Album Artwork - Conventions

(By Rebecca)


Through research, I have picked up on some of the conventions of album artwork, particularly album covers. I have noticed that there are conventions that are unique to each genre of music;

• Pop - Covers usually feature a photograph of the artist / group on the front of the album. Light or bright coloured backgrounds are common. Text is usually along the top or bottom of the cover, horizontal and the font is chosen to fit with the photograph - for example, a picture of an artist smiling might mean a more handwritten-looking font, whereas an image of someone in sunglasses would mean a more 'block'-looking font.
• Rock - The band's logo is an essential part of the front cover. Background is often black or grey, or another dark colour and the text is often white to contrast against this. The more 'commercial' the band, the more likely they are to have an image of themselves on the front cover; I would assume this is because they are more recognizable / marketable than underground bands.
• Electronic - Most album covers for electronic artists are very minimal, focusing more on colour, texture and pattern than on a character. Text is often considerably smaller than on that seen in other genres.
• Metal - Metal albums can either lean more towards the conventions of rock albums, or can include an artwork. Many classic metal bands use incredibly detailed paintings, whilst newer bands use images that could be considered 'fine art photography' or 'documentary photography'. Some bands opt for 'shock value' by using a gory, controversial image.
• Gothic - Often minimal use of colour, with high levels of contrast. As well as black and white, there may be inclusion of another dark colour to add accents; eg. crimson red, plum, purple or midnight blue. Follows some of the conventions of electronic covers.
• R&B and Hip Hop - Follows many of the conventions of the pop album cover. The more underground the artist, the more likely they are to use a photograph that is more towards art or making a statement than portraiture. Like in metal, images may be used for shock value, however Hip Hop is more likely to do this through humour than through gore.