ICT Lesson - 3rd November 2014

Planning My Album Cover

When making an album cover, it's vital to know that images can be just as iconic as the music. Also, at first glance, it's important to catch the eye of the consumer. With album covers which are truly memorable, which will always be associated with the artist(s) years to come - as with Pink Floyd and the dispersion of light through a prism - it takes a spark of genius to conjure. The first impression of an album cover comes before the first note of the first song and will most likely affect how the audience views the music. It needs to please, on first glance, and when looking in greater detail; a hard thing to do. More than an album cover, and more than just an image to what's really inside. In these circumstances, books are judged by their covers (and rightly so), so the designer must make it count. Whether it's the colours, image itself, filters, positioning, subject etc., etc., aesthetics is important. This is what we need to keep in mind when planning our album covers and what they'll look like. 

ICT Blog - Geek's Eye View

Album Covers - Oct 28 2014

Genre: Alternative rock, symphonic rock, new prog
Producer: Muse
Released: 11 September 2009
Album Name: The Resistance

This album cover is successful in my opinion because it is clever. Most album covers have every-day images that are a little too mundane to catch the eye of the customer or which try too hard to be unique but this has a feel of idiosyncrasy which I believe makes it noteworthy. I also like how the subject is so innocent but it has been changed to be sinister by the sky in the background and the word ‘uprising’ in a bold, austere font. It’s also humorous and has a little to offer for everyone rather than some album covers with blood and skulls which wouldn't appeal to many of the older generation. It also offers many different interpretations and on first sight, and from my point of view as a teenager, this flexibility would quite easily catch the eye of many of the younger generation. And it has teddies!

No.	Title
1.	"Uprising"
2.	"Resistance"
3.	"Undisclosed Desires"
4.	"United States of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage)"
5.	"Guiding Light"
6.	"Unnatural Selection"
7.	"MK Ultra"
8.	"I Belong to You (+Mon Cœur S'ouvre a ta Voix)"
9.	"Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 (Overture)"
10.	"Exogenesis: Symphony Part 2 (Cross-Pollination)"

Genre: Hard rock, heavy metal, blues, rock and roll, folk

Producer: Jimmy Page

Released: 8 November 1971

Album Name: Led Zeppelin IV

No.	Title
1.	"Black Dog"
2.	"Rock and Roll"
3.	"The Battle of Evermore"
4.	"Stairway to Heaven"
5.	"Misty Mountain Hop"
6.	"Four Sticks"
7.	"Going to California"

I chose this album cover because of its solemnity and how it is so simple, yet so effective.  I think that the decision to have the whole cover in black and white but the glow of the lantern put a large emphasis on the idea of ‘light’ and whatever symbolic representations this may have. It looks slightly evocative because of the phantom-like figure but also has a slight Tolkien-esque. The main reason I chose this was for its mysteriousness and how this mysteriousness is very unique in the field of album covers.

Genre: Heavy Metal, Metal Rock

Producers: Steve Loeb and Billy Arnell

Released: About May 1979 (Japan)

October 5, 1979 (US)

Album Name: Narita

I think that this album cover is successful because it has absolutely no logic whatsoever. Sometimes it's nice to see something and be able to accept that you have no clue what it is about without thinking too deeply into hidden meaning and this album cover allows us to just look at it with its strange images and bright colours and just sit back and enjoy the incomprehensibility of it all. And this would make it stick in the minds of the target audiences and intrigue them enough to draw them to it over other album covers.

No.	Title
1.	"Waiting for the Taking"  (Speranza, Reale, Rick Ventura) - 5:01
2.	"49er" - 4:36
3.	"Kick Down the Wall" - 4:32
4.	"Born to Be Wild" (Mars Bonfire) - 2:47
5.	"Narita" - 4:38
6.	"Here We Come Again" - 5:58
7.	"Do It Up" - 3:44
8.	"Hot for Love" - 5:00
9.	"White Rock" - 2:33
10.	"Road Racin'" - 4:32

Thinglink! - Sep 7 2014

'Thinglink' is a website which allows you to create 

interactive images, videos, infographics, maps, photo 

albums, and presentations. Thinglink is the 'highest

performing advertising option for brands'. It is simple 

and flexible, anyone can use it whether they have 

a large range of ICT knowledge or not. Thinglink is 

integrated with other platforms used frequently, for 

example YouTube and Soundcloud. Thinglink is used 

most commonly for narrative storytelling and 

infographics and resource multimedia.

Thinglink is very useful for people of all

types of employment. It is used by 

journalists, teachers and major companies too.

Commercial outfits like Home Depot, 

Groupon, Siscovery Communtications, 

CBS Interactive and State Farm use it to 

promote their products and services.

You can change image visibility to edit who 

can view your interactive images so even if 

you're only just starting up on the website, 

you may be able to change settings so that

only you can view it. 

Interactive material is a lot more interesting

 to see, keeps people paying attention 

and a lot more fun in general so 

thinglink should service your reader.

The best way to become accustomed 

to thinglink is to upload content and start

tagging it but if you need additional help getting 

started, the website provides a lot of aid and clear

instructions for those who need them. 

The BCS Code of Conduct - Sep 7 2014

BCS is a professional body (British Computer Society) which sets rules and standards by which the members of it must follow or, if breached, face consequences ranging from expulsion to criminal punishment, though this disciplinary action wouldn't necessarily be related to BCS and each individual case of violations of the code of conduct may be dealt with in different ways.

It is worth being in this 'society' because it shows others that you have high levels of experience with technology and a sufficient amount of qualifications, allows others to know that you are trustworthy online, provides access to meetings with others who are in a similar profession, could possibly increase your chances of getting a job because it looks good on a CV, and provides discounted training.

In contrast to all of these benefits however, there is the downside of becoming a member which is the fees. One must pay to become a member which has lead to many people dismissing the idea of becoming part of BCS but it all depends on how highly you value the importance of the previously mentioned advantages.

The BCS Code of Conduct is compiled of 4 sections:

• Public Interest 
• Professional Competence and Integrity 
• Duty to Relevant Authority 
• Duty to the Profession 

Some of the prohibited activities stated are rarer that others, some being quite serious and resulting in legal punishment such as fines, penalties and confinements and others being milder such as the illegal downloading of music.