CD Cover Design

Rob Zombie – ‘Hellbilly Deluxe’

The artist’s name is Rob Zombie, which is why they’ve edited him to look just like a Zombie.

There is a theme of hell (as it says in the album title), and Zombies. The background colours are yellow, orange and red – which are the colours of fire. Those colours are associated with hell and evil.

This pentagram symbol is usually associated with hell, the devil and evil, so this fits in with the theme of the CD cover. Other heavy metal bands have used it in their logos and album covers, such as Slipknot.

The font of the band logo is distorted and rough around the edges, this reflects how the music of the band sounds. Rob Zombie’s songs are heavy, and the vocals are rough.

Deadmau5 – ‘4x4=12’

Deadmau5 are a drum & bass/electro band - their album artwork represents this.

This genre of music is usually played in clubs, which are usually dark, which is why there is a dark background – it sets the mood of the genre more.

The ears of the mouse look like neon green glow sticks – this links in with the clubbing scene again, people tend to have glow sticks at clubs and raves.

The face of the mouse like lights on a screen in a club – they’re the same colour as the ears, carrying on the theme of clubs/raves.

Charlie Simpson – ‘Young Pilgrim’

The genre of music on this album is acoustic/folk. This genre of music is usually quite simple, and I think this album artwork reflects that.

The colours are very natural and light, which represents the sound of the music on this album, because it has a light sound to it, and it doesn’t sound artificial at all.

The font of the writing is very simple, but bold, which represents the music, because it’s very simple, but yet it stands out amongst other bands’ music.

Band logo.

Album title.

There is a main photo of the artist with his guitar, this is one of the main conventions of a CD cover – there is always a main photo, usually of the artist/band or something related to the album title/band name.

Skindred – ‘Union Black’

The first thing you notice about this album cover is the lion. This represents Skindred’s sound – they’re loud, almost like a lion’s roar. If you look more closely at the lion’s mane you can see various things that represent the band, for example, a speaker (which represents the music) and a phone box (which represents the country they live in).

Skindred are a Reggae-metal band; their music is very unique because it is a mix of reggae and metal music.

The font of the album title and band logo is very bold, this is because they’re a very bold band that stands out from other bands.

The band logo is simple, but bold. It stands out on the page, and is easily recognisable. It shows that Skindred are a bold band, but have an edge to them.

The background is black, which is quite a heavy colour. Black is a colour that is usually associated with heavy music, so I believe this represents Skindred’s heavy sound.

City & Colour – ‘Sometimes’

The background colour is a very natural and light colour.

This is usually associated with acoustic/folk music because it has a very light and soft sound

to it – so they use

The swallow design relates to the artist (Dallas Green), he has two swallows exactly like this (but with different writing) on both his hands. Anyone who is a fan of Dallas will recognise this and buy or download the album. The swallow tattoo design gives City & Colour a brand identity, because it’s what helps people recognise him.

The colours of the swallow tattoo design are bright compared to the light background, this shows that they also have a more lively and exciting side as well.

The set up of this CD cover is slightly different to the normal conventions of a CD cover. The band name/logo and album title are mixed in with the main image in the middle of the cover. Normally the band name/logo and album title are at the top of the page, and the main image is separate.