Print Production - Research

The main image on the cover denotes the artist lying casually on a bench with his guitar. This implies the 'laziness' of the music and suggests to the reader that it will be of an easy-listening nature. The fact that the artist is barefoot could suggest his passion for the music. It could also connote a raw sound as in very little editing has been used to perfect the sound of his music. 
Because of the 'laid back' ambience presented as the immediate insight to the album, we are given further knowledge of the type of music we should expect. It also allows the audience to feel closer to the artist as if he is casually singing to only them.





The tracklist on the album is placed directly onto the main image on the back cover. This again adds to the 'laid back' approach to the album as it isn't perfected and placed in line. It follows the theme of the images through using a 'messy' font. I think this looks effective as it blends in with the image, allowing the main focus to be on the artist himself.  

From this example, we can see that it is common within the genre of country blues to include images of the instruments. As they play a huge part in creating the overall sound of a country blues piece, they seem to be a main focus of the artist's star image. 

Another common theme within this genre is the idea of being outdoors. On many albums, the artist is pictured outside, close to nature. Usually in a field of corn or something similar. This is because of the cliche ideas of 'cowboys' associated with country music.
The font used in both of these examples is very bold and square.

However, not all artists stick to these conventions. Some artists such as John Lee Hooker and Seasick Steve have deviated from these cliche ideas of cowboys and farm houses by using iconic images as the main interpretation of their product. 
John Hooker has used a black hand with parted fingers. This draws attention to the album as it is different to others within this genre. However, the sepia tone used within the image prevents it from deviating too much from the genre and means it still fits with the usual representations.
Unlike the examples above, the font used is very loose and mimics handwriting. This reinforces the omnipresent idea of a laid back approach to music and perhaps lifestyle. Because of this, it is difficult to conclude what font is more typical of the country genre as both styles are frequently used. I will experiment with both font styles and decide which is more appropriate to my main image when I create my own work. 




Seasick Steve has used an image of a dog. Dogs are also featured on Johnny Cash's album, revealing that animal imagery is also a frequent technique used within the country genre.

This album cover is in black and white- from this I can suggest that it is a common technique to alter the colouring of images within the country genre. Cash, Hopkins and Hooker have all used a sepia tone in their image, this softens the image, connoting the soft sound of the music itself. Seasick Steve has challenged this convention by using a black and white tone which works effectively with the shadows and reflections in the water. 

Following the same quirky style of his album cover, Seasick Steve has broken from conventions and created an unusual, eye catching advert. The main focus of the advert is a picture of the artist himself as it is placed in the centre of the page and is in vivid colour. The rest of the page is filled with muted tones of brown and orange with contrasting details of bold black shapes. 











I found these two images of magazine adverts for key country icons. They follow a similar design with a left handed border. However, due to the age of the adverts I will not be taking inspiration from these as I believe the conventions of the genre have now changed. On the other hand, they do follow some of the conventions in the fact that there is a picture at the top of the page with writing and information underneath, this style can also be seen above in Seasick Steve's advert. 








This more recent advert for Blake Shelton conveys a very different style to those featured above. The image is the background for the article and is the most prominent feature on the page, much like on the album covers I have studied. The setting used is a rural, country scene and reflects the cliché ideas about this genre. Again, similarly to the album covers, a guitar is featured in the image, enforcing the importance of instruments within this genre. 
The advert uses the contrast of muted browns and a bold black print to create an attractive overall appearance, this mimics the same effects produced in the Seasick Steve advert. 

Cash has used a silhouette style image as the overpowering focus of the advert. Much like the Blake Shelton advert, this shadowy figure is placed on the right hand side of the page. Again, muted tones of grey and light blue have been used. From this I can conclude that the country genre typically uses softer, muted colours rather than bold primary colours. 
At the bottom of the page, a website is featured for the location of buying products. This seems to be important information that is frequently included in all adverts and so I too will include such information when I produce my own. 






Summary of Key Findings:

• Instruments are of high importance within images, particularly guitars.
• The setting is commonly rural.
• Soft, dull tones of colour are used. 
• These tones are commonly contrasted with a bold black print.
• Fonts used vary from bold blocky prints to loose, imperfect scrawls.
• Typically, adverts follow the design of image above and information below. 
• The main theme within all aspects of the genre is a 'laid back attitude'.