Research into Similar Products - Album Artwork

In the initial stages of designing our album cover, we were all asked to individually research the album artwork of four artists who are in the same genre (R&B) as our artist.
The four albums I chose are listed below:

1. The Emancipation of Mimi - Mariah Carey
   
2. My Love is Your Love - Whitney Houston
   
3. B'DAY - Beyonce
   
4. Share My World - Mary J. Blige
   

One thing all of these album covers have in common is that it involves women posing for the camera. By posing for the camera it connotes at their glamorous and diva personality, which is what they are marketed as, by the industry. Additionally, they all items of clothing that connote at their fashionable and glitzy lifestyle.

 On Mariah Carey's album 'The Emancipation of Mimi' she is wearing a gold dress that blows in the wind, the colour gold connotes wealth,fame, grandeur and luxury.

On all the albums the artist dominates the frame. On Mariah Carey's album she is in the center posing. On Whitney Houston's album cover she takes up most of the cover and is again positioned in the center. Although the other two album covers have the artist posing to one side of the frame. The camera is at a mid-shot which allows them to take up a large amount of the album cover. They are the main feature of the album because they are synthetic artists, who are marketed off their looks and personality.

The first album artwork I will look at is Mariah Carey's 2005 album 'The Emancipation of Mimi'. 

On this album cover she is positioned in the center of the frame. This indicates that she is the main focus. This is a common characteristic of album covers for synthetic artists because they are marketed based off their looks and personality. They create this diva, glamorous star ideology which people want to be part of. Thus attracting her fan base. The way she is posing and is positioned, having her legs spread apart, hints at her domineering and confident personality which attracts audiences to her ideology.

The gold dress and shoes, also contribute to the overall glamour, elegance and value of the artist. This because gold is universally associated with wealth. The lighting seems to be coming from above her, this causes some parts of her body like the neck, stomach and insides of legs to be dark while the outline of her dress and body reflect the light. The shadows on her body connote at her mysterious and seductive nature, a common representation of women in R&B music.

The next album cover I will be looking at is 'My Love is Your Love' by Whitney Houston. 

We can see her crouching, her positioning makes her look like an ordinary person but she is still the mega-star 'Whitney Houston'. This follows Richard Dyer's Star Theory paradox, where its said that 'The star must be both ordinary and extraordinary'. Behind her the tarmac road is wet, however it is dry where she is crouching. This connotes that her icon image is untouchable. It also targets her target audience, who are females in their late 20's ( 25 - 30 years old). She seems down to earth and comfortable with herself; her clothes are stylish and new and she exudes a sense of maturity. This reflects with her target audience of adult women who are not young and not old. The lighting is mainly from her side and above, this gives a glow to her skin and lights up her face. This connotes that she is being celebrated. This is a common lighting characteristic with synthetic artists, it glorifies their image, which is used to market and sell their albums, this concept is based of Negus's Star Theory.

The next album cover I will be looking at is ' B'Day ' by Beyonce

On this album cover, Beyonce's hair is placed in an up-do, it is styled to look natural and slightly messy, her make-up is simple and her clothing in not over the top. Her styling on the cover follows Dyer's Star Theory paradox that "a star is both ordinary and extraordinary". Her obvious star status and name make her extraordinary but the way she looks on the cover is made to look ordinary. This is so her target audience can identify with her and feel connected not only by her music but by her looks. This means her fans will be more dedicated to her and try to emulate her, this in turn will bring more fame to the artist and more money to the record company. Additionally, by having the mid-shot, she is framed much closer and this creates an intimate experience between the artist and the audience. 

The last album cover I will be looking at is 'Share my World' by Mary J. Blige.

On Mary J. Blige's album cover she is looking away from the camera. This hints at a sense of mystery, making the artist appear alluring. This is a common convention in the R&B genre, to portray women as seductive enchantresses. By wearing all white it connotes at her purity and elegance and further emphasizes her image as a confident woman and a diva. Her target audience appreciate her image because not only do they look up to her but they try emulate her ideologies. Which in turn increases profits for the record label as peoples obsession with her grows, therefore more money is spent by the consumers on: merchandise and albums. 

She takes up most of the cover like all the synthetic artists of the R&B genre, this establishes her image to her target audience. However, her body and face are slightly out of the frame. This may connote that there is more to her than at first glance. It also may highlight Dyer's Star paradox, "the star is both present and absent". She exists and is discussed in the consumers life, however she is physically not there and is unreachable. 

Mary J. Blige is wearing 'FENDI' glasses a high fashion clothing brand. Therefore, emphasizing her status as a star.