CD packages

I think the purpose of this CD cover is too get people to question the world as they see it. To try and look at questions of faith and society from a perspective other than your own. It implies that the music is going to answer those questions or at least shed some light on the issues. It seems a little bit contradictory because it urges you to ask the difficult questions, but the CD itself should also be looked at with scrutiny. The cover doesn't really pick any sides about whether or not "God's" way is the true path to righteousness, but it makes an assumption that the listener is a believer, and the titles of the songs put it into perspective. The guy is walking in a cemetary on the cover of the CD, so it leads you into wondering, "What happens after death?" And although I'm not sure what the lyrics say, I would guess that they try to answer this question through faith in God.

Purpose: Is to help sell the musicians CD

Audience: Almost any age preferably an older one because of the older car and more laid back setting on the front yet it has a twist being that the way the picture is taken it looks like it is speeding which is usually related with a more for a younger crowd.

Context: advertising and marketing at on-line or electronic stores

Medium: CD packing, cover, booklet and so on

Arrangement: Is very calm and relaxed being just a simple picture yet it seems like it has an edge with the speeding of the car.

Strategies: One would be using the old car to appeal to older crowd while making it speed appeals to younger encompassing both crowds.

Based on the cover art of this CD, I would guess this CD to be some sort of opera music re-done in more of a hardcore fashion. The imagery has a lot going on, and the guy looks like he is playing a violin in an intense fashion. The words "ghost opera" and the fact that he is playing a violin are what lead me to believe this might be original opera music, but the imagery certainly doesn't represent opera music. The imagery makes me think that it would be more intense, hard rock or something of that nature. The guy has some pretty crazy jewelry and chains connected to his ear. The logo under Kamelot looks tribal, which is popular in tattoos. I think the audience therefore is younger, wilder, and edgier people that like hardcore music.

I'd like to say I was bummed out that this album cover was already taken when I went to post my own - but I'm glad its up here! The imagery is excellent.

Purpose:
In order to prime the listener to get ready for the epic battle that is about to occur in this album. At the same time it is attractive and interesting enough to catch a potential buyers eye if it were displayed prominently in some sort of CD store.

Audience:
People who like the Flaming Lips. People who are looking to buy CD's who might find this kind of imagery intriguing enough to check this band out.

Context:
The context is the front cover of an album. Inside of a CD case. Most likely in a store or online or in someones hand.

Medium:
Paper on the inside of a plastic cover.

Strategies:
Use of multiple languages. If I remember correctly the battle takes place somewhere in east asia so that makes sense. The use of color and the number 25 in the background. The oranges yellows and blues all contrast each other really well. At the top the bands name is displayed in high contrast to its background.

Arrangement:
The name is at the top. Yoshimi is in the bottom left hand corner with very long shadows going across the picture suggesting that it is either very early or very late in the day. The robot takes a large part of the screen.

Sense of Purpose: To draw attention from those with a thing for Japanese related themes.

Audience: Those who enjoy relatively new music. Enjoy lyrics which provide a story.

Context: Almost presents itself as a book, because the album is meant to tell a story.

Strategies: Directly illustrates what the album title is. It uses Japanese writing above the title. Brighter colors.

Medium: The use of album art, CD insert on the inside, CD art.

I had a similar reading, with emphasis on the story aspect of the CD being presented to the reader. The cover of the album is like a book, and it appeals to the subject of the album in which Yoshimi does indeed battle the pink robots. The art style also appeals to this somewhat storybook somewhat menacing tale (there's blood, for instance) that seems to harken back to more violent stories that children read. There's also a sense of a whole world beneath that picture, the world that the album's story happens in. Yoshimi looks odd, the robot looks odder, but the image says that it's okay, because that's how the world looks.

Purpose- Provide an album cover different from the norm and draw attention to that fact.

Audience- Those who are bored by the current trends of album cover art.

Context- XTC is different from the norm with this cover art. An unstated assumption combining the album art with the music within.

Medium- Type as opposed to artwork.

Arrangement- Dense block of text that makes fun of the very people who will be reading it. Appeals to the type who would assumedly take the time to read an album cover.

Strategies- A different look than most. Appealing to a more theoretical musing from the target audience. Linking the thought of being different with the music of XTC.

Purpose: To attract consumers to buy the album

Audience: Younger people who are interested in different and unique material

Context: CD marketing and advertising

Medium: CD cover!

Strategies: No other album cover is like it. The unusually large amount of text interests consumer because they get curious about what the album cover has to say to them.

Arrangement: Simple, paragraph form.

Sense of Purpose

To get the viewer to listen to the album or purchase the CD.

Audience

The audience is apparently youths between 20 and 30 (College age). This seems to be the case due to the somewhat educated language and logic used in the cover art.

Context

CD marketing and advertising. Record store. Anywhere browsing of CD's is done in a casual fashion. Possibly some sort of underground, indy-style CD store.

Medium

The entire CD package especially Cover Art.

Strategies

The use of text as the CD cover entices an audience intersted in uniqueness and non-conformity.

Arrangement

The text is in a style (apparently courier) that is simple and un-stylish. This entices the audience by furthering non-conformist image.

I pretty much have the same idea that the general consensus of repliers had to my post. It's straightforward about what its intentions are, yet completely different from the norm. They're obviously targeting a nich audience because many people will be turned off by the fact that there is so much text on the cover.

Context - This is on a CD cover, usually located in stores.

Strategies - shows a very odd, interesting image, might catch a person's eye if they are just walking by

Audience - people who like funk, or music that is not similar to that which is commonly played on the radio or tv

Arrangement - It is a pretty plain arrangement. The image of a ship out on a sea of cheese is the whole album background, and the band name is in big letters at the top, with the album name in a funny font right below.

Purpose - to get people to buy the album, or catch people's attention to look into the album more closely

Medium - CD cover

Purpose - To give a non-serious setting for the music, and kind of give an unreal world

Audience - Late teens, early twenties possibly, people who like humor

Context - Humor

Medium - CD Case

Strategies - It appears as though the sea is made of cheese, and mythical creatures of all sorts swim in it. A cyclops shark, a kraken, and a merman. The seas seem to be rough, and a old style ship with sails is navigating through it, yet nothing seems menacing at all, it seems like it has a sense of humor to it.

Arrangement - Looks to be made with puppets and small-scale models

With a single glance, it's impossible to determine the exact sort of music that this is. Both the album title and the graphics seem to suggest that this artist is "alternative" in some way -- in other words, I would not expect this album to contain classical music... but I also wouldn't expect it be hard-core, devil-worship music either... the tone suggested by the album title and its fonts, etc., is be more playful. The audience probably consists of people who are separate from the mundanity/absurdity of everyday life -- they may be somewhat cynical, but not violently so. This link doesn't provide images of the rest of the total CD package... the song titles sound playful, in following with the cover's appearance (or rather, vice-versa).

This cover is meant to attract fans of the band Blink 182. The cover is directly referring to the title of the album (Enema of the state) where a nurse is putting on a glove in order to give a person such. It uses scantily clad women in order to attract what I'm guessing is a male demographic. Also the tatoo on the woman can also imply a sort of rebellious edge. All of these in conjunction with each other help to try and sell the pacage itself.

Purpose:
To have a sophisticated, intelligent image. This is meant to stand out in the midst of other CD's and have something different to offer the listener.

Audience:
This particular album cover is probably meant to appeal to the middle-teenage to mid-twenties consumer. Since the only text on the cover is "The Strokes", it is possible to assume that the intended audience is someone who has never heard of the band.

Context
Cover of a CD case - displayed in a store, online, or in someone's home. This will be either stored with the CD in it after the consumer buys the product, or displayed as an image in iTunes or other music players, even on the screen of an mp3 player.

Medium
Photograph with text on a paper CD cover, or .jpg image on a website.

Strategies
This cover uses a photograph of a bubble chamber, which shows the path of subatomic particles through a small space. The band intentionally used this imagery to raise the question, "What is the real essence of why we're here? Are these subatomic particles all we really are?" The title of the album is left off of the cover in order to allow the photograph to have more weight in the overall visual appeal of the album.

Arrangement
A highly contrasted color schemed photograph as the background with a minimally displayed title of the band in the bottom left (about 1/2" off of the bottom). In the photograph, the lines are most dense on the right side. There is a slightly radial feeling to the arrangement of the lines. The title of the album is not included in the cover.

Purpose: To raise curiousity in anyone who sees the album.

Audience: People that are interested in something different from the norm

Medium: Plastic CD worth appr. $16

Strategies: It's using unfamiliar interesting pictures to show us kind of what we can expect from the songs.

Arrangement: It has a picture with that stands out as the center of attention to anyone who looks at the album. This will allow people to look directly at the eye in the center.

Context: Any cd store (i.e. vons bookstore)

The audience seems to be imaginative people with a fantasy background. The armor worn emphasizes medieval outfits. The design is quite elaborate and creative. People who like to daydream or want to feel calm and relaxed should listen to this music. The fact that there is an eyeball instead of a face helps tap into someone’s creative imagery, as well as the fact that the figure is floating in the middle of the sky. The image isn’t scary, but is very bold. The image catches the audiences eye, and is elaborate enough to hold their curiosity for at least a little while as they analyze the picture. The oddness of the picture draws people into at least looking at it, if not helping to convince them to buy the album.

The image and name of the CD lead me to believe that this CD is for people that would consider themselves counter-culture or anti-government. The eyball in the sky possibly refers to the government watching or spying on people.
The image on the CD is wearning a crown, which could be taken as a symbol of royalty or power, implying that this eyball is a source of power of some sort.
I don't think the arrangment of the image specifically relates to this message because it only consists of the eyeball and name.

When seeing this cover, I never really saw anti-government or anything like that... I just saw something a little different and "weirder" which pretty much describes quite well the type of music contained on this CD. So, the replies seem to be generally similar to my thoughts

Audience: Men, Bible skeptics
Context: This is used on the CD to sell it to people who may have heard the Sunday School story about the Garden of Eden, which is pretty common.
Sense of Purpose: To sell a CD to men, because of an unclothed woman. Or to entice Bible skeptics, who have heard the Sunday School “Garden of Eden” story
Strategies: The designer uses a tree and a garden in a “Garden of Eden” type setting that alludes to the Bible story. The apple also assists in the story metaphor. The title “Oral Fixation” also supports the “Garden of Eden” story, in that Eve was so fixed on filling her hunger, or oral desires. The baby in the background also encourages more thought, because it shares that this was the original sin and from there, all sin in children and on, continued. You can see the baby reaching for the apple, too.
Arrangement: An “Eve” character leaning against the tree.
Medium: CD

Audience: Christian singer… hence the audience is of the Christian background who like songs that relate to them.
Context: This cd might be used as a tool for relaxation.
Sense of Purpose: I feel the sense of purpose is to give its audience meaning in the music about such subjects as children and biblical references.
Strategies: Stone is symbolized with the brown background.
Arrangement: 4 pictures aligned beside each other depicting a boy, ribs, tree, and something else, perhaps cross-hatching
Going from left to right, I believe this CD has songs that have to do with children, perhaps Adam from the Bible, and life.
Medium: CD