BEYONCÉ4

BEYONCÉ – “4” ALBUM COVERThe shot used for the album is a mid-long shot. The background is white and Beyonce is placed in front of her name so that she is the focus of the front cover. This also emphasises how popular Beyonce is. The name of the album “4” is located in the lower right hand corner of the cover.

Beyonce looks self-assured in the photograph, fulfilled with the quality of the music on her fourth album. Beyonce is wearing a fur-coat and jewellery while sporting blonde hair. High-key lighting is used for this image and the picture has been taken from a lower angle as Beyonce looks upwards.

The photograph has been airbrushed to improve Beyonce’s appearance and to remove the original background. Beyonce status as a sex symbol has been reinforced in this album cover as she is topless underneath the fur jacket.

Beyonce’s pose is sexy, but remains classy which is something Beyonce is known for. Her arms are crossed above her head as she poses looking upwards towards the sky. It is clear that the artist is Beyonce because aside from being an instantly recognisable artist, the title and album name is big, bold and easy to read.

The cover art and the text fits well because similarly to Rihanna’s Loud album both are simple and compliment each other. Opposing colours are used but the cover remains soft and appealing.

The simplicity and the use of imagery is what we would like to incorporate into our CD cover. The cover manages to remain striking without using any props or a major background drop and still stands out.

BEYONCÉ – “4” BACK COVERThe back cover features another photograph of the back of Beyonce looking from a balcony. This image is a long shot of her and possibly conotates new beginnings as she is now in control of her own career. The images effect is similar to the front covers and both use soft and sharp opposing colours which do not interfere with the simple style the packaging goes for.

Beyonce’s name is placed at the top of the cover in the same size and font as the front cover. The tracklist is located underneath her name on the right hand side of the back cover. The text is written all in capitals making it easy for people of all ages to read. It has been strategically placed in front of the white wall.

We were heavily inspired by the strategic layout of the back cover. It provides all the information for the reader yet keeps focus on Beyonce and conveys the message of the album. The executive producer of the album is Beyonce and placed in bold text exaggerating the message of a fresh start now that she is her own manager.

The back cover includes small images of the record labels, the names of the executive producers and copyright information. This is usually to credit and to show gratitude to those involved in the creation of the album. The copyright information is written in smaller white capital text to make sure it doesn’t confuse the reader with the tracklist and the producers.

The back cover includes a bar-code which is when the product is scanned through when somebody is purchasing the album.

The back cover also lists the record labels website and Beyonce’s website so that fans can stay updated with new information.

BEYONCÉ – “4” CD COVER

The CD cover has a previously unseen B symbol on the front. As Beyonce is usually referred to as “B”, the CD doesn’t state her name or the name of the album again. The copyright information

is repeated underneath the B symbol at the bottom of the CD. It is written in significantly smaller grey text in comparison to the symbol. An image of the record label’s logo is placed at the bottom of the CD.

The CD does not fit in with the colour palette of the rest of the album. The background colour is red, which is different from the front cover and the back cover in comparison.