CASE STUDY: HOW DO ARCTIC MONKEYS ENGAGE WITH THEIR AUDIENCE THROUGH THEIR ALBUM ART?

HOW DO ARCTIC MONKEYS ENGAGE WITH THEIR AUDIENCE THROUGH THEIR ALBUM ART?

Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band formed in 2002 in the UK. They have released six albums since then and have won many awards including multiple BRITs.

The images below how 3 of the bands albums. The art for these albums is non as consistent as other bands or artists I have previously studied. For this reason I am going to focus on the album entitled ‘Whatever people say I am, that’s what I’m not.’

The generic fan of the band is male aged between 18 and 24. This album art, to me, is so important as it is appealing to this market.

In basic terms, this album is appealing as the main image in the album is a man smoking against a negative space. This single image links to the indie genre as this is a characteristic of that, but, this in an image that could be attractive to both genders of audience. For men, this could give them an aspirational image and for females, it may be something ‘nice’ to look at. They connect with their audience by using an ascetically pleasing image that may entice people to buy the album based on that image.

In terms of composition of this album art, it is simple. As there is only one image, the rule of thirds and a shallow depth of focus are used. This means that because there’s only a plain colour background, this focus remains on the image that is present on the cover.

There is also the use of a logo in this image which was once used to create a visual motif and more of a strong identity for the band. This logo was dropped after this album in 2006 as they felt the logo didn’t relate to the band or their music anymore.

The man’s face and hand that is holding the cigarette are also in extreme focus which could be seen to be promoting images of smoking or holding authority over the audience in the image but using a direct mode of focus.

WHATEVER PEOPLE SAY I AM, THAT'S WHAT I'M NOT

Colour in this image is something that can have many meanings, for example, the image is black and white which could mean is may have mysterious connotations. In my opinion, this has been done to connect with their target audience as it creates a much more indie style image. The use of black and white takes the identity of the man in the image and creates a new one that may be more identifiable for the consumer. It may also make the audience feel as though he is a figure of authority over the person who is buying the album.

There isn’t much Negative space in this image as most of it is taken by either the man in the image or the band logo. The backdrop of this image is what looks like a pair of black curtains. This creates an element of negative space but as there is detail in this part of the image, it is not entirely negative. I think the space is used efficiently as it allows the audience to focus on the man in the image rather than the black space that surrounds him.

The type used in this image is fairly simple as it only contains the bands logo on the front of the album. This engages with their audience as it creates something that would be memorable for the audience to look back on. For example, if this logo was used continually, the audience would know which album belonged to the band just by looking at the logo placed on top of the image.

Other than this logo, there is no other text on the front of the album, thus creating an almost enigmatic effect that connects with the audience as it does not give the audience all of the information they are looking for straight away meaning they have to look further through the album to find out.

In conclusion, this band effectively connects with their audience in this album cover as they create an identity for the man on the front cover. This then gives the audience something to relate or aspire to, making them buy and listen to the album.