CR- Digipak Research

Genre

Taio Cruz's genre includes that of dance-pop, electro pop, R&B. With respects to other artists of these genre the album cover is highly conventional, this is a close up of the artists face, this is evident in this album cover and Jason De Rulo's, thus enforcing the audiences perception of Taio's contribution to the music industry. Also associated with this genre is gold and 'bling' this is presented with the use of gold coloured font/text background. The genre of music of which Taio Cruz is associated with is often seen as   no nonsense an attitude that is portrayed by the back cover with the use of white text on a black background. 

Media Language

The use of titles conforms in with the rule of thirds, with the artists name in the top third, and the name of the album in the bottom third; this is also the order in which people normally read, with the artists name being the more important. The artist's face is slightly obscured by shadow from both the right and the left leaving his facial features in the centre of the cover, this challenges the rule of thirds as it shows the artist as a lone figure, connoting that he is a solo artist as he writes and produces his own songs. There is also very little colour, which makes the titles even more appealing against the very dark tone created by the little contrast between the artists face/clothes and the background. The artist’s use of shades is typical of artists of this genre; it also takes away the possibility of the colour of his eyes, affecting the overall tone of the cover, thus interfering with the contrast of the titles and the background. The artists choice of costume including a leather jacket and a pair of sunglasses are both dark, and on a black background makes the artist quite indistinguishable, this can be referring to the artists career as a song writer to many successful artists without any recognition, as though he was hidden from mainstream media.

The title of the album “The Rokstarr Collection” with the mis-spelt use of Rock Star shows the tribute to traditional forms of music however it shows that the artist has stepped away from conventions with the use of this spelling mistake. The title of the album also suggests that the album is a compilation of the artist’s previous more successful tracks. 

Representation

The artist is represented in a way that is familiar to the way the artist is represented in his music videos, thus creating a star image that has been developed from his first hit. The album cover shows an image of the artist, this image is dismembered by the shadow and the dark background, conforming to Dyer’s theory of a star image. Whilst the artist is hidden behind shadow he is absent, but being the only image on the cover he is evidently present conforming to Dyer’s first paradox. With the use of gold titles around the artists image with the colour being associated with wealth and extra-ordinary circumstances. Whereas the mis-spelling of Rock Star enables the audience to feel relatable to Taio Cruz making him more ordinary, thus fulfilling Dyer’s second paradox where an artist has to be ordinary yet extra-ordinary. The fact that the artist is rarely depicted without his sunglasses creates a myth surrounding the artist. is conventional of artists belonging to the rap and R&B artists.

Institution & Audience

The album cover is designed to stand out from brighter album covers of artist's of the similar genre, and those audiences already familiar with Taio Cruz. This abnormality in album cover designs allows the artist to portray his individuality to other artists making him more ideal for new listeners. The close up of the singers face addresses the female audience where the leather jacket and shades dismember the artist's face addressing the male audience.