There are differences between a digipak and a jewel CD case. CD case has 4 sides whereas a digipak has 6 sides providing more information and detail. Jewel CD cases are limited to only providing little information in the front and back which usually is just the front cover and the track list. However a digipak has 6 sides which allows more opportunity for visible artwork, information (such as lyrics) or promotions. Unlike CD cases, digipak's usually contain a letter/note from the artist directly to the fans, giving it a personal feel and insight of the artists lives. Digipak's help further promote the artist as it allows them to further express themselves other than through the music to the audience. This is effective as it makes the audience feel that album is made especially for them, it also gives more them knowledge about the artist and intrigues them to find out more about them. Therefore, increasing sales of the album due to the curiosity of the audiences that want to find out more about the artist
I have gathered inspiration from Gabrielle Aplin's digipak and Lana Del Rey's magazine advert to assist me with the creation of my own. For example, the layout of Gabrielle Aplin's front cover of having the text in the middle inspired me to incorporate this within my digipak. Also, Lana Del Rey having a mid shot in her magazine advert, inspired me to include mid shots of my artist as I believe its effective when promoting the artists as you can see her facial expressions and body language. My digipak will be for my artist, Sharna Rae and it will include her debut album 'Illuminate' that features the hit song 'Wings' by Birdy. My digipak will have 6 sides which will include a front cover, back cover, CD and personal message for the fans of my artist.
There will be 3 types of imagery in my digipak that will show the artist; on the front cover and last two sides. The first imagery which is on the front cover, will show the artist looking back into the camera in a field as explained above. The second image of the artist will be of her walking on a pathway through a forest with her guitar behind her back. The reason why I chose this image is because it links with my music video well of showing the artist with a guitar in a natural environment. Also her walking through the forest creates a sense of escapism in the image, as it implies that the artist is on a journey and the fact that she's got her back faced to the audience gives the impression that she's willing to go on this journey with them. This appeals to the target audience of 17 -25, as this age group tend to be looking for themselves on who they are and going on journeys to discover themselves. Therefore the artist makes her self look relatable to her audience and build a relationship with them because they can emphasise with what she's going through. Also the location of a forest creates suspense and enigma within the image as forests you don't know what's in them and also they're quite gloomy. This represents the artist as brave, careless and adventurous as she is brave enough to go through the forest, but also shows that she's interested in the unknown alone. However, it could suggest that she's on a journey through her music in her album and wants to take the audience along with her on this journey, as the shot used in the image makes it look like the audience are following her. Furthermore, the image shows her carrying a guitar behind her and this establishes that she is not only vocally talent but instrumentally too. This is conventional to the indie genre as artists tend to use instruments to further express their emotions and feelings in their music videos. Also, the guitar gives a hint to the audience that she can play it which makes them admire her for conveying bits of herself on the digipak, feel like they know more about her as a person. The next choice of imagery in my digipak will be of the artist in the forest or field standing, tilting her head up whilst her eyes are closed. She will be positioned in the middle as stated before, and blue smoke from the smoke canisters will be covering her in the mist. This will give a sense of escapism to the digipak as the artist is covered by the smoke which portrays her as mysterious. Also, the fact that she's looking up in the smoke could connote her dreaming, as the smoke could portray clouds and her being in another world in her mind. This could foreshadow how her music will be like, for example being optimistic and dreamy because she has eyes closed whilst being in the smoke. This appeals to the audience as the smoke created enigma for the audience and make them wonder whats she's hiding from or want to mirror the state of mind she's in. My CD will have a image of a variety of photographs of the artist and her life. The reason why I chose to have photographs on my CD, is because it foreshadows what is going to be seen in my music video, which is the artist looking back at pictures of her relationship. The photographs on the CD connote memories which is conventional to the indie genre, as the artists within this genre tend to sing about their life experiences of the past. Also, having the pictures on the CD implies to the audience that the artist is sharing her life to them as they see elements of it through the photographs which helps build a relationship between the artist and the audience. Also I believe the photographs makes the digipak look more sentimental and meaningful for the artist as it showcases that is isn't afraid to share herself to her fans.
The typography used in my digipak will be similar to the one used in my magazine advert. This provides a certain theme for the album and further promotes it as people can link the two together and know what it is for. The typography for the artists name; Sharna Rae will be in capitals and the colour orange just like in the magazine advert. Orange connotes happiness, warmth and happiness which could foreshadow the themes of having fun within the album as well as the music video for Wings. This appeals to the audience as the colour catches their attention which showcases her name so that it'll be remembered. This particular typography will be positioned at the top of the front cover, in the middle, above the artist which I gained inspiration from Lana Del Rey's album covers. By having the typography above the artist and in the middle, it further puts a name to the face below and states to the audience who she is and what her name is. However, unlike Lana Del Rey's typography of her name, mine will be a smaller font to the album title, which is subversive to the indie genre. The reason why I chose this is because I want the audience to know the album title more than her name, so that it creates a sense of eeriness to the artist and makes them want to find out more about her. Although it is subversive to the indie genre, I believe this will challenge to convention of having the artists name in a larger font than everything else, as I think it'll have a bigger impact on the audience finding out her name, as they'll notice it is not giving much away. Therefore, this appeals to the audience because its unconventional to the genre, which will make them want to find out more about my artist and portray her as unique. The next typography that will be seen on the front cover of my digipak will be of the album title "Illuminate" in the colour yellow, again the same as my magazine advert. The colour yellow connotes brightness, enlightenment and happiness due to its brightness and this also represents the word illuminate as it means to provide or brighten with light. This conveys the concept of the artist debuting herself to the world, as the colour of the typography as a spotlight on the artist because it grabs the audiences attention. Like the typography of the artists name, the album title will too be in capitals and this is because it catches the audiences attention and gives importance to it. Another typography that'll be seen in my digipak will be the track list, and this will be in capitals and the font Times Roman or something similar on photoshop. The track list typography will be in the colour black and positioned in the centre. The colour connotes darkness, enigma and power which foreshadows the theme of a complicated relationship that the artist is in my music video for the song "Wings". Therefore creating enigma for the audience to find our the stories behind the track list and makes them want to buy the digipak. Lastly, the typography for the personal message of my digipak will be in a handwriting like font and will state " I appreciate all the support and love you give me, and I am forever grateful. With this album, I hope to spread my wings and for you to do so too, Sharna x". The reason why I chose the personal message to be in black and a handwriting font is that it gives a personal feeling towards the digipak and make the buyer feel special.
The style of language for my digipak will be simplistic, especially in the personal message. The language used in the personal message will be informal so that it illustrates that the artist wants a friendly relationship with her fans. Words such as "I" and "You" make the audience feel like artist made the album especially for them and make them feel special,and that they're having a conversation with the artist through her music. This differs from a jewel CD case, as they wouldn't usually include a personal message or the message wouldn't feel personal as the record label may of advised the artist on what to right just for sales reasons. Therefore it lacks authenticity of the album which is a key element for indie artists as they portray themselves as ordinary like the audience. This is why the language for my digipak will be informal because it makes it look like its coming from the artist themselves and more sincere which appeals to the audience and makes them value the album.
There are a few conventions that I have included in my digipak. Firstly, I have followed the convention of showing the artist in a realistic setting through the chosen images of my artist being outdoors; field and forest. This is conventional to the indie genre, as artists are prone to convey themselves in real settings so that the audience can relate to them and also convey realism. This gives emphasis on the themes of their music, as they tend to be about real life experiences or personal to the artist, therefore showing themselves in a real setting portrays the artist as genuine and ordinary. This differs from a jewel CD case, as the sole purpose of one is to gain sales, this means that CD cases would be extravagant and flamboyant from the artist so that it shows the escapism. However, since my artist is an indie artist and wants to show realism, having a real life setting in the digipak emphasises this and appeals to the target audience as they feel its for them. Another convention that I have included within my digipak is the camera shots; mid shot and long shots. A mid shot is used in my front cover, and long shots in the last two images. All shots show the artist and the purpose of them is to show artists facial expressions and body language. The shots are conventional to the indie genre, as they show the artists surroundings and themselves which gives the audience information of what is to be expected within the album.
Planning my digipak was useful in relation of taking pictures for my actual digipak as well as preparing me in how to use photoshop and what to include, because it has given me a rough look on what it will actually look like. The planning has assisted me with more time for the actual making of it, as when I get on photoshop, the planning will assist me as a draft to follow with. It has allowed me to establish the different aspects that I will have in my digipak such as colours and images from the photoshoot, which makes it less time consuming when creating it on photoshop.Therefore, this will be less chaotic for me and also make me make my digipak effectively as I would know what to include and have time to invest in the creation to make it successful.
The typography used in my digipak will be similar to the one used in my magazine advert. This provides a certain theme for the album and further promotes it as people can link the two together and know what it is for. The typography for the artists name; Sharna Rae will be in capitals and the colour orange just like in the magazine advert. Orange connotes happiness, warmth and happiness which could foreshadow the themes of having fun within the album as well as the music video for Wings. This appeals to the audience as the colour catches their attention which showcases her name so that it'll be remembered. This particular typography will be positioned at the top of the front cover, in the middle, above the artist which I gained inspiration from Lana Del Rey's album covers. By having the typography above the artist and in the middle, it further puts a name to the face below and states to the audience who she is and what her name is. However, unlike Lana Del Rey's typography of her name, mine will be a smaller font to the album title, which is subversive to the indie genre. The reason why I chose this is because I want the audience to know the album title more than her name, so that it creates a sense of eeriness to the artist and makes them want to find out more about her. Although it is subversive to the indie genre, I believe this will challenge to convention of having the artists name in a larger font than everything else, as I think it'll have a bigger impact on the audience finding out her name, as they'll notice it is not giving much away. Therefore, this appeals to the audience because its unconventional to the genre, which will make them want to find out more about my artist and portray her as unique. The next typography that will be seen on the front cover of my digipak will be of the album title "Illuminate" in the colour yellow, again the same as my magazine advert. The colour yellow connotes brightness, enlightenment and happiness due to its brightness and this also represents the word illuminate as it means to provide or brighten with light. This conveys the concept of the artist debuting herself to the world, as the colour of the typography as a spotlight on the artist because it grabs the audiences attention. Like the typography of the artists name, the album title will too be in capitals and this is because it catches the audiences attention and gives importance to it. Another typography that'll be seen in my digipak will be the track list, and this will be in capitals and the font Times Roman or something similar on photoshop. The track list typography will be in the colour black and positioned in the centre. The colour connotes darkness, enigma and power which foreshadows the theme of a complicated relationship that the artist is in my music video for the song "Wings". Therefore creating enigma for the audience to find our the stories behind the track list and makes them want to buy the digipak. Lastly, the typography for the personal message of my digipak will be in a handwriting like font and will state " I appreciate all the support and love you give me, and I am forever grateful. With this album, I hope to spread my wings and for you to do so too, Sharna x". The reason why I chose the personal message to be in black and a handwriting font is that it gives a personal feeling towards the digipak and make the buyer feel special.
The style of language for my digipak will be simplistic, especially in the personal message. The language used in the personal message will be informal so that it illustrates that the artist wants a friendly relationship with her fans. Words such as "I" and "You" make the audience feel like artist made the album especially for them and make them feel special,and that they're having a conversation with the artist through her music. This differs from a jewel CD case, as they wouldn't usually include a personal message or the message wouldn't feel personal as the record label may of advised the artist on what to right just for sales reasons. Therefore it lacks authenticity of the album which is a key element for indie artists as they portray themselves as ordinary like the audience. This is why the language for my digipak will be informal because it makes it look like its coming from the artist themselves and more sincere which appeals to the audience and makes them value the album.
There are a few conventions that I have included in my digipak. Firstly, I have followed the convention of showing the artist in a realistic setting through the chosen images of my artist being outdoors; field and forest. This is conventional to the indie genre, as artists are prone to convey themselves in real settings so that the audience can relate to them and also convey realism. This gives emphasis on the themes of their music, as they tend to be about real life experiences or personal to the artist, therefore showing themselves in a real setting portrays the artist as genuine and ordinary. This differs from a jewel CD case, as the sole purpose of one is to gain sales, this means that CD cases would be extravagant and flamboyant from the artist so that it shows the escapism. However, since my artist is an indie artist and wants to show realism, having a real life setting in the digipak emphasises this and appeals to the target audience as they feel its for them. Another convention that I have included within my digipak is the camera shots; mid shot and long shots. A mid shot is used in my front cover, and long shots in the last two images. All shots show the artist and the purpose of them is to show artists facial expressions and body language. The shots are conventional to the indie genre, as they show the artists surroundings and themselves which gives the audience information of what is to be expected within the album.
Planning my digipak was useful in relation of taking pictures for my actual digipak as well as preparing me in how to use photoshop and what to include, because it has given me a rough look on what it will actually look like. The planning has assisted me with more time for the actual making of it, as when I get on photoshop, the planning will assist me as a draft to follow with. It has allowed me to establish the different aspects that I will have in my digipak such as colours and images from the photoshoot, which makes it less time consuming when creating it on photoshop.Therefore, this will be less chaotic for me and also make me make my digipak effectively as I would know what to include and have time to invest in the creation to make it successful.
This post demonstrates good planning techniques of how you visualise your digiapak to look like. You have analysed your chosen product well and have considered a variety of points, to demonstrate your understanding and planning requirements of colours, images, language, conventions and representations. You have referred back to your design in detail throughout, which helps to demonstrate your understanding of building a relationship with your audience.
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1) Consider the different ways in which a relationship is created between your three texts and the various themes and representations that you would include