Digipaks That Relate To My Genre

Gwen Stephani - The Sweet Escape {Genre: pop}

I decided to choose this digipak because i thought the contrast of the colours is very intrueging, and not to bright and even though blue has been used it is still bold but not over taking the other colours. I also like the image of the artist as she is very glammed up and is the main feature on the cover which is perfect for a artist who does pop music and makes it easy for fans to see it in a shop and know its her with out even having to read the writting on the digipak. I can also see that it has been photoshoped which makes the image glow and look illuminous which i love and really attracks me.
Another thing that i noticed is how the font of the artist connects to the title of the album with the key chain relating to 'sweet escape'



I choose this digipak because I loved the muted colours that are used which gives it a sassy element to it even though it’s a pop album.  Its also quite girly which really relates to what I want to achieve for my front cover of my digipak. She is also the main attraction on the cover with hardenly any distractions that could that over her. I also noticed the effect of paint brushes in the background which I love and would love to try out to see if it works, the font and the way its positioned is really interesting aswell because you wouldn’t expect the font to be in such detail however its still easy to read and blends well with the whole image together.

It defiantly relates to a good pop digipak as there is a clear image of the artist, expressing her own style and attitude.

 
I really like this cover as its simple but yet the artist looks very appealing and stands out well as the background is very plain.  The artist it clearly the main feature on the cover and is glammed up very well, which I have noticed on nearly every digi pak cover of female pop artists. I really like the text as it is bold but not too over powering, I also love the colour as it’s a gold beige that works well with the rest of the neutral colours used in the image. And having the title of the album in a different colour and font makes it easier for the buyer to spot the title quicker.
And for a bonus they have also written ‘The Deluxe Addition’ in the same bold font which can attract the audience to want to purchase it more.

Importance And Function Of Digipaks

The main importance of a digipak and the function, for the artist and music industry is the basic fact of being able to:

• Connect to true fans in a art form way and for ways to engage the audience through style and appearance.

• For promotion which is used on the Internet, billboards, adverts and more

• Bring more profit into the music label (they are more expensive)

• Helps comeback piracy

• Attract new audience

It makes fans think of value, encouraging us to part with our money to buy something special. Sometimes digipaks even come with posters and free fan goodies products.
And with the style of the artists and genre, it also helps the music industry by bringing new ideas and finding out new ways to bring more money in.

Introduction to Photoshop and QuarkXPress

So in today's lesson we were introduced to Photoshop and QuarkXPress. For me today's lesson was me just learning a bit more of how to use Photoshop, as I already knew how how to use Photoshop from my end of AS year. But for me QuarkXPress was a new programme as I had never heard of this programme until today.

Image from PhotoShop

Image from QuarkXPress

When it comes to designing our ancillary products we will either be using Adobe photo shop or Quark X Press, If I am being honest I would rather use Adobe photo shop as I feel that Quark X Press is too difficult for me to use. Although I am not confident at using Adobe photo shop I feel that I would be much happier using this programme.

When using Adobe photo shop you can just about do anything with an image, you can add effects to it such as the pencil effect. Which makes it look like the image has been hand drawn. Although I like using Adobe photo shop I have to admit that Quark X Press is better when it comes to adding text to an image. I say this because Quark X Press has a lot more font styles to choose from.

We using photo shop and Quark X Press in today's lesson as we began making practise Digi pak's, so that when it comes to making our real Digi pak's and advertisement poster for our music video. We will have a better idea of how to use these two programmes.

Adobe Photoshop

QuarkXPress

Researching Ancillary Product: Class discussion of digipaks to the music industry.

What is a Digipak?

• A modern professional approach to a CD/DVD packaging.
• A four, six or eight panelled CD/DVD packaging usually made from cardboard.

Most importantly, a digipak is to help push promotion to the artist/band. A digipak contains additional information on the artist/band whereas the CD version does not. A digipak pretty much gives a little extra for the money, great for those true fans out there.

Usually designed in a way to suite the album genre as well as the artist/band's personality and image. This often changes over the artist/band's careers showing the growth they make as performers. (Like a montage of their successful music life) Everyone one is very different!

The content in a digipak is important!

They usually contain:

• Name of Artist/Band
• Name of Album
• Track Listing for the album
• Production information, including copyright and company details
• Dedications and Thank yous
• Collage of photographs of the artist/band behind scenes of recording/filming songs. Or rehearsals for tours
• Snippets of the lyrics from the songs
• Behind the scenes information on the making of the album