aren’t new vogue Art Nouveau During this time period, women were often the main subject of the artwork. They were portrayed as beautiful, almost goddesslike, beings that were flawless and pure. The manner by which they were presented was aimed at being alluring and seductive without actually having the women dressed as revealing or “slutty”. In Britney’s record cover for her song “3”, she’s presented as a desirable woman that would present a physical appeal to men who were to see the cover without her having to actually show any parts of her body that are, by rules in society, supposed to remain covered. She’s the sole focus of the graphic, and with the song for the record being about having a threesome, she’s portrayed as the ideal woman any man would want to be with should they want to engage in the said sexual activity.
pop my art Pop Art Immediately, one can already make a distinct reference to Andy Warhol when looking at the cover of this record. Warhol’s depiction of “Marilyn Monroe” can be credited as a possible influence to the design of it. In Warhol’s “Marilyn Monroe” piece, he uses an image of her face and repeats it over and over, altering the color, saturation, and medium style that she is displayed. While the images of Britney are not altered in the medium style, her figure is recolored and varied in how saturated her pictures are. In a more general perspective, the movement originated from artwork being created to represent pop music in the 1950’s and 60’s. With Britney being named the “Princess of Pop”, it seems only appropriate that an art style that was created as a result of pop music be used in her record design.
plak my what Plakatstil This movement is what sparked a new form of advertising style: the product name plus an image of the product. The movement name itself translates into “poster style” and generally contains bold colors in a relatively simplistic format. The goal it focus solely on the product aiming to be marketed without any hidden meanings embedded within the piece or complex design put into it. The entire cover for “3” is a perfect embodiment of this movement, demonstrating a strong connection to pieces directly from that movement such as the poster for Priester’s matches that Lucian Bernhard created in 1906. The text in the lower right hand corner is the type that spells out the product, which is her, the artist, name and the song title. To the left of the text is the image that compliments the text, showing an actual depiction of the product that is being sold, which is Britney.
golden letters Illuminated Manuscript In the midst of embedding a golden shine to, at the time, handwritten text, a style known as Old Style was created. This is said to be when serif fonts were introduced to the world. Originally, these serifs added to letters as a form of decoration to give the appearance of elegance and
sophistication. This was built on the fact that not many people could read during that time period and to have that skill was to be in a sense, royal or high-class. Britney and her designers bring the movement into the digital age of today with her font Bodoni Poster Italic that she used in displaying her name as well as the song title.
easy like abc Invention of Writing Where would we be without the invention of writing? It’s the foundation for how society operates through the ways it’s used as a form of communication. Originally used in three-dimensional items and now evolving into a non-tangible form on the computer, writing has been transformed throughout
many centuries. To assist in selling her product, Britney displays her name as well as the song title on the front of the record to communicate that she is the creator of the product and relay what the name of the product that she is selling is called.
not only you and me
branded Corporate Branding and Identity Visual Systems While Britney is a human being, she is also the face and representation of her coorporation/franchise. The idea of representing one’s business was a way of establishing a mainstream identity that aimed to increase product sales through familiarizing targeted consumers with them as a specific company within an industry. With this album, and even her self-titled album in the past, she’s placing a name to her voice. When magazine spreads feature her on the cover, her goal is for people to be able to go “OH! I know Britney! She sings (insert song title)!”
only in new york The New York School Visual puns began being popularised with the New York School. Designers used it to add a comical flavor to their pieces that triggered their audiences to think more critically about the design at hand. As a result, this sprung up as a new creative style that sparked many design pieces created today. Britney’s record is titled “3”, and the song is about having a dirty threesome with people. By displaying Britney’s image on the record cover three times, she’s playing off of the theme of the song and creating a visual pun that, while it isn’t comical, makes her audience really think about why the cover is designed the way it is.
digi getdown Digital Revolution The transition from having to hand design type and images to the idea revolutionized design. The creation of design programs, like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign gave rise to “effects� one could add to their pieces to create a new style for their work. Britney’s record cover uses a variety of digital effects such as gradients (although one could technically paint one before the digital revolution) and lowered opacity in her images of herself. The altering of the photo color between her pictures can also be attributed to an overlay effect.
snap me Before photography, you would need either an extrememly talented, almost god-like, artist, or you would need some magic if you wanted to have your picture on a canvas. With the popularization of photograpy in 1839 by Sir John Hersche, the way people were presented was permanently changed. Originally, people, places, and things could only be taken in black and white and with the evolution of the technology behind the camera, color images were eventually able to be captured. This record cover design could be said not to have real existence without this movement. Britney’s photo on the cover is aimed to capture not only the essence of the song, but provide a beautiful face people can associate with her voice. Today, photography enables us to be able to create still images of people in a matter of seconds, as opposed to spending a month on just one image alone. Throughout this analysis presentation, I’ve inserted photos taken from the same photoshoot for the record to aide in demonstrating my point about copying a person’s image in a heartbeat.
are you in?