Influences and Inspirations for digipak and magazine advertisement

Finished results!

Digipak

 Insert

 Magazine advertisement

Magazine Advertisement construction

I knew I wanted to use the circular graphic I had used on my front cover for my magazine advertisement because this would hopefully enable the viewer to instantly recognise the CD product itself from the magazine advertisement. Therefore I began by using the circle photograph I had edited earlier. However I also already had an idea in my head that I wanted the text on the advertisement to change colour dependent on the background. Initially I wanted the words themselves to be partly black when on the white of the background and partly white on the image itself. Unfortunately this proved to difficult for my technical skills so I opted for having two words "new album" in white where the line of the sentence crossed the image.I changed the words "the" and "from" into black either side of the image. I feel this still provided the right effect. I also positioned the name of the artist in the same place as on the digipak cover to again show the album cover and also to draw the eye to the name and show the importance.

I created my magazine advertisement in microsoft word. I drew the frame by using a rectangle shape tool and then adjusted the sizing so that it was the the right dimensions for an A4 page (29.7 X 21cm). I then placed my edited circle with text in the upper center.

After I had added the initial text for the top half of the advertisement, I wanted to add a review to "big up" the album and attract the viewers. I decided to use a five star image as I had seen these on several magazine advertisements previously. I found an image I liked on google images, and edited it so that it was grey in colour in photoshop to match my colour scheme and create a subtler look to the advertisement. I invented a simple quote from The Guardian. I chose the guardian because it is a respected newspaper that often reviews music.

I also added the words "includes the single aint nobody" to particularly identify and draw attention to the song I had used for my music video. This is a technique I have also seen in other magazine advertisements. 

I then added my record company logo, however it had a white box around it that was interfering with where I wished to place it, so I edited out the white in photoshop.

I then sourced the twitter, facebook and soundcloud logo from my digipak and placed them in the right hand corner of my advertisement so they wouldn't draw the attention away from my main advertisement text/graphics but still encourage viewers to investigate the artist further. I also changed the colour of the logos from white to a light grey so that they would stand out on the white background but not be too obvious or clash.

Here is my finished magazine advertisement:

Digipak contstruction- insert and mini poster

For my insert I chose to use a six way fold technique that allowed for six panels each side. This is because I wanted a space big enough so that one side of this insert could be folded out into a mini poster for the owner of the digipak. This creates a free piece of merchandise for the audience and could encourage publicity if it was put up somewhere others would see it. I first drew the squares each 11 by 11 to make sure they would fit (once folded) into my digipak slot of 12.5 by 12.5. To create the poster side I then again used one of my images from my photo shoot and used photoshop elements to edit it to my liking (straightening, brightening etc).

I then used a circle tool to create a spherical shape in the middle of my image for my text to go in. I used the transparency tool bar to adjust the opacity and make the circle faded so that some of the image was still visible through the shape. Finally I added text across the center of the circle to show the name of the artist and complete the poster. 

 For the other side of my fold out insert I decided to display the lyrics of the song I used in my music video- aint nobody. I chose the font I downloaded as I have been using this font for the whole digipak to keep consistency of design.

To finish the panels I added a thanks to one of the panels and a crediting panel to the other. The panels read "Thanks" "Kordula would like to say a huge thankyou to all involved in the making of this album. Without the continued support of fans, friends, family and our amazing production team this would never have been possible. A special thank you to moon and rust records "
"All tracks written and recorded by Kordulas Published by moon and rust records Mixed by Kain Davis at boomsoundroom Los Angeles CA, Mastered by Tom Sterling at SterlingSound CA Art Direction by Kacy Maitland at Dotscop"
"www.kordulasmusic.co.uk"

 To finish this side of the fold out insert I added a circular image I cut out on photoshop and faded it so it wouldn't make the text over the top unreadable.
Here are the two sides of my insert fold out. (The grid lines show where the panels fold)

Digipak construction- using a cut out

After some deliberation I have decided to have a cut out circle on the cover of my digipak. This is a technique I first saw on the XX's album cover. The right panel is technically my front cover, however here I have placed a circle to show where there will be a cut out. The left panel shows the image that will show through this cut out to form the cover. I feel this will add a more edgy look to my digipak and ideally encourage the audience to pick up the digipak and investigate further. I also like the idea that the circle cut out is like a window or a porthole, showing the sea behind.

Here again I have put a circle cut out space as this would be the other side of my front cover. The third panel would fold to go over the CD itself (middle panel) and the left panel would then fold over this to create the cover.

Digipak construction- inside the digipak

Inside the image I decided to use one image spread across the three panels. This is an idea I had seen in other digipaks and thought it was very effective. I also felt I needed to balance the white and simplistic cover I had created. I chose an image that depicted footsteps walking towards a frothy shoreline. I feel this links well to my music video in which my artists are walking along/towards the shoreline. The right panel has an extra cut away to show that this is where my insert would go. I chose to create a curved edge to mimic the undulating shapes seen in my photography with crashing waves etc

I then added a circle for my CD to be placed in. I used microsoft words tools for this, and faded the white shape to create a subtle contrast that would still allow the image to show through.

Digipak construction- the spine

Creating the spine was a very simplistic piece of graphic design. I decided to again keep the white background of the front cover and the back cover so that the cover in itself would seem seamless and an ongoing graphic. I added the name and album title in a grey font to provide a subtle effect that would still compliment the theme of the digipak. The name I chose to be in a slightly larger font to make it stand out and catch the viewers eye. I also added the record company logo again, but faded it so that it would not detract away from the name or album name.

Digipak construction- logo development

I decided to create my own record company logo instead of simply copying one onto my digipak. I invented a record company named "moon and rust records". I wanted to use the imagery of the moon mentioned in the name, so I downloaded a crescent moon graphic from google images that was free to use. I chose the image because of its circular shape which always proves well for a logo and placing over other images. It also holds a very simple colour scheme of black and white which can also go over many images and on a variety of products without clashing. A logo must also not be too detailed or complex as this can make it look cluttered and a bad graphic design. Sticking with the minimalist and graphic theme I decided to apply only the letters M and R to represent the record logo. Using adobe photoshop elements 11 I applied the text. I also decided to edit my logo further and make use of the black and white divide to present contrasting font colours on each side and highlight the crescent moon image. Here is my final result

However I did also create another logo so I would have a choice between the two for my digipak. This logo would also appear on my magazine advertisement so I wanted it to be right. To be safer I went for a very obvious shape of a crescent moon, and simply filled it with black text. This created a much more simplified image which I felt didn't look as good as my first logo, but could be of great use if the image you were placing it on was very busy allready. It also immediatley puts across the record company and is a very distincitve shape.

Digipak construction- back cover

For my back cover I wanted to continue the use of a white background that I had used for the front cover. However I did not want to simply have a plain and blank looking digipak. Therefore I decided to take my wave theme and apply it to the back. I chose a section of the wave from my photographs and cut it out using the eclipse tool on adobe photoshop elements 11. I then decided that I did not want a very bold image on the back cover as this could distract away from the front cover. I changed the transparency/opacity settings to fade the image and create a subtler look. 

I then resized the image to fit my back cover. I only wanted it to take up the very base of the cover, so it would not clash or mix with the track list I had yet to add to the cover.

I then added in my track list in a very simplistic grey that would compliment the faded image. I also added in the record logo just beneath the track list to show the importance of the record company. I then added a small white image of the twitter, facebook and soundcloud logo to encourage the audience to research the artist using these media outlets and increase publicity. I downloaded a barcode from google images and faded it to go with the image. Finally I added in a very small font "moon and rust records 2014" as well as the artist website to again increase publicity.

Digipak construction- the front cover

Here I have chosen an image of the shoreline which I feel is particularly effective and has a good balance of colours. It also mimics a shot from my music video, and using a similar shot will ideally enable the audience to make instant connections between the two and create a synergy between my products. I then decided I wanted to alter the shape of the image. I  chose a circular image because I feel it is very strong graphically, and creates a good shape which draws the eye in to the center and focuses on the wave. I also decided to mimic the theme running through the name of the artist "kordulas" which stems from a star constellation, therefore using a planet like orb seemed appropriate.

Here is a before and after shot of my image after I modified it using adobe photoshop elements 11. I have also increased the brightness and contrast of this image and adjusted the highlights, shadows and colour balance.

To edit my image further I decided to take another shot of the waves I had photographed in my shoot, and layer this image over the top. I cropped the image to the circle shape and layered it over the original image. I then adjusted the transparency or opacity of the top image so that you could still see aspects of the first image. I chose this look to mimic a cross blend editing technique I used in my music video, in my video I also used two shots of waves overlapping which provides a direct reference.

I then needed to add text to my graphic as this would be used for the front cover. I had already researched fonts on www.dafont.com and downloaded a free to use font specifically for this digipak. Using the text tool I positioned the name across the center of the circle and chose white for the font colour as this helped the word stand out against the photograph and complimented the colours within the image. 

I then spent some time re-positioning the text and my image until I was happy with it.  I decided to display the text across the center as I felt this played nicely into the rule of thirds and helped exaggerate the horizon line/crashing waves. I then decided this image was too predictable for an up and coming fresh new band. Therefore I decided to rotate my image to make a more interesting graphic. I settled on the sideways photograph as I feel it works well within the circular shape and helps the eye to follow the word across the frame.

Photoshoot for Digipak

I have completed a photo shoot for my digipak. As my music video held strong links and featured a large amount of imagery surrounding the sea and waves I have decided to continue this theme through to my digipak. This will help the audience associate my music video with this project, and with the use of synergy create a more professional look to the overall production. To really keep this consistency I had originally thought to take screenshots from my music video. However I found that the quality of the screenshots was just too low to produce a graphic/image of a high enough standard for me.

  Therefore I decided to take new photographs that would be of a high quality. I shot these photographs in the same location as I filmed my music video, to again keep consistency. Wells-next-the-sea beach provides a very good location for photographs as it holds a large flat and sandy expanse that provides very graphic shots. I chose a time of around 4:30 in the evening as I wanted to capture a softer lighting upon the waves. To try and keep my shots very similar to that of my music video I kept the photographs mainly tightly focused on the waves and the water crashing against the shore to mimic those shots of my music video. I am happy with the shoot as I feel with these images I have a good scope to take aspects and create a suitable, interesting and professional looking graphic for my digipak.

Here is a comparison of a few shots from my music video along side the shots from my new photo shoot for my digipak.

 

Here is a slideshow of my photographs:

Looking into fonts

 
I have been researching fonts for my digipak. I have used www.dafont.com to experiment with different styles and designs in typography. I mainly took examples from the sans serif section as I prefer a clean cut style that offers a much more simplistic look. I also have found in my research that many artists within the genre/with similar target audiences use a clean, simplistic style with sans serif font. Here are a few I have looked at in greater depth;