Promo Pack
A promo pack is used for telling the media about the artist/band by using promotional materials. A promo pack normally consists of the following:
- Information about the artist/band
- A photo of the artist/band
- A fact sheet
- Write ups and/or press releases
- A demo tape, which consists of a variety of songs
- A song list
- A lyric sheet
Digipak
A digipak is a type of CD packaging which is made out of card or cardboard and then the CD part is made out of plastic, which holds the CD. It can either open up like a book or can often be made up of three different parts, so that the CD is in the middle and then the rest of the packaging opens up on the right and the left. The name Digipak is a trademark of the company MeadWestvaco who first created the product, but since the product became so popular lots of other companies have started to produce their own 'digipaks'. Digipack's have also become popular,
due to that they are much stronger than orginal CD cases and also in some cases will also look better, which will make people buy it. The image on the right shows an example of a digipak which I have found on Google Images. The picture shows how the digipak is laid out. As you can see the CD part is made of plastic and then the rest of the digipack is made of card.
Examples of digipacks
Below I have researched some digipacks which are in the same genre as my song and artist, so that I am able to see what type of layout, images, colours and typography they use for this genre, so that they appeal to the target audience.
The first digipak which I have looked at is by another artist who is in the same genre, Mariah Carey: Memoirs Of
An Imperfect Angel.The image on the left shows the front cover of the digipak. http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/10536392/Memoirs-Of-An-Imperfect-Angel/Product.html Here is the link where the image is from.
Colour
The colours which are used on the digipak are very simple colours. The background colour is white, so that the font and the images stand out and contrast against the background. The colours are also quite girly, which appeal to the target audience as most girls are associated with liking Mariah Carey. The colour of her dress is a light pink, which is also simple and girly, which fits in well with the rest of the colour scheme. The font is coloured black so that it is easy to read and because it is Mariah Carey's name it needs to stand out, as people are familiar with her name. The title of the song is in gold, which is also a girly colour.
Layout
The layout is simple and there is not too much going on the cover. They have also kept to the theme of being simple as her dress is very simple as it is only a pale colour and there is no patterns on the dress. The cover has Mariah Carey as the main focus as people will be most familiar with her and therefore they will recognise and may by the CD if they are a fan of her. She is posing confidently and looks happy, she also looks quite girly, which appeals to the target audience. The font is placed at the top because it is easy to see, so that people can see that it is Mariah Carey
Typography
The font is a sans serif font to keep the cover looking simple and modern, as if a serif font was used it would make the CD cover look older, which would not appeal to the younger target audience. The name of the CD is in a formal and girly font, so that it fits in with the rest of the CD.
The second digipack I have researched is one by Lady Gaga: The Fame Monster.
The image on the left shows the digipack cover. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fame-Monster-International-Digipack/dp/B002T4G7TI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1259326332&sr=8-3-fkmr0 the link shows where I found the cover.Colours
There is no bright colours used on the digipack cover, the only colour which is used is black. By using just the colour black it creates a scary and gothic feel to the cover. The text is quite hard to read, but has a white outline going around the text so that it makes it easier to read. The background is a lighter shade a black (almost a grey colour) so that Lady Gaga and the text stands.Layout
Like the previous digipack cover above, the layout is also very simple so that it is not too distracting and so that it is also clear to see who the artist's CD it is, in this case Lady Gaga. The main part of the cover is Lady Gaga herself so that people will recognise who the artist is. Your eye is mostly drawn to her face and her black hair, her eye is crying black tears which will catch the audiences attention, making them want to look at the CD. The text is quite hard to read as it blends in with her hair and it is placed at the bottom of the cover which also makes it quite hard to read, I think they have done this because they want the main attention to be on the image of Lady Gaga as it is quite unusual for example she is crying black tears.
Typography
The font is a simple, bold sans serif font as its easy and clear to read and also it keeps the CD cover modern whereas a serif font would not keep it modern, instead it would make it look old and old fashioned. The font has a white outline which makes it easier to read, but I feel that they want you to have the main focus on Lady Gaga as she looks unusual and also people will recognise her and if they are fans they may want to buy the CD.
Digipack flat plans
Below I have designed three flat plans of digipacks which I have scanned in. I am going to analyse each of my designs and decide which design is my final digipack design. Unfortunately when I scanned in these digipacks the colours did not come out as well as I wanted them to, so the colours have not turned out that well and as bright as I wanted them to be.
The image on the left shows my first digipack design. Colours
The colours which I have used in this design are quite girly colours, so that it appeals to the target audience and also on her album cover It's not me it's you she uses a girly colour scheme.
When the image was scanned the colour was lost on the stars which were orginally pink. I used the colour pink because I wanted to have the same theme as her album cover, which shows her lying on a pink, letter L and also from research Lily Allen often uses quite girly colour schemes. I have chosen to have the background colour white, so that the rest of the content on the cover stands out. The model on the cover (Lily Allen) is dressed in bright clothes so that she is the main focus on the cover. The text is in black so that it stands out against the white background and so that people can see the song name and also see that it is by Lily Allen.
Layout
I wanted to keep the layout simple so that it was easy to see that it was Lily Allen and also her album cover is simple. I had the title of the song and Lily Allen's name printed horizontally so that it was still easy to see Lily Allen and also to make the layout quite different. On the back cover I will have the writing printed either side of Lily Allen, so that the audience are still clear to see Lily Allen.
Design
I decided to use Lily Allen with a star because it would come across as being fun and as her target audience are mainly young people, I thought that as a star was used it would appeal to them as it will make the album cover fun. From looking at other digipacks the main design was having the artist posing on the front cover. I have kept the same theme throughout the digipack so that it looked professional. I also used the star throughout the digipack with Lily Allen posing in different positions, so that it was kept the same throughout the digipack. I wanted to make the digipack fun and interesting so that it appealed to the target audience. I have made Lily Allen pose in fun ways so that it makes the digipack fun and cool, so that it appeals to the target audience. I will also be using a sans serif font to keep the digipack modern, as I feel if a serif font will make the digipack old fashioned and therefore not appealing to the target audience.
The image on the right shows the second digipack which I have designed.
Colours
As this design is locations in Brighton, the colours will be mainly daylight colours. The font is coloured black so that stands out against the rest of the digipack.
Layout
The layout is also very simple and easy to understand as I will be using photos of locations in Brighton. The text on the front cover is placed at the bottom as I feel that this will be easiest to read for the audience. The text on the back cover will be placed over the image, which will still be easy to read, I may lighten the image slightly if the text is hard to read.
Design
In this digipack I wanted it to relate to the music video as much as possible, seeings as our music video is being shot in Brighton I have decided to use this as the main theme on my digipack by using different locations in brighton for the digipack. I will use main and important locations so that the audience are able to tell that the cover is Brighton. On the front cover I will have Brighton Pier, as I feel that most people will be familiar with this location and it is also a main location for our video, on the back cover I will have the lanes, another location people will be familiar with and on the inside cover I will have a shot of a park in Brighton which people may be familiar with. The text in this digipack will also be a sans serif font as it is modern and easy to read.
The image on the left shows my final and third digipack design.
Colour
On this digipack I wanted to make it interesting and different. The background and the objects, people, buildings etc will all be coloured in black and white and I will have Lily Allen the only part in colour on the part of the album cover. The text will be in black, eventhough this will blend in with the background I want Lily Allen to be the main focus on the album cover. I will have Lily Allen dressed in bright coloured clothes which will make her stand out even more from the black and white background. I think that this design will make the digipack stand out as the colours will contrast with the rest of the black and white imagery.
Layout
The layout for this design is again simple, as most digipacks are quite simple. The main focus of the design will be of Lily Allen so that the audience are able to see who the CD is of and so that her fans will also notice her.
Design
Overall I wanted to make quite a different and unusual design, as the song is quite different from her other songs as this song is quite serious, whereas her other songs are quite funny. I will have Lily Allen the only thing on the digipack in colour, so that she is the main focus of the design. By doing this design it is unusual and different, which is like our music video, so I wanted to keep the same theme throughout. I also think that this design will catch the audiences eye as it is different and fun. On the front cover I will have Lily Allen walking down the street with the rest of the background in black and white and then on the inside cover I will have the same image but from the back off Lily Allen, I think that this create and fun and interesting effect. This design is simple, but I think that it will be effective as it will catch the audience's attention as it is quite different and unusual.
Final digipack decision
Overall I am pleased with all my designs and I think that they will all work effectively as they are appealing to the target audience.
My final design that I will be using will be my second digipack, with all the different locations in Brighton. I think that this design is simple and interesting. I also think that it is best linked in with my music video and by keeping the same theme in the music video and the digipack it will allow the audience to become familiar with the design, as they have already seen it in the music video. From also researching other digipacks most of the designs are quite simple, so that it is clear to see who the artist is.
Good
ReplyDelete