relating to the album title, use of light and color, inclusion of the artist, and symbols representing the artist's brand or music genre.
3. Here you can see the bear that features on
many of Kanye West’s albums, this is an
iconic symbol that tells the audience
whose Digipak they are buying.
The bling and the
classic type of
clothing suggests what
genre this music will
be. Commonly bling
and the type of shoes
and clothing will
convey a hip-hop/rap
genre.
The image of the sky and the sun dawning highlights a positive tone for the
Digipak and enforces this idea of progression. Moreover, it could be argued
that it represents the dawning of Kanye West’s new album, making it more of
a collectable. This is further reinforced with the bear, as it represents his
Kanye’s work, making it more appealing.
Here we can see a
bunch of people who are
graduating, and
celebrating, this not
only gives off a good
feeling to the Digipack,
but also relates directly
to the album name
‘Graduation’, which
helps promote the
album even more and
increase its profit.
The vast array of colours and shapes appeals to the audience and makes it stand out much more, and gives it a more
psychedelic feel. In addition to this, the use of having a cartoon on the front cover makes it more interesting for the audience,
as it is more unconventional and different to the usual covers you see in this type of genre, of the artist as the central focus of
the image and it being more dark and mysterious
5. The use of the light in the background creates this sense that Jay Z (who we
can assume is the centre image) is almost this Godly figure, and creates almost
this hopeful tone, that he is there. In addition to this, having Jay Z as the centre
image adds resonance to his image, and signifies him as the most important
thing in the frame.
The chairs on the tables in the
background suggest that he is in a
closed restaurant or bar. It could
therefore be argued that this
creates almost a sinister tone, and
that Jay Z may be hiding his real
character from the world. The fact
that he is somewhere after closing
implies that he is hiding in the
night, and that he has a secret to
keep, possibly his false character,
and that he is in fact this criminal,
or an American Gangster, hence
the title of the album.
The use of the smoke in
the background seems to
imply that either there is
more people there, and
that Jay Z is about to
confront them, or that
Jay Z is creating the
smoke, creating this
sense of rebellion, and
that he is encouraging his
fans to be rebellious.
The use of the Parental Advisory
badge also shows that there is
‘explicit content’, keeping with
the effect of the Digipak cover.
The use of the suit that Jay
Z is wearing could be
interpreted to highlight this
sense of class to the
album. However, it could
in fact be interpreted as
this stereotypical gangster
in America, similar to the
mafia, who also constantly
wear suits.
7. The album name Alright Still is easily recognisable, due to its bold red and white colour, which stands out in
the grey colour of the album. However, the option to put it in the background of the frame, adds resonance to
the artists name in the top left. It would seem that this is of a greater importance in the picture, suggesting
that the album is more about Lily Allen herself, than the music. Furthermore, the font used is very bold
emphasising this
point further.
The use of the speaker pouring
out music suggests Lily
Allen’s love for it. Also you
get the sense that her music
will be almost comical, as it is
a cartoon that is coming out of
the speaker. Furthermore, the
use of what we can assume to
be someone’s hand doing a
rock hand gesture, suggests
that the music on the album is
enjoyable, and will make you
happy.
The direct mode of address
is usually done from the
solo artist straight on,
however, here you can see
that Lily Allen is angled to
the side. This makes the
direct mode of address
more subtle, which could
be argued to be more
appealing to the viewer.
Here you can see that Lily Allen is wearing much jewellery. This is done to promote wealth, and possibly
Lily Allen’s wealth. In addition to this, it could be argued that the jewellery is bling. It is not common to see a
women promote this type of trend, it is mostly seen from male artists, however, the style of the music and the
artist suits this fashion very well, further emphasised by the use of the parental advisory label, sticking to the
trend of that particular genre and her image.
9. The idea to have Tinie Tempah as the centre image highlights him as the most important thing on the album.
In addition to this, the use of the light shining down on the artist again reinforces this idea that he is the most
important thing in the image, and also could be argued to give off this almost holy feel to the album.
The use of the stars in the
background of the centre
image relates to the title of
the album well. It implies
that the artist has been
discovering the universe,
and the use of the purple in
the frame endorses a happy
tone, whilst relating to the
colours in the vast universe.
You can also see Tinie Tempah’s use of bling as well, which fits in to his genre
of rap well, bling and expensive jewellery is a common element used in the
frames of rap artists. The use of the sun glasses in the frame also relates to this
idea of bling, yet it also could be argued that he needs them to see, as there is a
strong light coming from around him.
Also in the centre image is
what seems to be a city
that the artist is holding.
The use of the light that is
in the city makes it seem
as though it is glowing,
implying that it has much
power strength.
Furthermore, the fact that
Tinie Tempah is holding
the city, suggests that he
has discovered it, on the
other hand, it could be
argued that Tine Tempah is
a part of the city, due to
them both covered in the
light.
11. The album name is listed in the
bottom left of the frame, and is
meant to represent a prescription
of drugs given by a doctor, who is
Dr Dre. This relates very much to
the title and purpose of the album,
which is related to drugs and
Eminem’s recovery after his time
in rehab. In addition to this, you
can see that there is a 3 instead E
at the end of the album title. This
maintains the personality and the
image of Eminem, as he always
puts an 3 toward the end of his
name. This keeps in place the same
image that we have of Eminem. In
addition to this, we can see that it
is prescribed to Marshall Mather's,
who Eminem goes by the name of
in this album, again maintaining
Eminem’s image, as he changes
his name for every album.
The idea to use pills to make up the image of Eminem implies that pills
have taken over Eminem, and they now make him who he is. The use of
the different colours which are mostly red could be argued to represent
the pills as a deadly substance.
We can also see
that Eminem is
the centre image
of the frame,
which is
commonly seen
on rap albums, as
they wish to be
the main focus.
Also there is
almost a harsh
look from
Eminem, and a
direct mode of
address, which
makes the album
more personal to
the his fans.
The idea to have a black background implies that there
is almost a dark tone to this album. Furthermore it
could be argued that this resembles Eminem’s
emergence from darkness and rehab.
