Informational Meaning in Cover Design
I read the article New 2007 Ash Album, Twilight of the Innocents, Cover Art (CD Sleeve) Review. http://sqwink.com/news/2007/05/13/new-2007-ash-album-twilight-of-the-inn...
The article begins by discussing how the blogger is eagerly awaiting the release of Ash's 6th album. Below his first paragraph are covers of the first 5 albums so that one can see and compare the albums side by side. The blogger then continues that the design of the new album cover didn't strike him, but the underlying concept of it did. The band started with three people. The first 2 albums by the band had covers displaying no band. However, by the third album, when Charlotte Heatherley joined, the album cover features the band, with the new addition Charlotte. This design is more information oriented, confirming that the band does have a new member. With the band still together for album 4 and 5, no band photo was shown on the cover. By the time the sixth album came along, Charlotte was no longer in the band. Thus, the album cover features the three-piece band, once again informing the audience about who is or isn't in the band.
At the very end of the article the blogger discussed that as a graphic designer, and not an Ash fan, he would give the cover a 5/10. However, because he is a fan, he knows that the artwork is meant to communicate to the fans the current status and direction of the band, and gives a slightly higher rating.
It was interesting to see how the band took a more informational cover design approach in making fans aware the band has changed as opposed to making a design that would appeal more to an audience of non listeners. This is something to take into consideration when judging album artwork. Not every design is just another pretty cover, most covers have a deeper meaning, be it about the music or the band itself. We should not always be so quick to judge, especially if we have never listened to the band or have no knowledge of who the intended audience is.
And I'm not sure if this is really relevant or not, but the ash logo on the covers reminds me of 311's logo. It uses a similar font and the band name is enclosed in an ellipse.
I agree that the approach they took was interesting, but I think they could have thought it through more. They need to make sure to appeal to both old and new fans and with a rating of 5/10 as a non-fan, the design should be more appealing.
Submitted by physicschic on Tue, 02/12/2008 - 12:36.I think that a band photo is a simple design, but I think it is underplayed. With a photo on the front cover, it allows a cd browser to automaticall know who the artist is, what the band looks like, and directly associate this with their music. It also allows for someone to just take the design as is rather than try to decipher the meaning behind it (which for new fans or a new band could be hard to do).
I think the fact that Andrew gives the cover a 5/10 from a non-fan perspective is misleading. As he states, it seems like Ash is trying to get a more "indie" appeal. Thus, it isn't trying to open up to new people primarily, but trying to get back with old fans, in my opinion. It may be that many did not like Charlotte, and this would make sense with the cover art. Agreeing with Sarah, It seems like it is saying "Hey, we're back to the original three". I suppose from a band's point of view this is somewhat of a balancing act. Do you please your current fans, try to get new fans, or try to get a bit of both?
Submitted by Silento on Tue, 02/12/2008 - 18:41.I believe thre is a fine line between when a band is informational with their album cover and when their album cover represents the bands' point. It seems that the point the band was trying to get across and the informational aspect intertwined whenever a band member was added or quit the band. The addition or removal of a member of the band must have seemed to convey what the band wanted to convey to the audience as well as they must have thought the audience would be very interested in who had joined. So I guess at those moments the bands' point is 'hey we have a different sound' represented by the a picture of the band. Granted there are other elements to the album cover besides just the picture, but those elements do not speak nearly as loud as the covers without the band.
Submitted by matt33172 on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 09:37.