Katie Wales notes that 'genre is an intertextual concept', similar to John Hartley who suggests that 'we need to understand genre as a property of the relations between texts' - and thus research into existing album covers and posters for other British bands of the same indie pop/rock pop genre was important as to help me develop ideas for my own print productions.
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English rock/indie pop band formed in Manchester in 1982. The Smiths’ album designs are always understated and usually a sort of duo-toned color. They often featured film or pop stars due to Morrissey’s fascination with them.
The imagery is intensely intimate as it usually focuses on an individual, and the viewer appears to be the sole witness of that occuring in the image. The complementary colour schemse creates more contrast beyond the dramatic lighting of the photos. The hierarchy of the design is very effective, with the artist name being top centre and capitalized places higher importance in your recognition of the band than the album name. The consistency of their album art strengthens this concept, unifying the band’s work and creating familiarity in their fan base.
The magazine advert for The Smiths follows a similar formula to their album covers, with their name capitalized and placed at the top of the page once again placing a high importance in the recognition of the band. They also use images from their albums or of members of the band themselves, of which would be an effective marketing approach and thus an idea I will try to incorporate into my own work.
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. The band released their debut album, The Stone Roses, in 1989. The album was a breakthrough success for the band and garnered critical acclaim, with many critics regarding it as one of the greatest British albums ever recorded. Many of the band's artwork was influenced by Jackson Pollock's paintings, created by the guitarist John Squire.
The use of paint and artistic influence seen in these album covers, similar to the magazine advert, links to the title of the track 'Paint' by Cast of Lions that I am trying to promote. Similar to The Smiths advert and album covers, the name of the band is capitalized and placed in the center near the top of the page, drawing attention to -and subsequently effectively promoting- the band itself.
An excellent evaluation of composition of real album art and magazine adverts. Your analysis is focused and succinct.
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