Wednesday, 19 December 2012

Mock Up: Inside Panels


Here is the mock up for the inside of my digipack, although it looks simplistic, I think it does the job! However I may consider adding an effect to the CD template in which is where the CD will appear. In addition I have used a mid close up of the artist so immidiatley when opened we become familiar to her self image. Moreover, on the left hand side panel I might create a booklet with all the necessary information on the artist, the new albums and singles. I will also provide a website for the artist in which the audience can be kept updated on latest upcoming gigs and tour dates!

Mock Up: Outside Panels

In addition to the copyright information provided on the bottom left hand panel I will also provide a website link.

Mock Up: Advert


Here I have attached an A5 size landscape mock up of my advert.




Production: Tried and Failed first attempt





In my first attempt I decided to paste the artist on my chosen background. I had to cut out the original artist and then paste it on the background. As you can see it is a first rubbish attempt. The image doesn't represent her as an artist but as a dancer instead. Therefore, it doesn't relate back to the task of creating digipak and the conventions because the function of a digipak is that it is that the images are clear, which helps the artist be establish by the target audience. Looks like its back to the drawing board.

Planning: Mock Up - The Thumbs Up

Outside Panel








The main concept for my digipak is to show the travelling of her music and getting it out to her target audience. There is a relation to the music video and the genre of the music. I have decided to have a sparkle of light that the artist looks up at. This light represents the upbeat tempo of the music but the light also acts a device of enlightenment to her music.

 When we conducted our audience research one had implied that Ellie Goulding song had a magical feel to it, and that they would most likely to see burst of light and bright colours that represent a hint of a fairy-tale. Therefore I have decided to make the light and the artist the main focal point but also to fulfil the main aim of making it attractive and standing out from the rest of the digipak as digipak are supposed to be visual stimulating and graphical.

In this mock up I have decided to have the artist throwing the light. The audience would be able to establish the link between the artist and that she is sending a message across. In a sense, when you first look at the digipak you can easily establish the genre of the music as the light represents the electropop genre.

I have decided to have nature as the background because it reflects to the setting of the music video but also it goes back to the artist representation of pure and honesty
Inside Panel





The inside panel relates back to the front panel but this time the light is running  through the trees to portray that her music is travelling and going to the audience. I also went with this idea of travelling to the audience because she is a new artist and at each digipak it will have graphic detail of how her music has influenced her audience life and her life. But first she needs to get it out there and that is what the light represents.


Audience feedback from our music video

The Screen On The Green


We went to The Screen On The Green cinema to watch other students music videos remakes and then later on to receive audience feedback.

Audience feedback




From the audience feedback we wanted to target our core audience, which were teenage girl ranging from 15-17 year olds, we learnt that we could improve in some aspects of the footage and what they liked about it. Furthermore, the feedback allowed us to realise whether our concept was understood to our target audience. 

Tuesday, 18 December 2012

PRODUCTION: Advert Template




Here I have attached a template of the advert panel in which the dimensions consist of 21cm in width and 14.8cm in height (A5).

PRODUCTION: Digipack Template


Here I have attached the template in which I intend to use for my 2 front panels of the digipack. The template consists of a width of 24.6cm in width and 12cm in height.

Here I have attached the template in which I intend to use for my 2 inside panels of the digipack. The template consists of a width of 24.6cm in width and 12cm in height. I have drawn a temporary template of the CD however I will be using a template of the correct dimensions later in the project.

Monday, 17 December 2012

RESEARCH: Analysis Of Magazine Advertisements

PLANNING: Photos I Plan To Use

DIGIPACK


For my Front Cover of the outside panels of my digipack. The reasons I have chose this photo for the front close is because it's a close up and therefore the artist is easily recognised. It conveys an image of mysteriousness and someone who looks lost trying to find themselves, in which is the overall picture I am trying to convey.


This picture will be on the back cover of the outside panels of my digipack. Again, I would like to create the image of mysteriousness and keep the overall theme running through simultaneously.


The image will be used for the inside of my digipack. I wish to use this photo to cross over both panels for a clear distinction of the artist when the CD cover is opened. In addition, I want to keep the same theme and setting of the woods within my pictures.

ADVERT


This is the picture in which I have chosen to use for my Advert, as I want both my CD cover and Advert to have a clear theme and setting running through constantly without and continuity errors. The photo will be aligned and placed using the rule of 3 in order to the positioning of the artist, the same method will be used for the above pictures also.



Research: Taylor Swift digipak







Above we have Taylor Swift's Digipak Red.

Taylor Swift digipak doesn't follow the usual conventions when it comes to the title because the title of the album is bigger than the artist name, and is more noticeable, which is different because the digipaks I have analysed so far, have the artist name larger than the album name. The album name is written in red, which is the same colour of the lipsticks.

The connotations of red suggest that the songs on the CD is based on romance, love passion and danger. The colour scheme is red and runs through the entire digipak, but the red is done in hints not a lot, which doesn't overpower the album and make tacky. I really like the use of red

PLANNING: Photo-shoot

On Saturday 15th we went to Hampstead Heath to do the photo-shoot for our digipak. We took a various different shot types, ranging from extreme close ups to extreme long shots. The reason for this is that individually we can choose the best picture that would our digipak ideas. We were productive when it came to the shoot and we focused on getting the pictures that we wanted.


We had great weather, which made experience and the photos even better!

Sunday, 16 December 2012

Planning:The Do's and Don'ts!

When constructing digipaks and magazine adverts there are certain guidelines that must be followed to make an effective ancillary products. Ancillary products are a useful technique when marketing and selling your product to the target audience.

Here are the Do's and Don'ts

Do's

 
 
  • Use Clear Font
As you can see the font at the top is more clear and noticeable from a far distance, therefore it is a more appropriate font to yous. As for the bottom even though it looks nice, it is not noticeable from a far distance and won't attract the audience as it may appear as squiggly lines,

  • Use appropriate sizes for

             1.images
             2.Font

  • Use clear photos that are in focus

  • Use photos that follows the rule of thirds for compostition

  • Use an appropriate type face that follows:
             
                 1. Genre conventions

                 2. A housestyle

  • Be careful where you place the font. It must:
              1. follow genre conventions
              2. be clear froma distance

  • Follow the conventions of the 3 colour rule and use colour that is appropriate for
                 1. Images
                 2. Font
                 3. Background

  • Use appropriate industry logos and conventions, properly

Barcode

Date

Copyright

Titles

Artist Name

Don'ts

 

Stretch image, this will make them out of focus

Use layer styles

Use unnecessary effects. It must be revelant to the genre

Place gtext across the artist face

Thursday, 13 December 2012

Research:Analysis of 3 magazine adverts

 I thought that by just having my own original idea, I would be able to produce my advert without the need of research. How wrong was I.  Magazine adverts are design to entice the audience based on the GENRE of  the music. Not because it looks pretty. There needs to be a link between the music and the advert. Examining the adverts from an analytical perspective, I can acknowledge there are certain codes and conventions on magazine adverts that promote the artist album and upcoming tours . 

Here I have managed to find 3 adverts to relate to my genre.

I found this advert in the Q magazine: 


Below I have analysed the advert and picked out the key codes and conventions


Alanis Morissette genre is electronica similar to electropop as electropop and folkronica as they aim to make the music more electro. 

What I like about Alanis Morissette is that the effect of using a small section of nature and then blending outwards into the plain white background. It doesn't make it seem that she has been cropped out and put on to a plain white background. In addition, I like the glow effect they added on top of  the artist because it relates back to the name of the tour - called the 'Angel tour'. Even though the colours have changed i understand that they picked out the blue from the sky. It is best that they chose the blue from the sky because it would look overpowered and no consistency as usually a house-style consist of 2-4 colours that have a running theme. 

Another advert I found looking through an issue of Q magazine is LadyHawke


 
Analysis of the advert


I'm not really a big fan of this advert and I don't think I will use this advert to influence my design because I don't like the colours used on the advert Even though Ladyhawke genre of music is electropop (just like our original artist) it does go with the concept of the music video and the list of songs that we devised. However I have taken the fact that my advert needs to have consistent font that relates to the artist because the text is written in the similar font of the artist name but it is not bold. The house - style is consistent all the way through and we can see why the different font colours are used because it connects back to the graphic design of the artist.


Another advert that I found in Q magazine was Martha Wainwright.


Martha Wainright is a folk singer, I know that she is not and electropop/electronica/foltronica artist. I chose her because she does have the folk aspect of folktronica. I'm analysing this advert to see what aspects of folk I can take out of it and then infuse the techniques that the other adverts have used for
electropop.

 
The aspect that I like about this advert is the use of the guitar it creates a sense of identity and the audience can acknowledge the genre of the music. Since Melanie Symonds is a new artist having an object that is most recognisable, it will raise awareness of what type of music she makes. I'm not so keen on the background as it gives a sense of sadness and our artist music is a lot more hopeful fun and edgy. Therefore I will not go for the colour black. Also the font of the text and colour is boring and not that interesting, which also would reflect the music as such.








Wednesday, 12 December 2012

RESEARCH: Analysis Of Digipacks

Research:Analysis of 3 Digipacks

Digipaks are not items that can be easily found because of the digital downloading, however digipaks are created to compete against artist that download digitally. It is also a way of  retaining profits and revenue because they can entice the audience with visually stimulating album covers, therefore they won't download their music illegally.

Ellie Goulding




Our original artist of Guns and Horses has a digpack called Lights. We only have the outside panels of the digipacks but we can see that it has followed the conventions.

 On the back panel, there is a barcode located and centered at the top of the back panel. At the very bottom there are acknowledgements of the copyrights of this digipak, there is also a record label logo and the rights of the album at the bottom of the digipak. There are track listings on the back panel, which is centered in the middle. The use of this convention makes it noticeable for the audience to read as it dominates the back panel. The font is the same as the back panel as is the colour.

The front panel has the picture of the artist. It is a close, where she is looking away from the camera. I really do like this pose and it maybe think about considering it for the front cover of my digipak. The image of the artist and her pose gives a strong image because that is what we focus on, it makes even more stronger with the beads of yellow lights around her and in her hair.

The album name reflects the effects on the artist as there are small beads of lights on the artist hair. Also it is used to reflect the genre of the music, as the small beads of light can represent electric beads pulsing through the artist.

The artist name Ellie Goulding is written in a larger font than the album name. This a usual convention that is followed through on digipaks. The reason for this is that the artist name is what the audience recognizes and this will attract the audience to go buy the digipak.

There is a continuous key theme of gold/yellow, white and black, once again to reflect the genre of the music.

I am inspired by this digipak, especially the effects of the gold/yellow beads and I may want to use this for my digipak because it reflects the genre of the music.





Ladyhawke



Ladyhawke also does the electropop/folktronica artist,therefore we can learn from her digipak and see the layout of another artist. This digipak isn't the best one to yous as we can't get the full look of the digipak. We can see that the inside panels have a black and white theme running across the inside panels.. The same black and white theme to that relate back to the front panel  of the digipak.

The colour scheme is black and white. In my opinion I don't think it is effective technique to persuade her target audience as it doesn't look eye catching, but just static and could be easily left behind compared to all the other electropop artist out there. However, the black and White could symbolize the music that will be on the CD, although electropop is fast tempo and full of life.

On the front panel the artist name is at the top, is written in bold and is in a larger font then the albums name, which is a usual convention to fine on a digipak.

The artist is drawn which is different as we don't see much artist drawn, therefore making her digipak visually stimulating (which is the importance and aim of a digipak)


Alanis Morissette







Here we have the front panel and the inside panel.

I like the front panel, especially the positioning of the artist and the artist name/album name. I also like how she is positioned because it as if she is looking at the album. The effect that it has suggest that we must follow her pose by looking up. She instructing us to look at the title of her album.

The artist name is written bigger than the title.

The inside panel has a consistent colour theme of blue, which gives the impression of the sky and tranquility, but also it relates back to the front panel of the artist looking at the sky.

There is a consistent theme of white and blue, which I really like as it doesn't over do the impact of the digipack. It is effective in a simplicity sense and makes the digipak noticeable.

There are 3 disc's that are included in this digipak. This digipak serves to give added bonuses and adds value. Furthermore there are booklets that come with the digipak.

What I don't like bout this digipak is that the inside side panels are not decocrated. It gives an impression that it doesn't look like it has been finished off. Although technical terms it is meant to individualise the panels.

From this digipak I like the positioning and I would like to create an effective positioning. I also learnt from this digipak that I want the design to run through the inside side panels.


Conventions Of a Digipak

 

The digipak has a different style to a cd case. It can have three different panels that link together with a picture linked in all three. It can have other styles like this one, it has a small booklet inside with all the information on it. Also its add's lots of images that all link together as they are all similar in shapes and colours. It is very stimulating as the artwork has an unusual look to it making the audience think about the type of music this is. 












































Outside Panels Of a CD Cover

Outside Panels Of a CD Cover, Dan Lowe




Research: Ancillary Products




Above I have created a prezi demonstrating what I know about digipaks, what are ancillary products and What are magazine adverts.

Tuesday, 11 December 2012

RESEARCH: Do's And Dont's Of Design Work


Do: 

  • Use clear font, in which is readable and visable.
  • Use appropriate sizes for images and font.
  • Use clear photos that are in focus.
  • Use a layout that follows the rule of thirds for compostition.
  • Use an appropriate type face that follows, Genre conventions and a housestyle.
  • Be careful where you place the font. It must:  follow genre conventions and be clear from a distance.
  • Follow the conventions of the 3 colour rule and use colour that is appropriate for, Images, font and Background.
  • Use appropriate industry logos and conventions, properly positioned: Barcode, Date, Copyright, Titles, Artist Name.

Don't:


  • Stretch image, this will make them out of focus.
  • Don't screen grab images from the music video.
  • Use layer styles.
  • Use unnecessary effects. It must suit the genre.
  • Place text across the artist's face
  • Use a don't simply because you like it.
  • Feel you need a separate photo on every panel.


RESEARCH: What The Digipack MUST Have!

CD Album

Front:

Artist Name - Large, clear, fore - grounded, easy to read. (Same font used for name, must be used throughout)

Back:

Track Listing
Production Information: Copyright, year of production, web address, record label, names of distributor and producer.

Inside:

Acknowledgments - Short list - very small font for particular tracks on album.
Repeat Track List

Advertisement

MUST include:
Release date
Promote display of artists name and album title
Tour Dates?
Reviews - quotes from magazines?
Record label logo / website
Same house style as album cover

RESEARCH: The Function Of A Digipack

A digipack is a product in which adds value to the artists album and produces a modern approval to a CD packaging to make the overall product look exciting and eye catching to a particular consumer. A digipack is used to create something special, extra or keep worthy  for a consumer. The CD packaging may be used a      memento // memorable things for a consumer to keep as they grow old.

The function of a digipack can also benefit the artist in which they can function as a source of promotion. Digipacks are bold, vibrant and eye catching. Therefore with a close up of the artists face and their name printed in big bold on the front cover, consumers are more likely to notice the item and purchase in which they will gain a profit of some sort.



Although in today's society CD's are not very "cool" the art of the packaging can also be used for not only print but digital use also. For example, we will see a print of the front cover of an album on I tunes associated with the particular single or album the site is promoting. Moreover this art can also be used for other digital advertisements online in order to promote a particular album for a particular artist.


Monday, 10 December 2012

PLANNING: short list of Colour schemes

Demonstration of Font colours 




Changing the colour hue of the red

The orange colour font

The yellow colour font

The green colour font

The red colour font

The orange colour font

Looking at different oranges to use on the ancillary products

Here are a few examples of the colours we have decided as a group. We want to go for an autumn theme because we want it to reflect the setting of our music video. We want there to be a clear connection between the ancillary products and the music video.


Here we have settled to go for the burnt orange colour. 


Here we have tried the burnt orange font across up against the black background to see whether if we decided to crop out the artist out and put her on the black background. It looks alright but I prefer the white background.