CD Cover Conventions
Here are a few conventions that are seen on most and almost all CD covers. I will need to include these to make a successful CD cover.
CD Cover Questionnaire
I handed out a questionnaire to 10 members of my target audience to gather their opinions upon CD covers to help me create the most successful CD cover possible and one that appeals to my target audience.
Here are the questions below followed by my results and analysis.
1) Is an attractive CD cover important ?
-Yes
-No
2) What most attracts you to a CD cover ?
- Image
- Something original
- Bold Font
- Photograph
3) Do you like to see the artist/band name on the CD cover ?
- Yes
- No
4) Do you like to see a photogrpah of the artist/band on the CD cover ?
-Yes
- No
5) What artist name do you like the most ?
- Rufus Luck
- Monty Jones
- Cameron Caillat
- Alex Barclay
- Ed Macey
6) What CD cover do you like the look of most ?
7) Why do you like it ?
........................................................................................................
8) If you download a song do you look for the CD artwork ?
-Yes
- No
9) Do you think the CD cover should relate to the content of the CD ?
- Yes
- No
10) Please explain your answer to question 9.
........................................................................................................
........................................................................................................
8) If you download a song do you look for the CD artwork ?
-Yes
- No
9) Do you think the CD cover should relate to the content of the CD ?
- Yes
- No
10) Please explain your answer to question 9.
........................................................................................................
Questionnaire Results
1) Is an attractive CD cover important ?
-Yes (10/10)
-No
2) What most attracts you to a CD cover ?
- Image
- Something original
- Bold Font
- Photograph
3) Do you like to see the artist/band name on the CD cover ?
- Yes (9/10)
- No
4) Do you like to see a photogrpah of the artist/band on the CD cover ?
-Yes (8/10)
- No
5) What artist name do you like the most ?
- Rufus Luck
- Monty Jones
- Cameron Caillat
- Alex Barclay
- Ed Macey
6) What CD cover do you like the look of most ?
- no. 3 Jack Johnson
- no. 5 Daniel Powter
- no. 8 Rhianna
7) Why do you like it ?
- Simple yet affective
- Looks good quality
- Looks like it fits with the content of the CD
- its CUTE !
8) If you download a song do you look for the CD artwork ?
-Yes (7/10)
- No
9) Do you think the CD cover should relate to the content of the CD ?
- Yes (7/10)
- No
10) Please explain your answer to question 9.
- Be attracted to the same sort of image as song
- Gives an insight to the content
- Appeal to me more
Questionnaire Analysis
From the results of the two above graphs i will ensure that i include a photograph of my artist in some way, and i will also include my artist name upon the CD cover !
It is clear from the pie chart that Rufus Luck was the most popular name from my target audience followed by Ed Macey. I will therefore use one of these names as the artist of the song.
Questionnaire Conclusion
From my results i have learnt the most popular name for my artist, i have also learnt how important CD covers are and what my target audience are looking for in a CD cover. It is clear to me that the image shown on a CD cover is by far the most important part of the cover. This will entice and attract buyers to the CD and inform them of who may be the artist of the song. I need to ensure my CD cover looks professional and of a high quality, yet it does not have to be too complicated to achieve this !
CD Cover Research
Here I have viewed and analysed CD covers that I thought looked captivating and would have been successful in the promotion of the CD. This will not only inspire my own CD cover design it will also enable me to see what features are regularly present on a successful CD cover.
The Strokes - Is This It
![Picture](/uploads/5/2/7/3/5273969/8719240.jpg)
This CD cover is extremely eye catching, yet it is also very simplistic. I believe this is what makes the CD cover so successful, with the striking image and use of black and white. The band name and title of the album are quite small but as the colour is black and red on a white background it stands out greatly.
Although this CD cover is very captivating and eye catching it would not be suitable for the genre of my song and therefore that target audience. Yet I think the use of black and white could be a good idea, I will also need to make sure when designing my CD cover that the artist/band name and song name can be well seen.
Although this CD cover is very captivating and eye catching it would not be suitable for the genre of my song and therefore that target audience. Yet I think the use of black and white could be a good idea, I will also need to make sure when designing my CD cover that the artist/band name and song name can be well seen.
Suicide City - Frenzy
![Picture](/uploads/5/2/7/3/5273969/5709372.jpg)
I think this CD cover is very eye catching and is a piece of artwork in itself. The main image of the bird and its feathers has been edited with great effect to look extremely bold and captivating. The feathers within the background also look just like a pattern not just the image. The font stands out from the background well and is also highly decorative giving another element to look at.
From looking at this successful CD cover I have noticed that the image may not seem to relate to the band or song at all, yet it does fit in with the genre of music.
From looking at this successful CD cover I have noticed that the image may not seem to relate to the band or song at all, yet it does fit in with the genre of music.
Gnarles Barkley - St. Elsewhere
![Picture](/uploads/5/2/7/3/5273969/6170360.jpg?249)
This CD cover I personally find very captivating and interesting. The numerous amounts of images within another image adds great interest and detail that is eye catching. The style of music is also shown through the use of ‘random’ objects being mixed together, as the music is alternative. The feel of the CD cover is memorising and very upbeat. The font is very plain but stands out well enough from the image to be read well.
Clearly from this CD cover it is proven that a photographic image is not needed to make a CD cover eye catching and interesting. The layout is also very important and I have noticed that generally names of the artist/band and song title are I on the left hand side. This may be so because within the English speaking language we read from left to right.
Clearly from this CD cover it is proven that a photographic image is not needed to make a CD cover eye catching and interesting. The layout is also very important and I have noticed that generally names of the artist/band and song title are I on the left hand side. This may be so because within the English speaking language we read from left to right.
Title Text.
James Morrison - Songs For You Tributes For Me
![Picture](/uploads/5/2/7/3/5273969/6049646.jpg?251)
This CD cover is not as eye catching or as captivating as many others. Yet it does appeal to the target audience of the genre. The main image is of the artist and the font quite highly decorated to add interest and depth to the CD cover.
This CD is from a similar artist to Jack Johnson and also a very similar genre of music is shared between the two artists. Therefore this CD cover is the most relevant to me. I will consider using a still image of my artist in a simple location for my main image as it looks successful here. Also as with this CD cover I may also use a decorative font to add interest and fit with the genre and target audiences needs and wants.
This CD is from a similar artist to Jack Johnson and also a very similar genre of music is shared between the two artists. Therefore this CD cover is the most relevant to me. I will consider using a still image of my artist in a simple location for my main image as it looks successful here. Also as with this CD cover I may also use a decorative font to add interest and fit with the genre and target audiences needs and wants.
Conclusion
From all of the above CD covers, although they are from differing genres i can see that the most important part of a CD cover is the image. The image takes up around 90% of the whole front cover so needs to be striking and of a high quality. I need to make sure that my font is easy to read and stands out from the background and image.
My Ideas
Image Ideas ...
Jack Johnson who is the singer of the song i am creating a music video for is also a surfer, therefore many people who listen to his genre of music are surfers too. I also like the calming colouring of the blues and greens and i feel they suit the genre well and will appeal to my target audience. Yet within the song that i am creating the music video and CD cover for there is no mention of surfing only outdoors so i do no think this would be all that ideal.
The genre of music that my song fit into focuses greatly on the quality of the song, the instruments and the raw singing. Therefore i thought the image of a guitar might be suitable for the main image on the CD cover. I also like the idea of a silhouette as it adds mystery and is not to brash or simple. I could also use the actor playing the artist within the photograph to relate the artist to the CD cover therefore making it more successful.
The songs main lyric and song name is 'Banana Pancakes' i therefore felt like the image of a pancake may be suitable for the CD cover. Yet i believe i would have to cleverly edit the image or incorporate another idea to show that this is actually a CD and about music not just food !
Here i have explored the idea of the use of an image of a couple in love, this expresses the lyrics well and also if the artist is used within the cover it will relate more. I will need to ensure that the image is eye catching and captivating and that it also appeals to my target audience.
Conclusion
I think i like the idea of using a couple in love the best, the image were the couple are in bed together has also given me great inspiration as the lyrics include a part were it talks about laying in bed together. I may also try to incorporate the guitar into my image or even the idea of pancakes. I will then edit my image to add effects and make it as captivating as possible and appeal to my target audience the best i can.
Font Ideas ...
Here are a few font ideas that i have explored, i need the font to stand out, be bold but also not detract too much attention away from the image. I like the idea of a slightly worn look that i have used upon these fonts as i think it looks casual and laid back but bold. I will ensure i use the same font for the artist name, album name and another other information written upon the CD cover to keep everything the same and uniform.