X

Ed Sheeran Print Product Analysis

DigipakThe X digipak follows a strict black and Green colour scheme which follows on from Ed Sheeran’s branding techniques of Orange and white, in which he used in his first album +. By keeping a strict colour scheme within his respective albums, Ed Sheeran has been able to be associated with this colour scheme above any artist and make it a trade mark for his tour or album. The green and black are neutral colours which does not isolate any gender when trying to sell his music, it is not strictly for Men or Women which leaves his branding, music and image open to all. The inside cover of the album follows the same colour scheme but with black becoming the dominant colour over the green. The imagery of blood cells paired with the darker colour scheme connotes the idea that, though the artist may seem brighter and happier on the outside, he has a darker inside which coincides with his music and lyrics having depressed ideas to them (Such as break ups and death). There is a link between a song on his album and this imagery, Bloodstream is very much about the affects that alcohol and drugs have on your insides when under the influence; by using imagery of this song in his album he is connoting that the lyrics in the song are a driving force for his album (due to experiences with alcohol and drugs). There is an X shaped cell which is linked to his album name, indicating that his album is deep within his blood and therefore is heavily linked with is ideas and not just manufactured music used to sell; it means something to him. His album back cover again follows the same colour scheme, similar to the inside cover is dominantly black which, as well as the reasons mentioned in the earlier analysis, creates a subtlety to his album art instead of being totally in your face which is useful for Ed Sheeran’s type of music. The main focus of the cover here is a outlined picture of Ed Sheeran looking sombre. This is a very interesting piece of art as it creates a cartoon image of the singer, this indicates that he is being made to look fake by his industry ; the sadness of the image held by the artist indicates that it is not the music that is making him sad but the way the industry are portraying him and diluting the genre. The idea that music is manufactured is held by many different genres, with pop being the main controversy, as Ed Sheeran is part of both the pop and folk genres he gets to make a comment on the way the industry is handled. This image is also the only picture of the artist that we get on his album, the exclusion gives focus to his music and not to him as an artist, something that subverts his first album which is focused around his image.

FontThe lack of writing as a focus on the album cover is important for his growth as an artist, he is using a symbol to advertise his image. The X (Standing for multiply) is shown to be very artistic, upon close analysis is appears to have an effect which makes it look painted which creates a more personal and less artificial image. By adding some of texture to the image a personality is added to the symbol, had it just been left clean and unedited the image may have come across to impersonal and simple. The connotations of the painted style is that this album is artistic (due to paintings being a widely used symbol of art in general).The font used through his

advertising campaign is bold and holds a similar, artsy, painted style as the X does on his album cover. This creates a good contrast against the bright green colour used as a supporting colour to the black.

By following a similar font style as well as colour scheme, Ed Sheeran is able to associate himself with very simple imagery. This is good as it is only his second album so he is not yet the biggest established style in the music imagery so by following such strict imagery he is able to attract attention and recognition through very little effort. The fun connotations of the drawn font allow for people who are unfamiliar with his work to view him as an enjoyable artist and a fun person, this would create a good image for him and therefore boost his attention.

Ed Sheeran’s advertising campaign is unlike the rest of his print products for his X series as it is centred around him as a person and not his music or any form of symbolism. This opposition to his regular way of branding centres him as the main image, this would create a hype from his existing audience as they would instantly recognise the large, brightly coloured image of the artist. On top of this large image of Ed Sheeran, the artist logo is very large and bold which serves the same purpose as the large image of Ed Sheeran as it is easily eye catching and creates interest for the existing audience who would instantly recognise the artist; the name also justifies who the artist is to anew audience who may not recognise him through his image. The focus on the image of the artist is the first time that we get real imagery of Ed throughout his marketing campaign for his new album which is arguably to do with the album being focused on his music with the lyrics and tunes being more significant than the star image. The tour (and music videos) can then be more centred around Ed Sheeran as a person/ musician as of course he will feature heavily. This connotes that the music is not his, it means different things to different people so his influence will not be there opt effect it; his appearance in the tour advertising is because you are paying to see him as a person on tour – connecting with the audience in different manners is important for a pop artist as they often have a large fan base which needs to be addressed.

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The font sizes are all very similar excluding the name ‘Ed Sheeran’ which is significantly larger than the other bits of information. This is evidently due to marketing reasons and an attempt to attract attention, something that is used in the vast majority of genres and band’s advertisements. The font for the tour dates seem to fit on Ed’s T-Shirt and creates the colour scheme that he has used for his X album, green and black. This contrasts well and draws attention to the information whilst sticking to the colour scheme.