Conclusion
I decided to choose the last draft design as it includes the conventions, which we know of as consumers, of album covers such as the advert for mobile phone wallpapers etc, the large image on the front and the close-up of the artist underneath the CD holder. I also like the fact that the text on the back cover is centered therefore it looks neat and attractive.
I have drafted out a few ideas of my own for the specific CD cover image, with the conventions of other CD covers taken into consideration. Out of these drafts I will choose the one that I think will be most appealing and effective with the audience and then use this draft to create the final CD cover product. By drafting out some ideas I am able to put thought into what exactly I want my cover to look like. As well as drafting out the cover plans I have also drafted out a few front cover image ideas as well, to ensure that the best, and most effective image possible will be used.
However, before I did this I needed to choose a name for the artist. I brainstormed possible suitable names ranging from 'retro/cool' to elegant:
Cherry
Stripe
Fierce
Sky
Skie
Zsha Zsha
Mimi
Star
Dixie
Lola
Cha Cha
Za Za
Stiletto
Blu
Imperia
Illusion
Zoowie (Pronounced Zoe)
Azure
Echo
India
Liberty
Kimora
Meera
Willow
Cocoa Zañita
Aña Aqueña
Junetta Mibella
Chiprialla Iba
Letizia
Zoeyette
Lina Cholo
Cody Brooke
Sofia Maria
Selena Lucia
Marina Der-chi
Miguel Alejandro
Alita
Jovetta
Inocenta Cruz
Danisha Diamante
Zuza
Villana
Kezia
Obviously the name of the artist will have an impact on what the images for the cover look like as if the name is elegant the images will represent the artist being element and if the name is sharp and cool the images will be sharp, retro and bright - to represent the artist.
To see what would really look the best I have ensured that I include a mix in the covers I draft out.
- This draft I created is aimed to include the overall theme of the song. A beautiful woman - the 'she-wolf' - is sat on a log in a dark, creepy forest with the full moon visible through the trees. She is wearing a flowing dress which is rippling slightly with the wind. Her facial expression would be serious and appealing, to draw the audience to this cover. The font I have used is 'fancy' and elegant, as well as the artist's name on this cover - which is an elegant, exotic name to fit in with the style of the cover. I like this design as it is elegant and the wood setting also links in with the theme of the song. I also like the fact that the artist is portrayed as been beautiful and elegant but her costume is not too revealing so therefore she is sexually appealing as she is pretty but she is not seen as too 'sexy'. It is also very similar to the 'Shakira' album cover I have analysed in the previous post, and Shakira is the original artist of the song.
- This draft captures more of the artist's sex appeal as she is laid out in a sexually appealing pose wearing a short dress and silver leggings. She is laid on a dark sofa which is part of the actual video itself. There is the sky above her with stars and a moon visible. The artist is looking up at the full moon, which links in with the 'werewolf' theme. The colours are dark and gloomy, like a horror movie and the artist's face is illuminated by the light from the moon which gives priority to her in the frame and draws the audience's eyes to her. The artist's name is elegant, to link in with the image, and to reflect this I have used an elegant font for the song name and a simple, modern but classy font for the artist's name. I like this design as it is so unusual and although it is not bright in colour - a technique usually used to catch the audience's eyes - it is unusual enough to catch their eyes and is visually appealing as it is more interesting to look at than most over covers. The image is also featured in the music video itself which is a good promotion technique as the audience will remember this image and immediatley link the image to the video itself.
I drafted out a few other drafts, which are slightly different from the previous as I created them with an edgier name for the artist in mind, therefore the cover reflects this as I think the cover should reflect the personality of the artist as whole to attract specific target audiences.
The idea of this cover image is that the image links in with the artist name - which is 'Stripe.' The 
stripe which is placed to the left and in front of the artist's face links with the artist name. I have chosen to show only an extreme close-up of the bottom of the artist's face to create a sense of mystery - as you cannot see the whole of their face - and to also focus on their lips which would be coloured brightly to add a 'sharp' bright feel to the image and to also add sex appeal. The background is plain white therefore focusing the attention on the artist's face and also creates a modern feel. The whole image is modern and sharp, but does not really link with the song in any way apart from the sense of mystery created by only the bottom of the face been visible. It is also a basic image and may not attract the audience because of this.
I have also used the name 'stripe' for the artist on this cover, as I decided it was a sharp and modern name. This cover image consists of 'stripes' placed in different places to split the image up into pieces. Different parts of a main image of the artist's face are scattered around these stripes, as is the letters of the artist's name. The background colour is different for every section. The image overall is different and unique but may also be a little too confusing for the audience as the artist's name is hard to read and the different parts of the image scattered around also create confusion.
In this cover draft I have used the same sort of idea as the first 'Stripe' draft, using the bottom of the artist's face with a plain white background. This image also links with the artist's name, again like the 'Stripe' covers. The cover consists of an extreme close-up of the bottom of the artist's face with their mouth open and biting on a cherry. I have used the colour of their lips to stand out against the white background to create a sharp modern feel. Their lips would be the same colour as the cherry and their skin as white as possible to emphasise the colour and make it stand out. The idea of using the cherry with the lips creates sex appeal but has nothing really to do with the song and merely links in with the artist's name. Also, the image itself is basic and perhaps not enough to capture the audience's eyes.
Conclusion
In conclusion, in my opinion, the first two cover designs are the best to use as they both link in with the song, look 'classy' and 'elegant' as well as using the conventions of the genre of the song and are both eye-catching and unusual. The last three cover designs are good ideas but do not link sufficiently with the actual song itself, just the artist, and therefore will not attract the audience as well as they should do and do not fullfill their expectations of the cover image linking with the song - which could sometimes work if the cover image is strong enough - but these designs are too basic to carry this off.
I personally think that the second design would be the most effective out of the two that I chose as it uses an actual image from the video therefore the audience will link this image to the video and remember it when viewing the video, therefore creating a strong subconcious impression. the image uses the conventions of the genre of music - as the artist is dressed in revealing clothing as do artists promoting dance music and in dance music videos. It also uses the conventions of the ideology of the song as a whole as it inlcudes elements of horror - the full moon and dark colours used. It is unusal and eye-catching which will attract the audience. The artist should look as good looking as possible so that it fullfills both of the target audience's needs - Males will find her sexually appealing and females will wish to look like her and may then even begin to copy her style and look from this image - use of narcissism as females will see her as an idealised image of themselves and adopt certain aspects of the artist.
* Name of the artist *
I decided on using the name Lina Cholo as it is elegant, exotic and sounds pleasant therefore it links with the elegant ideology of the album cover and also with the personality of the artist as I imagine the artist to be exotic and from a beautiful country such as Spain and also elegantly sexy and I think this name portrays this ideology well, therefore will attract the audience.
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