Research: CD Covers

To help me in the design of my Digi-pack I looked at the designs of the CD covers of successful bands so I could judge what makes an interesting design. To get a wider look at conventions of CD covers I analysed the covers of bands from several different genres of music.


Muse - Alternative/ Rock Genre

'Muse' are a alternative rock style band who have a very unique style and sound and see themselves as very artistic. This is reflected through the design which is unique and original which reflects the bands image. The image on the front cover shows a man stood in a multicoloured tunnel stretching through space towards Earth, with a plain grey background behind the image. The bands logo is in the top right of the cover in small writing with the name of the album on the opposite corner. This shows that the band are very well known and don't need to advertise who they are too much as their fans will already know who they are and what the album looks like. The main image reflects the bands image as well as reflecting the futuristic theme of many songs on the album. The tunnel on the main image is made up of many multicoloured hexagons which help make the album stand out strongly on the shelf because of the bright, eye-catching colours. These colours also provide a strong contrast to the dull colour of the images background making the album even more eye-catching and interesting.

Plan B - Rap/Soul/Hip-Hop Genres

Plan B is a rapper who's latest album sees him make a move into more a mature and sophisticated genre of soul music which he combines with his old rap/hip-hop genre. The front cover of this latest album is more typical of the singer's new Soul genre than his old Hip-hop one. It shows the singer (Plan B) sat on an empty stage with his head down and looking depressed, the room is unlit apart from an electric sign on the stage with the singers name and album title which illuminates the singer. This is more typical of Soul music as it is rather moody and shows lots of emotion whereas rap/hip-hop covers tend to be more vibrant and focus on the singers/band. Although Plan B himself is the main focus of the album he is showing himself in a sophisticated manner and is drawing less attention to himself than would be expected by rap artist.

AC/DC - Rock and Roll/Heavy Metal GenresAC/DC are a Rock and Roll band from Australia who are one of the most successful bands of all time. The album covers main focus is the band's name rather than any image. The band's logo is written in a large font across the front of the album with the album title written across the cover just below it. The band don't feel the need for a complex or artistic cover as they are so well known they just need to use their name for people to know who they are and want to buy the CD. They can do this as they already have a huge fan base, but an independent band like the one I'm using for my video will not be well known enough to do this so will have to draw people in with an attractive CD cover design.