Group digipak

How did your group share your ideas and designs around?

Individual designs were looked at by all group members so that strengths and weaknesses could be identified. After a discussion of individual designs, ideas were combined to create a final group digipak. This allowed us to create a conventional digipak that links in with the magazine advert and music video. The digipak was produced in Photoshop which allowed access to a variety of tools. By combining ideas and individual designs, all members were pleased with the outcome of the ancillary products. 

Evaluate each the group member’s designs by commenting on the following:
- What do you like about the digipak?
- How is the digipak conventional to your music genre?
- How can the digipak be improved?

Individual design:

The digipak I created individually is mostly conventional to the pop genre.The most significant slide i.e the front cover involves an image of the artist holding a guitar. A mid shot has been used in order to illustrate the artist's facial expression as well as to place emphasis on the guitar which acts as significant iconography. It presents the artist's talent as well as being conventional of the pop genre therefore following what is expected from the audience. The artist's costume is also visible. As it is of an ordinary nature, it presents the artist as being down to earth which enables the audience to relate to the artist. The background involves a smoke like effect in order to create a connection between the magazine advert and digipak. This is highly effective as the smoke is visible throughout the ancillary products. The first slide is similar to two other slides which are also images of the artist, providing the audience with various images. The CD also features the artist as well as the name of the album. The track list however consists of playing cards; a queen and a king which display the song titles. This further forms a connection between the advert and digipak. The slide also involves a bar code and information regarding the record label Syco which is a convention identified in all digipaks. The last slide is solely text from the artist to the audience; further allowing the audience to build a relationship with the audience as they are able to get a feel of the artist's personality.

The digipak as a whole is conventional as it employs the techniques evident in other digipaks of the pop genre. However the colour scheme is purely black and white. This has been used to infer a lack of happiness felt by the artist and how he has felt a struggle which is also evident in the songs included in the album. However the use of black and white may be considered unconventional of the pop genre. As it subverts a convention of the genre, it may be considered to be visually unappealing despite having strong meanings. Therefore one of the group members created a digipak that also featured black and white however some colour was present. This was incorporated with the track list of my original design. Also, the images of the artist were replaced. A second photoshoot was conducted and the photos were then edited in Photoshop; made black and white with one item remaining in colour.

Lauren Vale's digipak:

The front slide involves a long shot of the artist on a deserted street which may imply a sense of isolation; potentially encouraging the audience to find out more about the album and in turn encouraging sales. The digipak involves two other images of the artist which is a significant convention. This provides the audience with a clear representation of the artist through the use of costume and body language. The images of the artist have been taken against a brick wall which is conventional to the genre and the urban style of the artist.

It also involves the welcome note which is evident in most digipaks, enabling the audience to get and idea of the artist. The welcome note involves text as well as a guitar which further emphasises the link between all products. The iconography and costume have also been considered to form an appealing digipak that entices the audience to purchase the product. It provides the audience with an insight of the artist whilst encouraging the audience to ''complete'' their understanding of the artist as mentioned by Richard Dyer in his stardom theory. The artist does not provide the audience with eye contact in order to evoke the audiences' curiosity as to what the artist is feeling which further entices the audience to find out more about the artist. As well as involving images of the artist, the welcome note is highly personal as it enables the artist to directly communicate with the audience which makes them seem like less of a product and more of an ordinary individual the audience can relate to.

The CD is of a newspaper style signifying the artist’s newly acquired fame. It also illustrates the artist's unique taste which would appeal to the target audience. The tracklist involves a guitar, the song titles written accross the strings. The presence of a guitar is visible on 5/6 slides therefore this can be seen as a negative as it is too emphasised despite being conventional. Therefore when creating the group digipak, this will be replaced.

Which digipak will you submit and why?
The digipak chosen to be submitted involves three slides which I created alongside three sides created by another group member (Lauren Vale). The digipak involves the front cover and cd which have been taken from the digipak made by Lauren Vale. The welcome note has been created by both of us as none of the welcome notes creates individually were effective enough. The remaining slides such as the tracklist have been taken from my individual design. However due to the use of black and white being a critisism, the images have been taken again and made to feature both black and white as well as colour. The two designs have been combined as they are able to form a conventional product. Choosing one of the digipaks would lead to one group member having the most ownership over the work therefore it is more fair to use a combination of ideas. The other two group members were unable to complete the digipaks therefore only a combination of two were used however a discussion was carried out to gree upon the group digipak outcome. Overall, the completed product is successful as it follows genre conventions. It is also visially appealing therefore it is likely to successfully target the audience and encourage them to purchase the album.