Long gone are the days of Swift’s signature handwritten-style logo. Everything about this album – from the cover design to the music – demonstrates the biggest transformation to the artists’ brand that was seen up until that point. Swift’s 2012 Red album marked the farewell to the curly-haired teenager and a 'hello' to the mature young woman with her never-before-seen bold lips and straight hair. If Swift’s prior incorporation of pop into her predominantly country music was her simply dipping her toes in the water, then this album was a full-blown cannonball. It also maintained her signature font that defined her brand, but two years later would evolve from sweet to bold. We can infer from this album that Swift’s brand identity was still youthful, innocent, and 'girl next door' because it incorporated feminine colors, elegant font type, and other graceful qualities. These songs successfully embodoed the raw feelings of young heartache while other songs on the album, such as 'Enchanted' and 'Sparks Fly' were fairytale-like odes to innocence as mirrored on the cover. Nevertheless, the woeful country twang in the album’s hit songs, including 'Back to December,' 'Mean' and 'Mine' was still prevalent. The album’s music was still considered Country, but the pop inspirations increased. The cover design is still very feminine, with a graceful Swift spinning in an elegant purple dress. The songs also suggested a coming-of-age moment for Swift – both as a young woman and as a superstar.įrom co-written to entirely written by Swift, it seems appropriate that this album cover incorporates handwritten script to demonstrate Swift’s massive role in producing this album. It was reminiscent of holding hands after school, passing notes, and first dates. The biggest hit on this album was 'You Belong with Me,' a song that reached number two on Billboard’s Hot 100 and earned the star three Grammy nominations.īoth the music and album cover are a testament to the youthful, hopeful country singer that growing into herself. The font is bold, possibly referencing the artist’s 'fearlessness' however, she kept her feminine, elegant font type for her name that is a signature from her country albums.Īs for the album’s music, Swift remained true to her country roots, but was more inclusive to a pop audience. The color scheme is a mature beige, whereas the first album illustrated rather innocent blue and green colors.

The most prominent feature of the album cover is Swift’s long, curly mane. This album is more minimalist than the first. Only two years after her debut on the world stage, Swift’s second album, Fearless immediately showed a difference in design and brand, although it held true to some features from her debut. It worked for her debut as she became the youngest person ever to receive the Nashville Songwriters Association's Songwriter/Artist of the Year in 2007 award and single-handedly write and perform a number-one song on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.

In regards to her personal image, her big curly hair and natural, simple makeup attest to the down-home, girl-next-door image. Swift’s first album cover portrays her as a young, innocent, feminine, country music artist. The colors are earthy – blue, brown, green, and white – making it easy for viewers to think of nature and the countryside. The color scheme of this album also speaks to the country vibe that Swift embodied in her early years. This album certainly highlights where the singer was in life at the time: an innocent and youthful high school girl aspiring to be a country music artist. The album title is written in a graceful, cursive white font that compliments the image of a youthful Swift, sporting her once signature blonde curls. You can see from this first cover that the theme is quite elegant with many feminine characteristics.

At the time of her first album release, Taylor Swift was a sweet, angelic country music star who wrote her own music and had taken a chance on a new record label.

Taylor swift first cd