RESEARCH : Music Album Cover: Design Brief ( Renaissance - Future Club Classics)

1) What headings are given in the brief and how do they contribute to the designer understanding the product and the brief? 

- Where are we now
-The Album Concept (What is it? Why are we doing it? Comparable Products.
-What is the CONSUMER REACTION we want?
-How will we know it worked?
- Key launch dates (Press campaign, TVC Launch, Album Release)
-Who is our consumer?
+ The Date, Project Manager, Dept, Album Title/Artist, Release Date.
-Creative Brief (Album Sleeve)
- Description, Deadlines, Objective , Proposition, Tone, Restrictions, Production Specs, Creative Edge Spectrum, Budget.

These headings help the designer keep organised with their work and have an idea of how they will be producing their design and why. It will also help the designer aim their product to a certain target audience.

2) What media language is used and what does it mean to the designer?

Significant Trends: Styles that are popular in the modern society. The designer will aim to create a design that will relate to the significant trends.

Reputation: The reputation of the design is important as it has to have a good reputation to be able to sell more.

Consumer: The people who will be buying the product. They are the designers target audience.

Sales Targets: The designer must set a sales target to try to achieve a certain amount of sales so that the sales don't lack.

Comparative Products: Products that are similar. These will be useful as similar products will have similar target audiences.

Mainstream Public: The common trend in society. What a majority of people like. The designer will try to fit their design to this so that the product will have more consumers.


What is the difference between the Product Overview and the Creative Brief (Album Sleeve) ?

The product overview gives the designer information on the album music and artist (history/heritage/significant trends). The Creative Brief gives the designer information on the look of the product, such as the description of the design, the objective, budget, tone of voice, brand image and deadlines of the production.

 Group Work 

1) What image do we want to convey to our chosen artist?

A  young, fun and romantic image.

RESEARCH : Popular Music - Adorno & Hebdige

Theodor W. Adorno (1903-1969)

Theodor W.Adorno was a sociologist, musicologist and philosopher who was greatly known for his theory of society. He attended the Frankfurt School ( a group of intellects) and was a leading member.

" Adorno suggested that culture industries churn out a debased mass of unsophisticated, sentimental products which have replaced the more 'difficult' and critical art forms which might lead people to actually question social life."[1] 

Adorno opposed that capitalism lured people into a society where there were products of a "cultural" industry. The society were influenced to have an interest in one genre of music and style only. As part of his theory, Adorno separated society into two groups; 'The Masses' and 'The Bourgeoisie's'.  'The Masses' were people who were of lower class and who listened to the typical music genre that the majority listened to. On the other hand, 'The Bourgeoisie's' were people who were of upper class, who listened to music that was not typical, but a genre such as classical. Adorno was adverse towards 'The Masses' as he believed that the mainstream music that they all listened to had no real emotion, meaning , rhythm or feeling. He thought that the music was all similar and repetitive. 

Example of Mainstream Music/Artists Today:

One Direction - British Pop Boy Band that have gone world wide due to their mainstream
music and style. Their target audience are teenage girls which could be a reason to why they have become so popular as artists. The majority of young teenagers in today's society do not know about old artists who produced more "real" music. A lot of artists now produce music with digital technology and use auto tune to change their voice (improve them).

Taylor Swift - An American artist who originally started off by producing

country music and then started doing more pop music. A lot of Taylor Swift's songs sound

similar and revolve around the same theme; love. Her target audience are teenage girls, so by revolving her music around the theme of love, she will sell more as her audience can relate.

Comparison (Style of music) :

Dick Hebdige


Hebdige is a  media theorist as well as a sociologist who focused on the qualities of different subcultures. He studied how subcultures were resistant against the mainstream industry within society.
Hebdige believed that every person who listens to mainstream music has their own connection to the music; they interpret them differently due to relation, style or experience. This means that people can decide what they want to listen to and purchase. 

Which theory do I agree with? 

I agree with the majority of Hebdige's theory as it is more relevant in today's modern society. In Adorno's theory, it communicates that only the upper class listened to "good" music which at the time was a genre such as classical. The lower class only listened to repetitive, typical mainstream music, which represented them to have no knowledge with music or style. I believe that today this is not the case as you have people from all classes listening to either mainstream or classical music. However, in the past people had less access to music as technology was not as improved as it is today. Therefore, the lower class were only able to mostly access the same music along with rest of the lower class as it was what they could afford. The upper class were able to afford better technology and go to concerts where they had an insight of classical music. Money and technology created the separation between the two classes which also meant a separation with music taste. 

In Hebdige's theory, I agree with the expression that in today's society people could decide what to listen to and have an interest in. We also have access to different types of technology meaning that we can be exposed to different genres of music. Music now also links with the style of a person and their hobbies. The artist of a particular genre tries to portray a typical style so that their audience would follow them. This also creates more money for the industries.