Research Into Similar Products: Album Back Covers

The back of albums tend to be formatted in three different ways. One way is to have a completely blank back cover, similar to that of Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division. The second is to have the track listing only on the back and the third is to have a photo accompany the track listing. I prefer the final way myself, as it shows a nice link between the whole art of the album. I have been researching different ways in which artists have encorporated their photos with their track listings. The album 'Music For Films' by Brian Eno includes a photo on the back of the album, however the photograph is in it's own separate frame. I enjoy this layout as it uses the effects used on the photo for the whole back cover and makes the photo stand out as it's own artwork rather than blended. I also like how the album name and artist name is used on the top of the tracklisting to keep it consistent. For my own back cover, I plan to place the album name and title in a similar way to this.

The second back cover that intrigued me is the one used for Pixies 'Doolittle.' The artwork is central to the cover and the tracks are placed around it in a circle. I like this idea as it is unconventional and interesting. Personally, I think it really makes you think about where each track is on the album, in terms of the albums structure and how it fits with the rest of the tracks, as you are searching for the track you would like and end up looking at the tracks that surround it. 

The back of Smashing Pumpkins greatest hits album 'Rotten Apples,' particularly stood out to me. The use of two different colours for the album title on the side of the album and on the back is something I quite like as it breaks up the blea, black and white look and also links to red apples. I also like how the band photo is placed in the middle of the two track listings as it shows the band are central to the music (obviously) and shows them in a fun light. I plan to use colour in a similar way on my own back cover as I feel it will be able to link to nature if I were to use a green colour.