Research - CD Cover (3)

This is the CD cover for Ultrabeat's album 'The Weekend Has Landed'.

The chief colours used within this cover are dark blues and blacks, along with the skin tone of the two male's faces. These darker background colours generally connote mystery; however, I believe that the dark background colours have been used to represent a night-time setting. Also, the lighting in the background suggests life, and could represent a typical night-life setting in which the dance genre is in abundance, therefore attracting the correct target audience. The male's involved on the cover are also wearing black, possibly in an attempt to cleverly blend into the background, to show that they belong within the genre.

The male's are framed using a two shot, which connotes a closeness between the two males. It may suggest that they are both joint artist's for the band 'Ultrabeat'. The positioning of the male on the cover is central, suggesting his dominance and therefore reinforcing the stereotypical view of gender within society. Also, the male is positioned to look directly at the audience, whilst also pointing at the audience, possibly in an attempt to relate to the audience, and inviting the audience towards the product, creating a close relationship between audience and cover. Also, a lot of light is exposed upon the two faces, additionally creating a sense of relation between audience and cover.

This cover does reinforce the dance genre, even though it may not strike as appealing to all the desired target audience. It seems to be an appeal to a mixed gender audience, instead of the supposed target audience of which are more female orientated. The black background suggests a night life setting, but may connote a mystery about the artist and the album, creating an enigma for the target audience.

This specific cover seems to have a negative tone as you first view it. However, the darkened tone and mood of the cover is essential in creating a night like effect, in which the dance genre booms. Also, the lighting which is used on the cover is clearly editing, which as been placed directly behind the two male's. The positioning of these edited lights expresses their dominance, as they are in front of the night life setting, suggesting their power.

The given font on the cover, used for the artist's name is made up of strong, bold, capitals. This suggests that the name is an essential member upon the cover. The lettering is of a green to white fade, connoting a sense of optimism and calmness. It is also extremely attractive upon the darker background, as it stands out clearly from the rest of the cover. The font is also joint at parts, suggesting a sense of strength and unity within the artist. The name of the album uses font which is smaller and not as striking as the artist's name. The idea that the artist's name is of a larger font than the album name suggests that it is the name of the artist that will attract the correct audience, and not the name of the album. In addition, the font of the album name is more white, hence more clearer upon the dark background. This has been done so that the album name is as clear to the desired audience as possible.