Star image motives were used to create continuity by Mike Skinner during his project 'The Streets'.

On the cover of almost every album and single digipack released starred a clipper lighter and 'The Streets' text within it. This created a brand and a landmark of which The Streets can be identified by. I particularly like this idea because it allows for the rest of the cover to be relatively minimal, and simple. This works effectively and results in an aesthetically pleasing album cover, that using clever photography to capture the a certain essence. The photography used on these covers, and Mike Skinners music both had a common theme and a certain vibe they wanted to portray. This vibe was the lifestyle of a typical 'broke' English 'Geezer' or 'Bloke, and the day to day struggle/hustle of life.

A grand dont come for free is improper English, this is significant as it represents the working class Englishman, which is a star image motif throughout Skinners project The Streets. Unconventionally the album name a grand dont come for free is all in Lower case; this is a common theme throughout Mike Skinners work. The reason that there is very minimal text on the cover and the reason for the album name being in all lower case is very clever. The text/lighter are placed in an attempt to find a middle ground between being readable and addressing the audience, and not detracting attention away from the image. The Image is a key representation of the concept behind the album and portrays the message Skinner wanted to portray throughout this stage in The Streets project; working class Britain.

The negative space and lack of text, makes the cover look minimal. The white text on a black background stands out well. And the font is soft and minimal. Text on the left hand side, the lit bus stop and Mike Skinner on the right creates a well balance look, this cover complies with the convention rule of thirds. The fact that the road at the bottom and the sky are both low lit, attracts attention to the bus stop where Skinner stands, this captures the eye of the audience and draws them to the main focus of the image.

The colour palette of this cover is black, red, and green, with a the minimal text in white:

The track-list page for Mike Skinners albums also has a common star image motif. This continuity between covers lies in the way it looks; both images below portray a scruffy look, and appears to look like both track-lists have been quickly jotted down and stuck under an ashtray\on the fridge. This continues to portray the image of working class Britain. The track list uses black text on a white background in order to make it stand out. The name of the trio and the album name, along with a code are placed identically down the left and ride hand sides of the page. This creates slight symmetry and looks aesthetically pleasing. Complies with the convention rule of thirds. The middle third has the most going on and is where the audience are drawn to the track list. The yellow smiley face fridge magnet represents the drug ecstasy Skinner is not shy in expressing his drug use. Also a culture and correlation between the 00s and drug abuse within this genre of music and in particularly Skinners music was present. Also the magnet starts the route of the eye and draws the audience to the middle third where the track list is.

The barcode is placed in a conventional place (bottom right of the page), along with the small print containing copyright details, record company (Locked on), manufacturing details and their website. The concept of working class Britain throughout Skinners project really is prevalent here. The one and ten pence pieces, the ashtray and the worn and scruffy coffee table look really portrays this.

The colour scheme for the left back cover are mostly dirty, off white colours. The colour scheme for the right hand back cover is similar, with the grained wood from a coffee table it must be noted that the colour scheme on these covers are not as important as the object and settings of the images, however they work together to create a mise en scene that portrays a scruffy and stereotypically working class Britain image.