Magazine Advert Analysis - Black Sheep

This magazine advert is for the Black Sheep album - A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing. The image is simple, only being a field, with stationary and moving sheep. The image works well for the advert, because it links in with the band name Black Sheep. The sheep in the image are a direct link to the band and the field helps to create the atmosphere of nature, a habitat in which you would expect to find farmyard animals such as sheep. The image is also blurred out at the top of the advert, meaning the focus of the advert is on the text on the left hand side and the lone sheep in the bottom right corner. This means that the information is more noticeable to possible consumers of the album, and fans of the band will make the connection when they see the sheep and the band name. The image had also been edited to make it look quite light, giving the impression of a cold winters morning, a time in which you would expect to see sheep huddled together as they are at the top of the advert. This would consequently make the lone sheep look like an outsider, something which again links to the band name Black Sheep, as black sheep are not a common sight, and will therefore could be considered to be an outsider, like the sheep in the image. The colours used for the font are black and red, meaning that they stand out against the image easily, and draw the eye. Having the single name in red whilst the rest of the text is black again helps it to stand out against everything because it is the only red thing. This single could also be a well known single, and consequently people who have heard the song, but wouldn't recognise the band would be more interested. This could again link into the idea of isolation, as it is the only thing on the advert like it, making it unique. The shot used for the background is a long shot, allowing more information to be given about the location of the image. The typography in the advert is quite simple, the spacious text is used for the main information, which is in a smaller size. A different font is used for the band name, making it stand out, and it is also the biggest font on the advert, meaning the information of the artist will be seen easily by fans. The single track is again in a different font, maybe to show that it is a song from the album, and to pique the consumers interest.

Overall, I like how the image focuses mainly on the right hand side and has the text on the left hand side because it makes the advert look evenly proportioned, and lets all the information be seen easily and clearly. It also doesn't focus the attention on one particular thing as much, another aspect which I like. From this advert I would take how the image has been used, because I think it works well with the text and look professional.

Back Cover Analysis

Here I like how the artists face is seen on the back, but isn't centre, meaning that the songs and the image get a similar amount of attention. It also means that everything looks evenly spread out instead of being bunched together, and therefore I will probably use this layout for my digipak.

I like the simplicity of this design, and how the tracks are evenly spaced, meaning each one is its own song, rather than just being part of the album. I think I will use this can of spacing for my tracks because I think it looks simple but professional, and also signifies a good layout.

Digipak Draft

Mock Ups For Digipak Cover

Magazine Advert Analysis - The Verve

The background for this magazine advert, for The Verve - Love is Noise, is an image of clouds, edited with a sepia filter. The image darkens as it reaches the bottom of the advert, allowing different coloured text to be used and create variety. The sepia effect makes the advert look vintage and coincides with the singles hard copy, which is a vinyl, again creating the vintage look. The layout of the advert is quite basic with the band name and track in the middle of the advert, drawing the most attention to it. The rest of the information is at the bottom of the advert, again allowing the most important details, such as the band name and single to be in full view and unhindered by any other inormation. The colour scheme is mainly sepia, with black and white. The colours are quite subtle, no loud and bright colours are used, giving a more sombre look. Because the colour scheme is simplistic it doesn't distract the attention from the information. The shot type that was used for the image is a long shot, which gives a better idea of the location, as more of it can be seen. The image has also been edited to make the contrast in the picture more predominant, and consequently make the image look more interesting. The font size of the band is bigger than the font of the song, because the band would be more recognisable than the song, if the song is new. Both of these elements are also in black coloured text, allowing it to be more easily seen on top of the image. The song name Love is Noise, obviously has no connection with the image used, so it allows people to make their own judgements on the use of the image. The information at the bottom of the advert is about the product and the bands website. The text is smaller and seems less important because of this, but it still gives all the information needed. Here the text is white so that it stands out against the darker part of the image.

Overall the design is quite simple, yet effective as it looks interesting. I like the idea of having the band name and song in the middle of the advert, because it draws the most attention to it, and is good advertising to fans of the band, as they would see it and be interested.

Helvetica

All these albums have one popular feature in common, they all use the same font whether it is used for the band name, album name or both. Helvetica is is very popular, iconic font often appearing in popular culture and linked with very urban, cool. This bold font is very striking, and is easily read attracting the eye quickly. This is why I want to incorporate this font into my album cover.