The Inconography of the album cover

An album cover has to accompany the type of artist and music they produce with the art, packaging and advertising of the album cover. Julian house, a creative partner at The Intro Partnership in London, suggests that the vision for the album art should be inspired by the artist. This means it involves several sit down discussions where the artist proposes different ideas, which the creative designers then create drafts and models of what they interpreted from them. House further explains how the album cover is a portal of explanation into the artists world and ideals, providing an entry point into understanding and getting a taste for what the music contained in the album is like.

Album cover art can be different extremely depending on the artists image and genre of music this will be highlighted using photos, typography and graphics. When looking at album covers of several artists its important to answer the following questions; who made it, how they made it, for whom and for what purpose? Its important to consider who the audience is for the album and if they will respond or relate to the cover. While the immediate target audience is likely to be those who frequently buy music, especially those who are fans or specific bands, artists or genres, the artwork may be designed to attract a wider audience.

Another aspect of the album cover is associations and connotations. Connotations are meanings and associations the image may link to. E.g. an image that denotes a powerful looking car may have connotations of speed or power, but in conjunction with other elements making up the art it might also have connotations of escape or thrill-seeking. 

Furthermore the album cover has Signs, Symbols and Codes that maybe aren't as obvious at first glance. A sign is a representation that refers to something else and has meaning, such as the car. A code means the structure of how signs are organised into systems to make meaning. They are usually divided into the technical and the symbolic, there are also written codes that included the use of language and text layout.

Lastly Composition & Framing are another important part of an album cover. This mainly focuses on the construction of the album cover, like the importance of light, shadow and colour and how they play a part. We refer to conventions as established ways of doing things, in this case, established forms of presenting and image. It can be helpful to examine how closely any given image tracks the conventions you'd associate with it, for example a rock band might use dark colours and and smashing guitars such as the 'London Calling' album.