Initial research, influences and ideas: Influential album covers and websites

Below are the four websites that I chose as my influences, because of several reasons, which I will list under each one:

5SOS website

I chose this as one of my influences because I quite liked the purple and grey colour scheme, as well as the simple navigation bar at the top. I also liked their site because it originally takes you to a landing page advertising their new album, which I thought could be a good idea for our website.
I liked the boxy layout, and also the countdown timer to the next gig, as it allows fans to be in the loop about where the band are. There is also a game called 'Hungry 5SOS' which is quite fun for the audience, and increases their interaction and satisfaction with the site. The linking of social media in the top right is also something I would use, and is present in all of my other site influences.

Killers Website

I liked the Killers website for the simple black background and the white/blue text, and the site isn't 'busy' with too many things going on, it is very calm and structured, not cluttered. I also liked the banner image at the top of the page under the navigation bar, as well as the simplicity of the font.

My Chemical Romance Website

What I mainly like about about the MCR page is the newsfeed immediately accessible to fans, and also the landing page it brings you to for their greatest hits album. The site seems quite minimalist, with a black and white colour scheme and a blocky font that is associated with MCR. Personally, I think the web page is too small on the page, and would prefer mine to use more of the space, but I like the page layout with the navigation bar at the side, although I am more likely to use a top navigation bar.

Panic! at the disco website

As with the Killers website, I like the banner used at the top of the page, promoting 'Girls/Girls/Boys' and displaying both the video and the iTunes link to download it. The website also seems to be in a news-feed structure, so fans can follow what the band is doing very easily. Again, the social networks are all linked to the front page, with the tumblr link in the top right corner as well, so it is very easy for fans to become connected via social networks and for the band to increase their marketing reach. 

ALBUM COVERS:

I quite like this album cover for City Stereo's 'Dance like you mean it' album, because it is very simple while still recognisable of genre and band. The font and red and blue explosion in the background easily identify the band as an indie-pop band, with the block font but bright colours indicating a pop element too. The bright colours of the burst in the background also makes the album very eye-catching while not too intrusive or over the top, and the text in the black boxes underneath the band name is also something that connotes the genre well, similar to 5SOS.

This album cover is for Daughter's 'If you leave'. I like this cover because of the simplicity which connotes their indie-folk genre well, the use of the forest setting and faded translucent torso connoting the calm and tranquillity of their music. The sans-serif font also adds to the simplicity of the album cover. The central positioning of the text is good because it makes the band's name and the album name the focus of the cover, so fans would be able to recognise the album easily, as the text is similar in font and style (with the dots either side) to the one on their website (see below)

This album cover is good because it is immediately noticeable who the artist is without having to read the text, as we can see Justin Timberlake on the cover. The name 'Justified' also gives it that pop-genre feel alongside the font used (the extended J and T also highlighting his initials), the block, blue font standing out against the background so that it can be clearly seen. The direct address by JT is also good as it could potentially make the fans feel as though he is looking at them, while the leather jacket and the sunset shot make him seem very cool and add to the attraction of the audience to JT.