Final design of my digipak

The front, back cover, inside image and side strip:

Inside image                                        Back cover                             Side strip                Front cover   

The front and back cover is exactly the same layout from my mock-up. I played around with the colours and image effects whilst on Paint.net. The Sony music record label needed to be pacifically at the bottom otherwise it would not be seen against the red entertainment curtains.   The background colour on the covers makes a good contrast between the central image on the front cover and the red entertainment curtains on the back cover. Having the text central makes the overall digipak look authentic and more interesting.  The image in the TV is done to make it look like it was filmed/taken in the 60’s, I used different types of effects to get the right one. Especially with the light bulb above her head had to blend in the TV image and the colouring.  The side strip is done with the same font used on the front cover.  As every CD has a tracking number I researched in where the tracking number goes by seeing my collection of CD/Digipaks. I noticed that they go on the CD itself and the side of the case where it’s easy to see. On the side strip I added the tracking number at the end as I realised I had forgotten to mention it in my mock-up, however because it is vital towards a CD I had to included it, and it is only small text to involve so it didn’t dysfunction my layout. In my mock-up of the inside image, I sketched in shadowing for the effect upon the image, however I found a useful website called FotoFlexer in which allowed me to see the image in any effect. The effect that I thought was the most suited for the digipak and made it look more unique was the ‘patchwork’ effect.  The gives the images overall look more exciting and interesting, in which gives off a unique feel and adds a distinctive and exclusive sense too the digipak, especially because it is a definitive edition.

Inside, CD 1 and CD 2:

The inside of the digipak is set out into three sections including

1) The band members names and what instrument they play; The official website of Kings Of Leon ,     

people that produced the digipaks main elements such as editors, photographers, copyright

2) CD 1

3) CD 2

The old fashioned vintage pattern as the background of CD 1 and CD 2 gives off an old fashion feel, relating to the old style TV on the front cover. Most indie-rock bands do reflect old fashion styles in their designs in CD artwork.  I tried different colours when inserting the pattern, I decided on a light black and white effect in which stands effectively against the two CDs. With the two CDs I created them in two contrasting colours in which makes the overall look more interesting and unique. The very left inside panel includes the band member’s names and what instrument they play. I was going to included images, however I thought that this would make the inside to crowed as I have included a large image on the middle panel when digipak is opened. Therefore having different sized text will make it appealing without imagery.  The copyright includes the copyright logo (©) and all the information needed. Also including websites such as their official- www.kingsofleon.com. Again I designed it with the same font , however with the small print and the bottom used for websites and designers, editors and photographers, etc,  I used a basic front (Arial) so it would be clear to understand. The text is all done in black as it is a good contrast from the colour of the background and images used within the whole digipak.

Insert:

 I used the same colour background as the front cover as I wanted to match as many colours as possible, however at the same time trying not to make it look uninteresting.  First of all I entered all the text left of the textbox, however I changed the text central as I thought it looked more appealing to read and made the inset look less crowed. The imagery that Included gives more interest, although the images; records and an amp are black and the background colour light blue it makes the inset look more effectual.

Next post: What is an advertisement?



Creating my digipak

Design for my digipak.

This is a brief mock-up of my digipak’s front (right image), back (middle image) and insert image (left image).

On the front cover I developed the ‘Kings of Leon’ text to small font in which is central so it looks more included with the image. When on the programme Paint.net I would have to make the font smaller as because it’s central I want the text to stay underneath the television, but not be distracting from the image.  As you can see with this mock-up image I added a light bulb above Katie’s head. I created this idea because looking back through my research and planning I mentioned within the synopsis that she is thinking in depth as she is walking. The light bulb relates to an idea.

The back cover I thought would be interesting if I involved something that is unique but still relating and reflecting on the music industry, red entertainment curtains. This will add colour to the overall look and will bring in viewers.

Also when on the programme paint.net, I will include the record label; Sony music and a barcode on the back cover.

The inset image is of Katie, who is from the music video and is involved in the front cover. Her face is going to the main image, including a shadow effect.  Throughout studying digipaks that I have in my home collection, I found that album artwork is very effective within a digipak.

This is the mock-up of the inside layout.

I have included two CD’s that the digipak will be providing.

CD 1:

Ø  Songs of the album ‘Radioactive’

CD 2:‘definitive edition’

Ø  Interview with the band, Kings of Leon

Ø  Music video of Radioactive

The CD’s are against a vintage old fashioned background, in which relates to the old fashion TV on the front cover. Most Rock Indie bands don’t follow the ‘modern’ look.

The left hand side contains the band’s name ‘Kings Of Leon’ and the writing underneath (centred in the middle) contains the band members and what instrument they play. 

Below sectioned off at the very bottom of the left section contains:

Ø  The official website of Kings Of Leon

Ø  People that produced the digipaks main elements such as editors, photographers.

Ø  Copyright

  This is the sketch of the side strip.

  This includes:

 Ø  Artist name: Kings of Leon

 Ø  Digipak’s name: Radioactive

 Ø  Catalogue number: BMG85963 (Number for tracing the product, (reference)  Sony music=BMG; British Music Group

Insert:

 

As I researched throughout different types of digipaks, I liked very much an inset. The most popular insert included lyrics, therefore I decided that I should included all lyrics within the digipak ‘Radioactive’ . When on the my chosen media creating programme; Paint.net, I may include some imagery as when on Paint.net I can play around with size and colour.

The image:

I done lots of alternative shots of Katie and picked out the seven that I thought was the better image for my digipak. This includes different angles and head shot positions.  The positions included are mid shots and close ups.

I then picked the best one that would fit well into my design.  I then thought as she is going to be standing underneath a light bulb, Katie looking up will be a good effect.

With the above image that I chose for my final design I developed it on Paint.net. I looked throughout the effects that could be used. Because of the image is being place inside a television screen I wanted a look that is more antique.



Above you can see the contrast from before I edited the image and after. I used the focal black and white effect, so the light bulb will shine more down towards Katie and the effect cross process cinematic look.

I then placed the finished edited image into the television for the central image of the front of my digipak (above). I used layers to combine the images together, which helped create the overall image seem realistic.

The text:

I am going to research into different types of font to see which one suits my digipak style better.

(For the front cover)

I prefer the second font-

I am going to use this font because in my mock ups above I mentioned that I want a simple bold font, therefore I chose this as it is exactly what I wanted for my digipak front cover. This font is easy to read and eye catching.

I am going to use the last front as I think it is the correct style for my designs. I think this because the font is in very much contrast from the other font, in which makes it look more interesting.

From my mock-ups I wanted an italic font, this one of the reasons why I chose this particular font. Other reasons being that it ties in well with the vintage theme and it is a complete contrast between the album title- radioactive’s font, in which I prefer them both to be different from one another because each stand out to their own.

**Paint.net is an open source version of Photoshop. It is a programme with a combination of paint, Photoshop and Freehand** 

Below is a print screen showing the effects that could be used:

Next post: The final design of my digipak

Digipaks related to my music genre (indie rock)

This is the cover for Panic at the Disco’s ‘Pretty Odd’ album. This cover is full of colours that make the image look more appealing and eye catching. The boarder around the central image gives it an old fashion effect, in which I like the look of because it brings more style to the actual artwork of the cover.Above ‘Pretty Odd’ it states ‘Welcome to’, this  is not established in the digipak designs often.

The text is an effective style in which goes well with the imagery, even though the image is colourful along with the text, the text still stands out. With this particular text and imagery overall the cover is vibrant and indicates a happy mood. However the word ‘Odd’ in the album title suggests that the tracks included within the CD are, and the cover releases a feel that it is not ‘normal’.

This cover does not have the name of the artist included which could make people want to find out who it is by, therefore fans could increase by finding a new artist that they enjoy listening too. However this could also be confusing as it is not clear.

The Plain White T’s cover is very unique, due to not many covers include colour and black and white effects. You can see that there is many edits that are included and are placed over lapping each other, and the sketches in the background release a ‘homemade’ feel, especially being on a cardboard coloured background.

The text is an effect  which looks hand drawn, both the artists name and the album name.  The only bold colour that applies to this digipak is the bright blue text ‘Plain White T’s’, this is eye catching as it is also outlined in black. The album name text is in a completely different font. It’s italic, also the letters are not all the same size, which contributes to the ‘homemade feel’.

The image is what makes the overall digipak stand out more than others. The majority of artists like their image to be of them in a very professional pose and presented in a model way.

This digipak- Viva La Vida by the artist Coldplay is very different than others, as this image contains violence and naked imagery, which doesn’t seem appealing to the audience however it has an old fashioned feel, maybe back to the war times.

Again this front cover does not have the artists name on it so the audience do not know who the artist is, but the album name is bold in white in which it looks like it has be applied with paint  against a colour background. The coloured background looks like a painting, it has a rich effect of bold colours and is a very effective background. The main colour that seems to stand out is the red flag. Red symbolises danger and death, however it is also a warm colour and sometimes represents love. 

The Arctic Monkeys digipak cover is a photograph transferred on the cover, this is very simple buy yet effective. It also has a casual look, and includes all the band members. The edits look as if the colours are dulled down a little allowing the band name ‘Arctic Monkeys’ to stand out. 

The cover doesn’t included an album title, however the half of the digipaks produced are named after the artist’s name.

This digipak; Scream by Chris Cornell releases a good vibe as the image is very energetic.  The image is darker than the background so it really stands out. The male on the cover is Chris Cornell himself which is very popular.

The editing is very successful and effectual because the lighting is around the artist which stands the image out, so it’s effective that there’s a contrast in colour from the background to the figure image.

The text is very bold, and also the text is vertical which is unusual. However the vertical text benefits the image as the image takes up a considerable amount of room.  The artists name ‘Chris Cornell’ is bolder and larger than the album name ‘Scream’ this is good in effective of audience attention.

Next post: Creating my digipak



Research on digipak covers

I’ am researching throughout the different genres dissimilar to my music video (indie-rock) because I want to get a general idea on how each cover labels and represents its genre. This is because I want my digipak cover to have the correct and understandable reference to the music itself. There is a large difference between the digipak covers from the image above. I am going to chose to, to research just a brief description into them so I can get a rough idea.

 I picked out two artists with a different image and feel to the cover, Katy Perry and The Jonas Brothers.

 Katy Perry (1^st middle) and The Jonas Brothers (next too). Katy Perry, who is a pop artist in which has flesh showing and hasn’t got a serious feel and the image itself is unrealistic, however the Jonas Bothers is classed as Rock-Pop, also they sound a little old rock such as the musician Elvis Costello, they are posing in a serious way and no considerable amount of editing is used. 

Also the colouring is much diverse between them too. Katy Perry has rich colours in which are very vibrant, on the other hand The Jonas Brothers have slightly dull colours, however it is brightened slightly with the white background, but the clothing that they are wearing have made the overall image duller.

Next post: Digipaks related to my music genre, indie rock



Conventions of a digipak

Ø  Name of the artist/band.

Ø  Album title.

Ø  List of tracks on the back cover (could feature a bonus track.)

Ø  Artwork- The images that are included, plus the font and colouring of the text.

Ø  Record name- The major companies.

Ø  Barcode.

Ø  Imagery that goes with the music genre- such a rock would be normally contain guitars, drums, etc and colours that are mainly dim.

Ø  Logo.

Ø  Website.

Ø  Production information that is on the inside of the back cover.

Ø  (If a band) showing the names of who plays what instrument.

Ø  Copyright.

Ø  Lyrics, plus linked music video official

Ø  Poster

Next page:Research on digipak covers



What is a digipak

Digipaks were among the first alternatives to jewel cases to be used within the major record companies.

Digipaks consist of a book-style paperboard or card stock outer part, with plastic trays that holds it into place within the CD or DVD. Digipaks are classed as the ‘premium’ package of and DVD or CD and are often used for CD singles or special editions of CD and DVDs.

Digipaks were the first alternative to jewel cases that were used by major record companies. Digipak-style cases grew in popularity among record labels and recording artists in the early 2000s.The manufactures prefer the paperboard inside should be protective with UV coating, ensuring long lasting protection; this is why digipaks have taken over jewel cases are they are far more better quality and durable. 

Back in time Digipak was only available in large quantities, however the AGI has just involved a new product called digipak-I-create for the consumer market. Digipak-I-create are a web based perception, in which is aimed towards the download, photo, creative and music markets.

Next post: Conventions of a digipak