Rihanna- Loud album cover analysis
Following on from my previous Digipack analysis, I decided to another analysis of Rihanna's - Loud album:
Ø This Digipack appeals to both Rihanna's female and male
audience members in several different ways. The album cover becomes very
feminine, through Rihanna's face being the focus and her hair, make up and
facial expression all represent/convey her femininity. Although these features
could be seen as a sexualisation of the artist e.g. Rihanna's bright red
lipstick could be seen as a sign of beauty or innocence, however it could also
be interpreted as being sexualised to some certain parts of her audience. This
can also be seen where rihanna’s bare shoulder is exposed within the shot,
creating a sense of sexualisation (something that appeals to her male target
audience). The image itself being framed so that her tattoo is visible gives
off a sense of Rihanna’s personality/brand image-‘Rebelle fleur’ meaning ‘rebel
flower’ suggests that she is both rebellious as well as a ‘flower’
(feminine-the way she is reflected within this image/front cover).
Ø The text is very simple yet grabs the audience’s
attention due to it being fairly bold and white-standing out well against the
main image (Rihanna’s skin). Not having her name on the cover could be seen as
both a risk, but also reflects her star image-being very well known through
social media (again reflecting her brand image).
Ø The cover itself reflects both the album content and the
genre through the use of both bright colours (the predominate use of red and
blue tints) and the artists facial expression (being the main focus of the
cover artwork). The use of bright colours reflects the up-beat pop style music
within the album as well as the feminine side to the artist. The use of the
image both shows the sexualised side of the artist (as well as the content) as
well as the more ‘passionate’ side-having a variation of pop/dance music themed
by love (etc.) but also more sexualised, rebellious content.
- The back cover is very different to the front. In a different outfit, this time you can see Rihanna’s full body. She can be seen striking quite a sexual pose, her direct eye-line suggesting a sexualisation of the female form (Rihanna’s body due to her costume)
- Rihanna’s direct eye line means that the back cover (image) becomes very personal this could be linked the song list to the left of the back cover, implying the personal side to some of her songs.
- The song list and text on the back cover is very subtle, very simple. It's very obvious that the back cover is focused very much on Rihanna and less so about her songs. The image itself having a vintage/’faded’ feel also means that when using this style of text it also gives off a ‘vintage’ feel (allowing the focus of the artwork as a whole to be completely on Rihanna)
- Although this image sexualises Rihanna it also has a undertone of maturity, her outfit looking almost uniform and suit-like, suggesting a possible image change from her previous single ‘Russian Roulette’ (being very sexualising/objectifying)
- Rihanna’s body language within the shot could be seen as sexualisation of herself but also has a sense of maturity, as if the album is very personal and means a lot to her as an individual (promoting the songs/content).
- The colour scheme is similar to the front cover, being predominantly shades of blues/purples and red (her hair-drawing attention to her within the frame/image) means a similar reflection of the content, new image of the artist.
- Similarly to the front cover, one of Rihanna's tattoos (body art) is visible within the image-both reflecting her almost 'rebellious' side but also shows she is 'on trend' (highlighting that she is a very 'now' style icon).
The Inside pull-out of the album cover is very similar to the front cover,
with more of Rihanna exposed, she can been wearing a very low-cut dress and
laying in a field (bush) of red flowers, continuing the predominant red and
blue/purple colour scheme throughout the album artwork as a whole- representing
the artist’s beauty and femininity her sexualised/rebellious side due to her
costume, body language etc). Synergising with the rest of the artwork,
promotional campaign and ‘Only Girl’ music video (key track within the content
of the album), the pull out is very eye-catching and a good 'introduction' to
the album (being the firs thing seen when opening the album (once purchased).
The CD artwork is very simple,
being of a single light pink rose ties together the album artwork as a whole
(through both colour scheme, the representation of the artist and 'feel' of the
album). Although the CD itself fits the the 'theme' of the album, it still stands
out, being the lightest tone of pink throughout the whole artwork.
The use of a rose in order to almost 'symbolise' the album (content) suggests
connotations of beauty and love but also danger and rebellion. Not only does
this successfully reflect the content of the album but also the
artist-Rihanna's image change (becoming slightly more 'respectable'-not
sexualising herself as much as her past single/album).
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