MIKA- Album Cover

This is Mika’s album cover. It’s a very busy cover full of bright colours. The style of the drawings on the cover links to the title of the album ‘Life In Cartoon Motion’. The artists name Mika stands out unusually in a white colour but it stands out from all of the other colours, his name is in capital letters suggesting its importance. Contrasting to this style is the title of the album in the middle right hand side of the cover in an almost hand written style which gives it more of a personal or quirky feel. It also looks like a doodle, fitting in with the rest of the cover.
Colour is a huge element on the cover, all the colours used are bright and vibrant and there are no dull colours adding a fun happy feel to the cover, it will also be attractive to the target audience. I think the colour also adds to the genre of indie pop which I would like to reflect in my digi pack. The drawings on the album link to the songs, an example of this is the little girl on the left hand side sitting down holding a Lolly pop linking to the song 'Lolly pop'. There are several layers to the cover, most of the shapes are round and not sharp suggesting that the music is fun and not to be taken very seriously. Contrasting to this idea is the area showing cogs which represents thinking about things or working things out which could show Mika creating his album or how the songs have helped him figure things out. This could also link to the title of the album, 'life in cartoon motion' as it could show his ideas starting to come to motion when making the album.

All of the shapes and drawings are seen as almost flying out from the centre where 'Mika' is . 'Mika' is also bursting up and seems as though it is above everything else as though this is the world that he has created and as he bursts out with his new debut album. The element of colour shooting out from certain items could suggest power such as the piano in the top right hand corner, this could show Mika's love for music and shows how important the piano is too him as it doesn't have many items around it so there is little distraction from it. Below this are colourful flowers which could suggest that he believes that music is a natural beautiful thing. There are many items on the cover which could be significant and have a meaning such as the dove which may represent peace, however there are also everyday normal objects which could relate an everyday normal audience. This can be seen as a man sitting on the sofa and a T.V.

The cover also has a dreamy surreal feel with the use of clouds which may show that it is Mika's dream world that he has created. Another interpretation of clouds could be heavenly and that is how he sees it. The use of bright coloured circles and flowers have a retro almost 80's feel which could relate to his childhood. This connects with the fun colourful theme continued throughout, also the fact that in many of his video's he includes children and the young girl sitting on his cover. Contrasting to the bright vibrant colours on the page is a small image of Mika, this is edited in what appears to be a sepia effect, this there for allows everything else to stand out more which could be the objective, showing that the music is more important. In contrast to this , due to his serious or sad expression it could show his sadness of not actually been in this cartoon world, or maybe he is trying to regain his childhood. Ultimately it is by the artist's name and shows who the artist is, but as it is small its possible that he wants the audience to be drawn in through his music and the power of imagination that has created the cover, than himself.

This album cover has many elements I will consider in my project. I feel the colour has a large impact as not only does it look fun and link to the genre but it will be eye catching on the shelf when people go to buy the CD. I also like the fact that there is so much going on as it leaves to the audience to perceive different things from it and see something new and different from it each time. It is also obvious that a lot of work has gone into making the cover and demonstrates the creativity that is reflected in his music. I also like that some of the drawings link to the songs on the album such as the young girl on the right hand side from the song Lolly Pop, I could easily include this on my album cover with an image from my music video and it is a great way of linking all of the products together.