Unit 8 - The Power Of Album Covers
Before I jump right into the deep end and just grab the first image I see for a cover. I decided to do a little research into different covers and picking something that fits the whole 'vibe' of the EP.
Artists can immerse you in the album using the cover, even without utilising the actual music. The appearance of the cover can even put viewers off of listening to the albums We often discover new “unknown” music and decide to listen to them based on what we first view, which is the cover. So it is actually more imp than we imagine.
In 2015, a lot of the music being released was moody and darker than previous years, especially in the genre of hip-hop. This overall gloomy style was easy to visualise as most good covers often captured the songs mood within using a monochrome or generally dark look.
Even just different shades of the same colour can drastically change the overtone also. As the creator of this video states ‘a darker blue, more melancholic versus a brighter blue… it looked like a nice summers day”.
Art album covers. These are probably some of my favourites when done right. I especially like when these covers are very ‘busy’ and tell a story visually.
Minimalist covers. I, personally, don’t find these covers as appealing because I find they don’t tell you as much. For me, if an album cover is quite plain visually, I’m much less likely to actually listen to the tracks if I haven’t heard them before. Alternatively, I can also see why if the cover is selected carefully and with the intention to match the overall ‘vibe’ of the music, it can make the album even more intriguing as its blankness can give it an air of mystery. However, to do it successfully, I feel a big part of building that mystery is due to advertisement and publicity, making it easier for bigger names to create these “plainer” albums. Some examples of this include:
Album covers can serve as a sort of identity for the artist. Especially for faceless artists, what we select as cover art can give us a glimpse into how this person wants to be portrayed as well as many covers becoming an art form in their own right. There are quite a few covers out there that have become well known in popular media either for their uniqueness or because they’re seen as comedic. Either way, these covers are recognised by many people, even if they don’t necessarily know the music itself. Therefore, choosing a design for your EP is a much more important decision for oneself than you might originally think.
I’m going to create another blog post soon where I choose some covers I like and would like to create art similar to. Aaa of right now, I think i’d like to combine multiple kinds of album covers by keeping an element of realism, such as featuring a person but also have artwork within it to. I’m not quite sure how to go about this combination but I think we can do it in a way that portrays our music well and is eye catching.