Final Website

Final Website

Click to view

Finished Digipak

Finished Digipak 

I have finished all of my Digipak Pages, and this is how they turned out. I like that they all fit together in terms of the mood and theme of it. 

New Back Cover

Back Cover

I changed a few things on the back cover after realising I got some things wrong. First I realised that I'd put 'Brokenhearted' in capitals and the rest of the songs weren't. So I had to change that first, but then I realised that I'd written the record company website as 'JLJ Records' when the logo says 'JLJ Productions'. After changing it I think it looks good enough to keep and I see no huge mistakes.

New Lyric Page

Lyric Page

  

I made a lyric page but the text was different to the rest of the digipak, and I know that usually digipaks keep the fonts the same throughout. So I went back and changed the font to match the track list. I thought that the title of the song could stay the same because the song title would have a different font as it is specifically the song on this page and not the album. I thought about changing the font of the back cover instead of the font of the lyrics because the font of the lyrics before were clearer to see but then the back cover would have been out of genre.

Back Cover for Digipak

Back Cover for Digipak

I like the way the institutional information fits properly on the image, and it looks good with the record company as well. The font of the track list fits the theme of the digipak because it's really girly and cute.

Lyric Page for Digipack

Lyric Page for Digipak

I've made a lyric page for the digipak. This is for the extra panel on the outside of the digipak.

I did this by colouring over the background image in white paint and reducing the opacity of the layer so that the effect was blurred. I then added in the lyrics in a clear bold pink font. Because the lyrics are so long, I had to use two columns to fit them on the page. I found the font online and I liked it because the theres only one heart and its like a simple decoration.

Final CD Tray Design

Final CD Tray Design

I finally decided on keeping the Cd design simple and not including writing. I used a picture of Matilda holding a balloon and decided to fade the edges out in pink. For the CD tray itself, I just cropped out a picture of the flowers on the graffiti wall and used that so that there was a running theme of flowers throughout the digipak.

Research on Digipak Disc Designs

Research on Digipak CDs

After looking at some examples of CD designs I found that overall, they aren't overly decorative, and a lot of them don't even have writing on them. I think I'll probably just put a design or picture on the CD, instead of covering it with warped text.

Beyonce

The Script

Katy Perry

Rihanna

CD for my Digipak

CD for the Digipak

This is the first draft for the CD to my digipak. It has a kind of 70's feel to it because of the warped text around the cd. I don't think it fits with the genre of the rest of my digipak because of this and I'll have to redraft it. 

Another reason I'm not using it for my digipak is that after talking it over with someone else, they mentioned that the design was bold, and if the design is bold that would mean that everything else in the digipak and my website would have to be bold and outgoing too. I think I prefer to stay simple with the design.

Spine for Digipak

Spine For Digipak

 

 

I wanted to use the flowery background for the spine of the digipak in order to keep the images consistent and I think it works well, but I don't like the font of the name, the album title and the reference number.

I'll have to download a new font for them to make them fit well. But I do like the way that the label name looks on the spine. You can't see it clearly enough so I'll have to put it on the back cover in a bigger size.



Production Company Logo

Production Company Logo

 

 

When researching digipaks, I found that most had the production company's logo on the back. I made one that was black and white because they rarely have colour because that way the don't merge into the background colour of the digipak. Some also feature the production company logo on the spine as well as on the back cover.

Album Promotion Advert for Website

Album Promotion Advert for Website

This is to be displayed on the homepage so that its the first thing people will see when they open the website. This is important with pop artists because they are constantly selling themselves to their audience and album sales are essential to success.

Completed Digipak Cover

Completed Digipak Cover

 

 

In order to keep Matilda as the focus of the album, I decided to blur out the background and keep her and the balloon in full colour. I also heightened the colour of her lips and the flowers on her dress to make them more eye-catching.

 

I think the warped text on the balloon shows her fun side and links to the smile on her face while she looks at it. I think it will be easier to make the rest of my digipack this way because now I can keep the theme of 'fun' and 'colour' through the rest of it.

Digipack Practice #3

3rd Digipack Practice

This is my 3rd attempt at photo shopping my digipack cover. I like the 'fun' vibe it promotes, but I feel like it takes a lot of attention away from Matilda, and in pop music, the focus is always on the star. I think if there was a way to make her stand out more that it could work as a cover. Maybe if I heighten the colours of her make-up it would emphasise her more.

Tour Advert for Website

Tour Advert for Website

I decided to make an advertisement of a tour for the website. Lots of pop artists participate in world tours in order to maintain their relevance amongst their fans and build recognition for their newly released albums.

Digipack Practice #2

2nd Digipack Practice

I played around with CS6 and watched a different tutorial that showed how to create a Lichtenstein-inspired pop art effect.

I like that it connotes something playful and enjoyable like a comic book, but I wanted the colour to play a big part in the digipack and this effect washes the colour out so that everything in the background is a lot paler than the foreground.

Digipack Practice #1

Digipack Practise

I have been watching tutorials on youtube to learn different effects that can be made in Adobe Photoshop CS6 and I found an effect that makes the photo look like it's made up of cubes.

I like the effect but I think the cubes connote more of a dance genre and we want something that looks like pop.

Audience Feedback: Post-production

Audience Feedback: 

Post-production

After the feedback we got this time, I can see that we need to have at least one hour at some point to just focus on what is in and out of sync. A lot of the feedback that we got mentioned that we needed more variety of shots and movement in our shots, but we filmed more performance shots where the camera is moving and we just need to find places to fit them where they look right. 

Someone also mentioned that some shots were still a bit too long so maybe we can cut some of them down to fit in the new performance shots. 

 Someone said that we should brighten the lipstick that Matilda draws on the mirror which I think is a really good idea, to keep with our motif of bright colours. They also mentioned that the low angle shot of Matilda didn't fit well, so we're going to re-watch that section to see what we can replace it with.

More Photos for Digipack

More Photos for Digipack

These are photos we took in front of the graffiti wall in Kingston that I think would suit the theme for the Digipack.



Photos for Digipack

Photos for Digipack

These are some of the photos we took that I think would be good to use for my digipack.

Website Research: Taylor Swift

Website Research:

Taylor Swift

At first glance, I really liked Taylor Swift's homepage. It has a lot of pictures but not an overload of information. It only includes links to the information, which means you can focus on the photos and the artist themselves. Taylor swift has a reputation for connecting with her fans like they are friends, and the homepage of her website shows that because even though it promotes her products like her new music video, her world tour and her new album, it isn't overpowered by self-promotion and plugs, and incorporates professional photos taken at red carpet events, but also selfies and personal photos taken of her with friends or at home. This makes the audience feel closer to her because she is sharing intimate photos with them.

The navigation menu is straightforward, and includes a hash tag like Katy Perry's page but one that isn't as blatantly self-promoting as hers. This works well with Taylor Swifts view that music is the most important thing, and not the fame. The menu bar has most of the typical pages like About, News, Events, Media etc. The one that stands out on the menu is the Taylor Connect page. It essentially has the same function as a Social page, but by putting her name on it, it reinforces the idea of a connection between the audience and the artist. The logo on websites is usually in the top left corner of the page, but hers is in the right corner. It is usually in the top left corner because people tend to look from left to right when viewing things. This is another show of music first-fame second.

Like everything on the website, her biography page is simple looking but interesting. Contrary to how other stars write their own biography page, hers is written by someone else. This makes her seem less self-obsessed because its someone else talking about how successful she is. It also doesn't say things about her personal life or her personality, it only talks about her achievements. This emphasises that the awards and fame aren't her.

The biography is impersonal so of course the bottom part of the page is dedicated to Taylor's Tumblr page. It is a collection of text posts, pictures and videos that come from her Tumblr page, which is (supposedly) run by herself, even though its common that many celebrities have people that run their social media pages for them. It makes her seem more authentic this way. 

Her news page looks quite sparse and there isn't a lot going on. The news stories are mostly recent awards, her place on the charts and titles she's earned like 'Female of the Year'. I think this is good because it doesn't overload the audience with  too much to take in. Sometimes simple is best. The style of the page reminds me of a scrapbook, which keeps with the idea of nostalgia that she presents with her new album '1989' which features a polaroid of her from nose to hips. I like the way that the website is consistent with the album in its theme but it differs in fonts and pictures.

When you click on the music page, it automatically shows the most recent album first and its track list with a button that plays the hook of the song for around 30 seconds, but it also has options to buy the album on Itunes, Amazon, Google Play and the Merchandise page. This is unique because most websites wouldn't have options to buy the music from all of these different platforms, but this website takes into consideration all of the different ways music is consumed these days.

Underneath the album and the track list on the same page is a list of Taylor Swift's album dating back to her debut self-titled album. When clicked on, they reveal the same layout and options to buy depending on which albums are available on which platforms.

I think the way that the music is presented on the website is clear and simple, and I also think that it does well by advertising the album for people to buy because it comes with bonus tracks like original demos and acoustic versions. This gives the audience incentive to actually purchase the album rather than listening to it for free on YouTube. Interestingly, Taylor Swift decided to remove all of her music from Spotify recently, which gives the audience more reason to buy it because they cant own it for free on Spotify.

Website Research: Demi Lovato

Website Research:

Demi Lovato

Demi Lovato's website has a feature different to many other pop artist websites. Before it opens the website's homepage, the page displays a personal 'thank you' from her to her fans for believing in her. Demi Lovato is like Taylor Swift in that she connects with her fans like they are close friends with her. This page is also a reminder that she struggled through rehabilitation after revealing she had an eating disorder and bipolar disorder, and another part of her image is helping fans of hers who are struggling in situations of their own. Just in this first page she inspires her fans by saying they are the reason for her success.

Another interesting thing about this website is that as well as a navigation menu at the top of the page, there is also a footer with social media sharing and music buying options. Both the top and bottom bars frame the screen no matter where you scroll on the page or across the entire website. I think this is good because keeping the top navigation means that the website is easy to get around and the bottom bar is advertising the music in a subtle way without drawing too much attention to it.
Other than that, the homepage includes many of the same features typical in a pop artist website - News, Tour dates, Biography, Videos, Music, Store, Photos and the Lovato Club which is an alternative to the contact page.

The News, Tour Dates and Biography pages on the website are similar to other pop artists, the  news page included newly released music videos, products she is promoting, events she attended, and also includes an instagram feature which shows her most recently posted photos, and a tour dates features which shows a few upcoming dates on her world tour. The Biography was written by someone else about her, her musical career, the projects she is involved in and her achievements. The tour dates are displayed on its page, but it doesn't show any other events like TV interviews and CD signings, which she instead shares with the 'Lovato Club'.
The music page has a typical layout, with the album covers and the track list next to it, and the ways you can purchase the album available too. Something that this page doesn't have is a snippet of the songs or lyrics. I think that this is a waste of a chance to gain more sales. Someone may not know what one of the songs sounds like and may want to listen to it to get a feel of it. If they like the sound of it they are more likely to buy it. However the link to Spotify is in the footer so they could listen to the whole album for free and decide if they want to buy it or not.

Demi Lovato has a fan club that she connects with, but instead of having a mailing list that people sign up to for free to get updates about concerts and news, you have to pay for a year's membership in order to get the benefits. I think this is clever marketing because they make it seem like people have a chance to gain a lot buy paying for the subscription, and dedicated fans would be willing to pay for it. In this way more money is made, but I don't think I would include a subscription that costs because it would feel like exploiting fans out of their money.

The style of the website matches Demi's most recent album, with its monochrome colours and slim blocky fonts. I can tell that this is a common technique used for most pop music websites. This means that it would be better if I modelled the website after the digipak.