SettingIn this image, the setting looks similar to the layout and construction of a piano with the curved edges behind Alicia Keys, again creating a narrative enigma that she could be encasing her feelings into her songs, but not exactly establishing what she’s keeping hidden. The background colour looks similar to that of the piano keys in front of the artist’s face, which indicates a connection and also, the colour corresponds with the simple text and the artist’s skin tone as it isn’t too harsh or demanding when regarding the artist’s skin but allows the white text to stand out against the brown/golden colour and the black of her hair.

Character and Narrative EventsOn the front cover, there is an image of Alicia Keys being somewhat shielded by a piano as she is a respected and well known pianist. Her stage name ‘Keys’ has been influenced by Alicia’s love for acoustic and raw attitude to music by having mostly instrumental backing tracks on all her songs but also a sense of secrecy, as if she’s locking things away and only she has the key. Due to Alicia Keys being covered by the piano it could indicate she’s hiding from something and she has a secret that can only be expressed through the lyrics in her songs. Again the theme of secrets is apparent in the title of the album ‘the diary of Alicia Keys’, a diary you keep secrets or at least something you don’t want others to know, again indicating she has something to tell or share with the audience. Her makeup is sultry and enticing to both a female and male audiences, however it’s quite minimal and natural which is similar to her music as it is stripped back by only using instruments rather than including the technical and auto tuning her voice, she prefers the maximum affect on the audience as her lyrics have meaning and emotion behind them. Her makeup also corresponds with the golden glow of her skin, the piano keys and the background; this could indicate how she’s leaving her mark on music as well as her audience. Her clothing displays chains and has chains as straps, suggesting she’s in chains about keeping her secret separate for the ones she loves, however all with me explained within the songs.

Technical codesThe text is informal and simple due to the relax manner in the way in which it is set out, by not having capital letters which could suggest Alicia’s natural passion and enthusiastic outlook on music as she doesn’t have to try hard to impress which could be the reason for the lower case letters used. The colour of the text stands out against both the background colours, brown of the piano and black of her hair. The contrast of the white against the black could suggest how innocent she portrays herself and her simple approach to music, using the acoustic side of music rather than the digital enhanced style most artists are going for, yet she is dangerous, in the music industry and personally. High key lighting has been used to enhance Alicia’s natural skin tone and glow that comes alongside having bronzed skin. However, despite the image being natural in terms of skin tone the image has been edited due to the flawless and immaculate complexion of Alicia Keys.

IconographyThe most iconic aspect of the front cover of this album would be the different elements dotted around within the mise en scene. For example, the piano keys that obscure Alicia Keys’ face identify with her stage name and her genre of music, mostly using a piano and the more traditional forms of music. In the background, the curve in the strong fallow area just behind Alicia’s head is almost identical to the curve of a piano which is a preferred instrument of Alicia’s. By looking at the back cover, she is standing almost in between the keys and what would cover the piano at the top.Therefore making all elements displayed in the image above on the front cover, iconic to the genre and the artist herself.

IconographyThe iconic element present on the CD to Alicia Keys’ album is the different types of keys which match her stage name, the title of the album and how she feels about music. Although her stage name generally represents the keys on a piano or keyboard, the keys displayed on the CD could suggest how she’s got the key to her music career and possibly in her personal life. The title of her album can be connected to her design of her CD as a diary would need a key to unlock it, again suggesting needing to unlock something. However, contradicting what I mentioned previously, maybe Alicia feels she needs to try different ‘keys’ or styles before achieving her desired approach and audience, meaning she had to try multiple ‘keys’ to unlock her voice, musical career and feelings. This is iconic to this album and Alicia Keys as it is her album and part of her stage name, which she’ll be remembered for in time.Technical codes

The text is kept to a minimum with only the title of the album, record label and legal documentation of the CD displayed. The minimal and simple appearance of the CD links with Alicia’s singing style, rather simple in the way in which it’s produced and sung but maxed out on wow factor. This means that despite having a simple approach to the decorative element of all of the CD, she also takes the same approach to singing as her singing is stripped back yet she has much force within her voice due to the enthusiasm and meaning behind the lyrics and song.

Narrative eventsThe main image on the back cover is of a piano missing the top piece which is situated to the right of the main structure, similar to the front cover but from a wider shot and missing the artist which was included in the close up shot of the piano. With the top of the piano being present but not in its preferred place, it suggests that there is more meaning and depth to a piano as you can see into the mechanical side of the instrument, as to a song of Alicia’s with frequent listening. With the similar features of the front and back cover, it could indicate how from looking at the front cover, the audience wouldn’t think much of the tracks and their meanings, but after listening to them the audience start to develop an understanding of the depth of lyrics and influences behind them. Therefore showing a journey from start to finish as is the album, indicating a narrative to Alicia’s musical career and the audience’s thought process when listening to the album. The repeating of the piano and not just an image of the artist as most album back covers tend to do, it suggests how the piano plays a major role in her music career and her life, again indicating a start to finish affect as playing the piano has always been a constant within her work and life. The piano taking up as much space as it does should represent to the audience and other artists that Alicia’s talent of playing the piano is more important than other aspects of popular music today, such as an artist’s looks or body proportions that people should be in the music business for the music.

Technical codesThe image has been edited and enhanced to display a multi tonal effect, as certain aspects of the piano are bright and eye catching whilst other areas are black and white. The golden area such as what is underneath the top piece could indicate the raw talent and emotions behind every song whilst the black and white areas suggest a more traditional and old fashioned approach to music. The background is white behind the piano and black on the ground which allows the text to stand out as it is in white, allowing a continuous colour scheme in terms of writing to take place. Also the track numbers are in a golden colour to relate back to the piano and the artist.