1. I’m Sasha Fierce Album Cover Strengths Although the pose has values issue it is very strong and powerful statue even though it also gives off a venerable look due to her wearing no clothing and covering herself up. This convention backs up the male gaze, I don’t wish to use this in my album cover. Another strong feature to the album cover is the bold boxed font which I want to take on and us on my album cover. Colour Scheme The three main colours that are used are, white, black and grey. This is also the main colour schemes we are wanting to use in our music video so therefore the album cover could reflect the same theme, however we do want to add a touch of colour. The reasoning for this is as you can see from the image to the right, although it is affective it looks a little bland. This may be due to the natural feel and vibe Beyoncé is aiming to give off through the pose, but due to the same colour through different shades nothing really stands out like the title of the album of the artist’s name. Weaknesses I’m Sasha Fierce is one of my favourite album covers, that is why I chose to analyse it, the weaknesses is the noticeability and eye catching of the front cover, for example when on a shelf. The only advantage of the album cover for this weakness is the fact that the image will be noticeable due to the high publicity of the artist. Overall this wouldn’t be suitable for a up coming artist. Improvements The main improvement I would begin to make on this particular album cover starts with the colour scheme, I love the black, white and grey, however I do think it needs brightening up with one bright shade of colour even if it just the title. Secondly I would improve the positioning of the artist’s name, simple because people don’t generally look at the bottom left hand corner, it is know that the last place the look at is the bottom right as they turn the page/CD case. However in that position it is still the last visual they pay attention to, so therefore I would recommend the artist’s names to be positioned at the top above the image. That way the first thing the audience see is the name then the recognisable image of the artist, especially in this particular case due to how well known she is. Fonts Although both the fonts for the title of the album and the artist’s name are the same, they are of different size and colour, I would also say they are in a different position, here I am not talking about the layout of the page and where they are, but more towards the point of the orientation of the text. I love the idea of the text length ways at the side, it gives the images a more central focus area to the cover and also, a more modern approach and design. The group when looking at fonts loved the idea of the boxed looked and have researched into more different styles that use that particular shaping, as a result this is also inspiration. Main Image On the Beyoncé album cover above the main image is positioned in the middle of the page and takes up most of the room. It is just of the artist herself being the main feature to the whole of the front cover, I love this idea as it also helps with the reconsolidation of who’s album cover it belongs to and produced by, when the artist is so popular this helps with the sale. However on the other hand the pose and reflectivity of the image may cause values problems through the ‘nakedness’ of Beyoncé. As the main look is natural, and almost looks venerable, a resolution to this problem could be a mid-shot camera angle image with clothing and the ‘covering up pose’ this will be more appropriate for society and wouldn’t cause any values issues.

3. Halo

4. Disappear

5. Broken Hearted Girl

6. Ave Maria

7. Smashed into You

8. Satellites

10. Radio

11. Diva

12. Sweet Dreams

13. Video Phone

14. Hello

15. Ego

16. Scared of LonelyI am taking into consideration the use of two CD’s, and using the layout of the tracks listed one after another rather than in a bullet pointed list like above, this therefore saves room, but on the other hand looks less formal this may give a more modern theme however. Weaknesses The main weaknesses for me that I pointed out straight the way when reviewing this album cover is the font colour, as it is black it doesn’t show up very well against the background fading. Like on the front cover I suggested a bright colour used or the title of the album and the name of the artist, the colour therefore then could be related through the theme on the back cover. The track list isn’t too bad for contrast and the colour is white. Barcode Placing the barcode at the back of the CD cover as it isn’t really aesthetically pleasing to place on the front cover. A little barcode is all the is really needed and the bottom either left of right corner will be fine, this positioning is most likely where mine will be on my album cover. Detail The name of the artist is also placed on the back of the album cover to act as a ‘reminder’ . I am most likely not to include this as I believe the image will be enough, after having the names of the artist stated clearly and bigger on the front cover. Image The image on the back cover is very different to the from although the colour scheme is the same, however just a touch of gold on the clothing, this also blends in with the colour scheme as it shines off of the page fading and then becoming a more block colour. It gives the effect of lighting on the image.

17. Ms. Kelly Album Cover Strengths Although the pose has values issue it is very strong and powerful statue like a diva pose, which we all know she is. I am definitely going to use this pose on my album cover because I love the idea of a powerful women. This convention backs up the male gaze, I don’t wish to use this in my album cover, however in a more positive way that the Beyoncé album cover. Another strong feature to the album cover is the bold boxed font which I want to take on and us on my album cover. Colour Scheme The three main colours that are used are, bright pink, black and a blended grey. This is the exact colour schemes that we aim to use in our music video so therefore the album cover could reflect the same theme, the touch of colour really works and this has been a reoccurring investigation and research in our blog so far. All the colours work and match really well with each other, especially as the artist clothing also is grey and white. In comparison to the Beyoncé album cover with the natural theme, Kelly is giving off a more diva look, and a dressed up feel. Weaknesses The weaknesses is the amount of space free and bare on the front cover, for example the top and the bottom left. The only advantage of the album cover for this weakness is the fact that the font is so big and bold that people will notice it against the bare page. Overall this wouldn’t be suitable for a up coming artist. Improvements The main improvement I would begin to make on Kelly Rowland’s album cover starts with the different fonts used in the title and the name of the artist as they are different to each other I think it makes it look messy and although the artist’s name is acting as a signature it is cover the main title. Secondly I would add more features onto the front cover as the artist is standing alone and is only cover the edge of the page making the rest look bare, however on the other hand I love the fact that the title is so big and stands out more than the Beyoncé one. Including the image, I would in fact have a md shot although the pose is showing a strong statue you don’t really get a feel from the artists face, not making it very personal to the viewer. If the artist wasn’t as well known as she is the audience will have to look at her name when glancing more in comparison to the image. Having a recognisable image of the artist improves the sales. Fonts As both the titles are different fonts in my eyes it makes the album cover look messy and almost cluttered although there is a lot of bare space around it. However on the other hand having the artist’s name in a different size and colour makes it stand out more than the rest, I would improve this however by making the artists name the big font rather than the album name. I would also say they are overlapping in the positioning, I don’t like this particular effect through the fact that it is hiding other information on the album cover which is vital. Here I am not talking about the layout of the page and where they are, but more towards the point of the orientation of the text. I love the text being bold and in your face. I will most likely use a bold font on my album cover. Main Image On the Beyoncé album cover above the main image is positioned in the middle of the page and takes up most of the room. However this image it places at the side again taking up a lot of room but not acting as the main focus. It is on the other hand the artists name being the main feature to the whole of the front cover as that is the biggest part in size and mostly in the publicity. Having the clothing the same colour coordination to the album cover itself works really well, a bad point to this is that the artist’s image doesn’t stand out as much.

19. Come Back

20. Ghetto

21. Work

22. Flash Back

23. Every Thought Is You

24. The Show

25. Interlude

26. Still in Love With My Ex

27. Love

28. Better Without You

29. This Is LoveI am taking into consideration the use of two CD’s, and using the layout of the tracks listed one after another rather than in a bullet pointed list like above, this therefore saves room, but on the other hand looks less formal this may give a more modern theme however. Weakness The main weaknesses for me that I pointed out straight the way when reviewing this album cover is the amount of space and the overlapping of the text. Like on the front cover I suggested a bigger picture used over-righting the title of the album and the name of the artist, the boldness of the font therefore then will still be recognised just as much. The track list isn’t too bad for contrast and the colour is white fading to pink Detail Having the image being the majority of the page acts well, however I think the two images should change from the front and back cover. The little writing at the bottom may not be as significant but it is difficult to read and visualise as the pink works well in the shading and blending part but the block colour isn't as contrasting as needed. Barcode Placing the barcode at the back of the CD cover as it isn’t really aesthetically pleasing to place on the front cover. A little barcode is all the is really needed and the bottom either left of right corner will be fine, this positioning is most likely where mine will be on my album cover. However the right hand side is the place the viewer sees last before turning the cover back to the front. Image The image on the back cover is very different to the from although the colour scheme is nearly the same, however as stated in the detail section I would change the use of images on each side as I think the back cover is more personal, still powerful, but it also take up the problem with space.

30. Rude Boy Album Cover Strengths Although the pose has values issue it is very strong and powerful statue even though it also gives off a aggressive look due to her pose and covering her face up. Another strong feature to the album cover is the bold boxed font and black theme all together which I want to take on and us on my album cover. Colour Scheme The two main colours that are used are black and grey. This is also the main colour schemes we are wanting to use in our music video so therefore the album cover could reflect the same theme, however we do want to add a touch of colour. The reasoning for this is as you can see from the image to the right, although it is affective it looks very punk rock. This may be due to the strong, rebel vibe that Rihanna is aiming to give off through the pose, but due to the same colour through different shades nothing really stands out like the title of the album of the artist’s name. Weaknesses Rude Boy is one of my favourite songs, that is why I chose to analyse it, the weaknesses is the noticeability and eye catching of the front cover, for example when on a shelf. The only advantage of the album cover for this weakness is the fact that the image will be noticeable due to the high publicity of the artist. Overall this wouldn’t be suitable for a up coming artist. Improvements The main improvement I would begin to make on this particular album cover starts with the colour scheme, I love the black, white and grey, however I do think it needs brightening up with one bright shade of colour even if it just the title. Secondly I would improve and add a more of a title and the artists name and there is only an ‘R’. However in that position it is still the last visual they pay attention to mainly down to apart from the image it is the only thing there. Due to the high status of the artist her image probably is enough for the CD to be recognise. That way the first thing the audience see is the recognisable image of the artist, especially in this particular case there is no name or title for them to recognise. Main Image On the Rihanna album cover above the main image is positioned in the middle of the page and takes up all of the room. It is just of the artist herself being the main feature to the whole of the front cover, I love this idea as it also helps with the reconsolidation of who’s album cover it belongs to and produced by, when the artist is so popular this helps with the sale. However on the other hand the pose and reflectivity of the image may cause values problems through the ‘rebel’ of Rihanna. As the main look is urban, and almost looks aggressive, a resolution to this problem could be a mid-shot camera angle image with clothing and a softer visual pose, this will be more appropriate for society and wouldn’t cause any values issues. Fonts There isn't really much to comment on as the only piece of text on the page is that of the ‘R’. However I love the urban style and the hand drawn effect, I am going to take the hand drawn effect onto my album cover text.

32. RUDE BOY (Instrumental) Strengths I would consider the strengths to mainly be the great contrasting. Overall I believe this album cover is astonishing, however there isn't really a lot to analyse rather than the attitude behind it. Barcode Placing the barcode at the back of the CD cover as it isn’t really aesthetically pleasing to place on the front cover. A little barcode is all the is really needed and the bottom either left of right corner will be fine, this positioning is most likely where mine will be on my album cover. However on this album it is place to the side at the top to the right, I haven't really ever considered the barcode being on the right but I will go onto investigate different positioning. Detail The name of the artist is also placed on the back of the album cover to act as a ‘reminder’ . I am most likely not to include this as I believe the image will be enough, after having the names of the artist stated clearly and bigger on the front cover. Another detail is the image of the front cover of the single. This I believe is not necessary and an image would be more athletically pleasing.