21st Century Project 2: Image

The band TV Girl’s album cover for Death of a Party Girl uses many different principles of design to capture the viewer's attention and also give off a certain message. As per the name, the album describes the downfall of a once vibrant and lively “party” girl. She has fallen into loneliness and relies heavily on acceptance and validation from others. Certain aspects of the album cover can relay this type of message if looked at closely. Although this may be an album cover, it counts as graphic design, which shows that graphic design is almost everywhere you look.

  The album cover uses bright and heavy colors to contrast the pale gray background. In each color change, it can also be observed that complementary colors are being used. For example, the cyan woman is positioned right before the orange woman, which is shown in the color wheel to be opposite of each other. That is not the only type of formula being used in the image. Analogous colors such as red, yellow, and orange are next to each other or close enough to be seen as one group. Other than just color, the placement of the women also creates an effect on the viewer. They are placed in a sort of path that allows people to follow along the line of women and see all the energetic colors. The women also all have their hands up in almost the same way, which allows for an aspect of balance in the image.

The bright colors of the image give insight into the forgotten liveliness of the girl. The women frolicking through the grass are also parallels to the dancing of a “party girl”. When I think of a party girl, I think of dancing like many others, which the creator takes advantage of and incorporates into the cover. It shows the energy in a dark time, portrayed through the basic background. The dull background also shadows the loneliness and disillusion of the woman that make a surface for her bright side.

The color, placement, contrast, and balance of the image all help the designer deliver a message about the music itself. It shows an important story and feeling they want listeners to experience. Graphic design goes beyond just pleasing viewers; instead, it focuses on how viewers are affected by the product as well. This image, in particular, uses many things like value, texture, and, of course, color. Even if they are subtle, these small details can have a huge impact on how certain parts affect the whole. These are just some of the many things graphic design touches on when working on something.

The album cover: