Analyzing CD Covers
– 1: Foster The People – Torches (Album)
Front
Cover
The
front cover on this album shows a sketched drawing of different creatures in a
deranged and psychedelic manor. The pictures are in black and white giving the
album a very basic look, looking quite dull and drained. The only color on the
cover is the various splashes of gold, covering flame shaped objects held by
the deranged people in the image. The gold represents a torch for each of the
creatures, referring to the title of the album, and this is made more evident
with the title of the album also being in gold, making good reference to the
objects the creatures are holding. Because the name of the band is ‘Foster The
People’ it could be said the creatures on the front cover are the fostered, the
conventional imagery suggests the creatures have something missing from their
lives, and in this case, it could be their parents. The fact that black and
white are the main colors being used suggests the designer of the album cover
wanted to bring the band and the album across as quite simple, with a hidden
extravagance featured in the small doses of gold. This is a good way of drawing
people in to buy the album. They will know there is more than first meets the
eye with this band.
Inside
Artwork
The
inside artwork of this album is quite basic, just a picture of the CD, it is a
gold color like the small dose of color seen on the front cover. A clever idea
is the track list written around the edge of the circular shape, giving it a
more interesting look, despite making it difficult to read. There are various
logos on the CD, which can only be presumed as copyright companies or images
associated with the band, these are important as they give a sense of ownership
and belonging.
Back
Cover
The
back cover of this album is pretty conventional to most album back covers,
giving a basic track list of the CD. The copyright images and barcode are also
featured making the album protected and genuine, these are important. The list
of tracks is located in the centre of the page, evenly spaced in an attempt to
stop the album from looking bare. The interesting thing about the back cover is
the fact that the tracks are not numbered; this is an unconventional feature
leaving the owner of the album presuming the album is in the order the songs
are listed. Coinciding with the pattern of the album covers, the list is
written in gold on a black and white background, giving it a drained feeling,
yet still interesting as the album does not come across as ‘in your face’ and
its simple image is quite satisfying.
Billy Greenall.
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