This document summarizes and analyzes the album packaging and promotional materials for several pop albums. It discusses design elements and how they relate to pop music conventions or subvert expectations. Key aspects like color schemes, use of the artist's image, layouts, and font choices are examined for how they portray the artist and sell the music. Comparisons are drawn between albums to highlight what makes some more typical or unique within the genre.
2. Shawn Mendes Handwritten
This digipak is directly correlated with Shawn as an artist as well as including
some features of a stereotypical pop design. On first glance of the front cover it
is very dull and basic, which as a whole is not a contempory feature of a pop
album, however the picture of the artists face is displayed taking up a large
space of the album, this shows that they are the main component of the album
and that it is there's. The blue writing saying his name also stands out as all
other writing is white so this also shows that he is important on the album. The
CD similarly to the front cover is simple and basic being all black with minimal
writing displaying the name of the CD and the artist name, and is also a
countertop to pop albums for featuring this. The back of the album continues
consistency with the theme of the album being dark with white and blue
writing, the song names take-up most of the space and stand out in blue. The
barcode is hidden at the back in the corner which makes the album look more
professional and basic at the same time. The information leaflet matches the
album casing, being black with blue subheadings and white text. The font
chosen for the subheadings stands out and is unusual compared to the don’t
featured elsewhere on the album, this stands out more and also breaks the
consistency up.
3. Shawn Mendes Handwritten
This poster advertising Shawn's album holds many contermpory features of a pop advertisement and also contains consistency with
the design to the album. The colour scheme may be a countertype to pop as it is not bright and colourful but rather dull and basic,
however it follows the same basic design as the album which shows that they are correlated with each over. Shawn's face covers a
large amount if space on the poster showing that he is the selling point and the main focus of the poster, it also shows that money
is not an issue as he can afford to use up space for a photo rather than important information which is commonly seen with pop
advertisements. There is minimal writing which just shows the album name, release date and pre order information.
5. Ellie Goulding Halcyon
This digipak holds nearly all of the conventions of a pop
album. From the first glance you can tell that this album is
aimed at more of a female audience, this is because the
pink/purple affect stands out on the cover which
stereotypically relate to females which a lot of pop music
is aimed at. Her name is clearly shown in bold blue letters
which stands out on the purple background, her in general
is the main focus on the album which is also why the
majority of the space is a picture of her flipping her hair
around.
The CD itself is very basic, plain black with minimal pink
writhing stating the artists name and album title with
the producers and distubuters names in small text
around the border. The CD is basic like this for different
reasons, it matches the front cover with the colour
scheme, it stands out for the user and it is cheap to
produce.
The professional look of the album is carried around to the
back, it looks professional because it is consistent throughout
with the colour scheme, font and the background being
continuous like a wrap. The way the songs are laid out is in a
simple and easy way for the user to read, when another artist
has been featured on of her songs they are credited beneath
the song name in smaller text, this gives Ellie the main title as
she is the only reason why this album is here, a common
convention of pop artists as they are the main focus.
6. Ellie Goulding Halcyon
This poster advertises a single released by Ellie Golding which
features on the album, this was one of the most well known and
top rated song which is why focus went into advertising this one
song rather than the full album. The colour scheme is very
stereotypical for a pop poster with it being all shiny, gold and
bright however at the same time being dark and mysterious
which breaks this stereotype. Being glittery and shiny appeals
this poster to a younger audience and stereotypically girls which
is what most pop music is aimed at. Ellies face is the main selling
point of this poster as it takes up most of the space, the
positioning of this picture is at the top so anyone who sees this
poster will see her face before any text. This proves that she is
the main and only focus of this poster. Top reviews are featured
on this advertisement which are left by popular companies, this
shows that this is angood song therefore a good album as it has
good reviews which would make the audience who are younger
impressionable girls.
8. Lady Gaga The Fame Monster
The first handling of the album the user can see it
is not a standard album, it has a paperboard outer
case which features raised lettering. This makes
the album look more expensive and high class
which as a pop album shows that the artist is
wealthy and can spend money. The artist covers
the majority of the front cover, she is the main
focus of the album and everything else o the
album revolves around her. The album cover is
very dark which is a counter type of a pop album
however s done on purpose to link in with the
songs stories which are featured within the
album. One thing which makes this album cover
look less professional is the barcode and
information box which is displayed at the front,
this breaks the theme up and it does not flow as
well, however this could be purposely done to
represent her as an artist with her unique style
which is being incorporated into the design.
Upon opening the album the user
sees 2 photos of the artist, both of
which feature her in an odd pose
covered up in black and white,
this carries the theme of the front
cover on as being dark. It also
carries on the representation that
she is the main focus ion the
album.
The CD’s inside this album are very basic however like all other aspects
of this album continue the theme of being dark. They are just plain
black disks with the album name and the disk number printed and
nothing else, the main feature which stands out as a contempory pop
CD is the font which ahs been used throughout the album name, the T
on ‘’monster’’ is a Christion cross. This is common as a lot of pop
artists are seen to be rebellious and this cross in the non religious way
is seen like this, however this would be more common on a rock album
but with the colour scheme and overall theme of the album this fits in
well.
9. Lady Gaga The Fame Monster
This poster advertises Lady Gagas album, this is shown on first sight
before reading,, the poster displays 2 photos of the artist and 2
photos of the album featuring the cd design. It is not common in
many advertisements to have numerous images but with this poster
it works. The colour scheme matches the digipak form the album
being black and white with minimal detail, this ties the album to the
poster so that it flows better and looking more professional. Photos
of the artist take up a lot of space on this poster as she is the selling
point rather than the album itself which is seen on almost all
advertisements of pop artists. A quote is featured from the Rolling
Stone which gives the artist a good name and a positive image selling
herself even more. The colourscheme like the digipak breaks pop
conventions as it is dull and basic but St the same time the layout of
the different components which make this poster stands out as it is
messy and bold which is assonated with pop.
11. Rita Ora ‘Ora’
The album cover is very unique and stands
out. The picture of the artist is basic an in
black and white whilst the album title and
artist name is in brought red, this red
instantly stands out. This makes this album
both a countertype and stereotype of pop
album covers with it being both dark and
bright at the same time which makes this
album stand out over others on the market.
The colour red can show danger, love,
passion etc. which directly connotes to the
songs which are featured on this album so
the user before even listening to her knows
what type of music is being featured.
The inner cover of the album continuous
with the theme which the front cover shows,
that featuring a basic picture of the artist in
black and white, this like many other pop
albums shows that she is the main feature of
the album as her photo takes up the whole
available space.
The CD stands out the most from the whole
album, this is uncommon for most albums as
usually the disk is basic with minimal design
however this is bright red and white which
stands out from the black and white photos
within the album. Being bright and standing
out is a very common concept of pop albums
as it is ‘out there’ and stands out over other
music types.
The back f the album both does and does not fit into
the rest of the album, it does follow the same
colourscheme and theme of the album however it is
very messy and cluttered compared to the rest of the
album which is minimal. Many photos of the artist are
featured on this side of the album which displays her,
the way they are laid out is in a messy way which can
show how she is as an artist and how pop music in
general is non caring and out there. The red text stands
out and follows the text theme from the front cover,
the titles of the song are displayed however when
another artist is being featured that artist is in very
small text beneath the song name which shows that
Rita is the main and only artist who owns this album.
12. Rita Ora ‘Ora’
This poster advertises the artists album tour. The design and
colour scheme match the album as it is in black and white with
bold red text and colour with the same artist photo, this shows
the viewer of this poster straight away that her ‘ora’ album is
featured. She takes up most of the album space with her photo,
like most pop advertisements the artist is the selling point,
however what makes this poster different is that 2 other artists
are featured as they feature on her album and therefore are on
tour with her but the photo and font size is minute compared to
Rita's proving that she is the main selling point. There s poster
looks extremely professional, the MTV logo is placed obviously in
sight which shows that this, is a popular and big advertisement
which would appeal to the target audience as MTV and Rita pop
music is aimed at teenagers. The dates of her tour are clearly
displayed as this is vital information on the poster.
