Isabel Hurren's A2 Media Blog: March 2018

Thursday, 15 March 2018

Evaluation of Two Ideas

My album cover features a bold design that would intrigue my target audience and grab their attention, therefore making it effective because it would result in more people picking up the album and wanting to buy it. Furthermore, the design could spark questions regarding the meaning behind it which could lead to people wanting to buy it in order to try and reveal the answers.

The combination of the modern retro and minimalist art movements is successful because it grounds the album in the Indie genre as both art styles are commonly featured on the album artwork of artists similar to Finn. This works to create a connection between Finn and the genre as well as Finn and other Indie artists, perhaps making people more likely to listen to his music if they enjoy that of other Indie artists, such as Seafret and Sam Smith. The use of these art styles also establishes links between my print productions and my music video as both feature a muted, bleak colour scheme as well as focusing on the theme of identity.

However, there are also several weaknesses of my album cover. The lack of direct address, while creating an air of mystery, makes it difficult for the audience to form a connection with Finn or to gauge his feelings and therefore the tone of the album.This makes it difficult to build a relationship between Finn and his audience as the design also makes him less recognisable. In addition to this, I could have established a stronger connection between my productions, perhaps by featuring my protagonists or referencing the theme of heartbreak more explicitly. This would have made it easier for the audience to connect Finn to his music and thus would have created a stronger brand identity for him.

It could also be argued that the broken way I have portrayed Finn represents teenagers in a regressive way because it suggests that they lack the emotional intelligence to both navigate the unfamiliar territory of romantic relationships as well as to recover from them when they break down.This implies that teenagers are weak and lack resilience.

Given the similarity in the designs, my poster has many of the same merits as my album cover. However, this could also be considered a weakness because there is little variety between my designs, therefore meaning that they offer the audience little information regarding the album and other messages might be included within it besides the theme of identity and heartbreak.

There are also several strengths of my poster. For example, the white text stands out from the black and white image, thus making it clear and easy for the audience to read. In addition to this, the font I used features on my CD panels as well, meaning there is continuity between my designs. Furthermore, I included all of the information that you would expect to see on a poster for the release of a real album, therefore giving my poster a professional quality.

The simplicity of the design, in relation to the colours I used as well as the sans serif font, could make it more appealing to my target audience of late teens because it lacks the somewhat overwhelming vibrancy of advertising for Pop music which is more popular with younger teens.

Overall, despite the weaknesses of my productions, I think they would be successful in marketing Finn's album and building a brand identity for him because they are both grounded in the Indie genre and reveal themes of his music.