CD Cover Analysis - Hurts - Happiness.

This CD cover by The Hurts is very appealing and eye catching. The images are very effective and I like the symmetrical effect and how similar the two artists are. They are sat in similar positions and have the same facial expressions which create quite a dark mood. The black and white effect works very well with the styling of the artists and I also like the dark tones and shadows. The images look a very good quality and this is through the use of editing. The eye contact that the artists have capture your attention immediately and their expressions are quite serious which make you focus on them even more. I also think that the fading effect of the black and white is very effective as the darker background at the top emphasises the white text and the whiter background nearer the bottom makes the images more outlined and significant. The shadows created by the lighting of the images make them look a better quality and create a mood. As said before the layout is quite organised and symmetrical. The images work well as they are very similar and spread out equally. The album title and band name are centralised at the top of the cover which instantly catches your eye due to the large font and contrast in font colour. The basic black and white colour scheme works well with the genre of the band as their songs are quite similar and have the same tone. Their facial expressions are a good example of this. The mid shot that is quite close up is a good camera shot to use as both artists are sat down and captures their emotions effectively which could symbolise the meaning of the album. Editing is used to improve the quality of the images and also to alter the fading effects and font styles. The font style is quite formal and large which is very eye catching. The band name is larger than the album name which could also have a significant meaning. Overall I think the colour scheme, fonts and images work very well together and this fits in with their genre. I think the most appealing aspect of this cover is the contrast between the album title and the images and colour scheme. The album is called 'Happiness' and the expression on their faces do not show this emotion. This is obviously aimed to be like this which makes the cover quite humorous.