The album cover, sleeve and disc for Every Kingdom is rather minimalist. The colour which is most predominant on the case is a teal as it is an image of the sea. Ben Howard's music is rather chilled and a person would usually seek out Ben's music if they want to relax, teal is associated with a calm vibe, as is teal.
A key convention of the folk genre in music videos is live performance. The image on the pull out booklet is Ben Howard performing life on stage, this fits the genre and also fits Richard Dyer's star image theory as it gives him a respected status. The back of the casing is a bold choice as there is no imagery, just text, this speaks volumes for how Ben Howard lets his music speak for itself. The titles of the songs are sized to fit into a rectangle, this looks very clean and is easy to read.
The font on the cover is a bold white font in capitals. This is one of the first things you see when looking at the cover of the album, 'Ben Howard' is bold and a lager font size than the album name 'Every Kingdom'. Every Kingdom was Ben's debut studio album, released in 2011, so the album was about introducing himself as an artist just as much as the songs on the album. Ben Howard has a love for surfing and the sea which is communicated through the image on the cover of him diving deep into the sea. The light which is beaming through the sea and lighting the image links with the song 'keep your head up' as the song is about staying positive and sunshine is often associated with positive messages. The legal information that is printed on the back is small and the record label is also rather discreet.
All of the images in Ben Howard's digipak have been faded to give them a vintage feel which fits with the presentation of most areas of folk music and the promotion surrounding it. I love the simplicity of the CD, it is black with 'Ben Howard Every Kingdom' written on the disc. The paper used to print the booklet insert for the album is on matte paper which gives a more laid back feel than a shiny printed booklet, the choice of paper also coincides with the idea that folk music is a quite 'organic' genre.
Owen Tozer designed the cover for the album and it is clear from looking at Tozer's website that he was chosen because many of his designs communicate a similar feel to that required for the artwork for Every Kingdom.
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