Category: Digipak

Below is the final draft for our Digipak:

Kaleidoscope

By Riff Rafe

 

What’s Changed?

• We have removed some of the boarder from ‘Riff Rafe’ on the front cover in order to make it easier to read.
• We have turned the back inside cover, to be in the shape of the CD.
• We have re-planned how we lay out our information on the back page, as to make it feel less crowded.
• We have also added the multi-coloured stroke to ‘World Of Fiction, as to have one on either side of the Phoenix.
• We have added a title to the spine so that it can be read in a shelf of CD’s.

Reflection:

I am very happy with how the final draft our Digipak has turned out, I feel that we have successfully communicated the conventions, ideas and values of EDM within our Digipak.

Below is the third draft for our Digipak.

 

What has Changed?

• As planned we have changed the colour and font of the masthead and name of the Star Image. We have decided in purple as it is a very popular color in the genre of EDM, fitting with the conventions.
• We decided on this font as it felt the most hand-written whilst still being easily read.
• We have made the decision not to place the text over the bird’s wingspan as this looked poor and have instead elected to have the song list down the side. This is what it looked like previously:
• We added the barcode, charity message, record label logo and copyright information.
• We decided to give ‘Introspective’ a special coloured gradient as to show this is our most important song.

 

What’s Next:

• Still am not entirely happy with the masthead or star image name, more adjustments I feel are required for that.
• I would like to spread out the barcode, record label logo, copyright information, and charity sticker as I feel it is all too bunched together.

 

Once we had finalized the third draft of our Social Media Page, it then became important to see how it feels when placed within a CD case.

In completing Draft Three it has given us the opportunity to ask others what genre students think our Digipak cover fits into. These were the results:

Digipack Mockup draft 3

We have had a very positive result when looking at the votes for what genre our digipak cover fits into, with Trance in the lead and EDM just behind. This shows that we have successfully used the correct conventions for our genre.

 

Reflection:

As we are now on the way to our Final Draft, I am very happy with how the Digipak has turned out and I also feel I have learnt many skills in regards to Photoshop and InDesign, and that our Digipak is very in keeping with the conventions of EDM. With only a few changes to be made, I feel we are very close to our final draft.

 

Below is the second draft of the Digipak:

What has changed?

• We have added the masthead and the name of our Star Image to our front cover.
• We have created a yellow boarder to the front cover as to allow the Digipak to feel more fleshed out.
• We have added the inside covers, first one is a distorted image of the protagonist from out music video, the second being a fate recreation of the cage inside the person’s head, with a wingspan similar to the phoenix. This is where the CD itself will be placed.
• We have removed the white colouring from the Phoenix, this feels much better, and allows the colours to be much more effective.

What’s Next:

• We are currently unsatisfied with the colour/ font of the masthead, so we will explore more options for Draft 3.
• We must add the song list to the back cover, we are planning to place this down the phoenix’s wingspan.
• Another addition to the back cover includes information on how proceeds from the Digipak will be going to a charity called ‘Green Peace’.
• Other additions to the back cover includes the record label logo, a barcode and copyright information.

Reflection:

I feel this second draft has changed the game from the first draft, the digipak already feels much more fleshed out and closer to completion. The back cover feels much more striking and in fitting with the conventions of EDM has used bright neon lighting. For the masthead we have curved the text to fit around the kaleidoscope pattern, this feels striking and I am confident with this effect. I feel our InDesign and Photoshop abilities are becoming more and more refined as we reach our third draft.

Below is the first draft of our Digipak front cover:

The main thing in which we have done here is that we have manipulated the image so that both the photography of the kaleidoscope’s pattern, and the main illustration of the phoenix breaking free from it’s cage can appear together in order to create one image.

What’s Next:

• Next, we must begin work on the inside covers, and the back cover of our Digipak.
• We must put text on the front cover in order to create a Masthead, we aim to do this with a font which looks like it has been written rather than typed as to fit with the hand-drawn aesthetic that we have portrayed so far.
• The front cover feels a little empty at the moment and we plan to add something around the sides such as a pattern in order to make the album cover feel more rounded.
• We must fill in the between the spines for the inside covers.
• The back cover with the phoenix feels wrong, we attempted to place a white coloring over the phoenix, in speculation that it may make text easier to write for when it is placed, however we feel this doesn’t work in execution

Reflection:
I am very happy with how the Digipak is appearing this far, and in re-learning my abilities within InDesign and Photoshop from the creation of our Music Magazine, I feel that I am going to be more efficient in this digipak’s cover than previously with the magazine.

What has gone well so far:

• Thus far, all we have completed is an image of the kaleidoscope pattern we want to be represented within our Digipak front & back cover and the artwork of the Phoenix being freed from the cage inside somebody’s head, both of these pieces have been finished successfully.
• The illustration successfully communicates the metaphor of enlightenment we wish to show with the bird being freed, similar to the protagonist within our music video being freed from the mundanity of normal life within our music video. This is one of the core messages which can often be seen being portrayed within the genre of EDM.
• The Phoenix, which is the main feature of our digipak front cover, in which represents the enlightenment which is the core messaging for all three of our products. The decision was made in order to give the phoenix a multi-coloured scheme, this was to fit with the conventions of EDM which often uses bright/ neon colours in order to communicate this free lifestyle.

What could have gone better:

• When scanning the illustration some whites of the page became difficult to remove.

Reflection:

All of the work done towards the Digipak front & back cover has gone very well so far, helping communicate the messaging and beliefs within the EDM genre and it’s conventions also such as bright colours. Our next step is too place these images together in order to create a final draft for our Digipak

For the photo’s taken for the kaleidoscope pattern which is to be used within our Digipak, it was very successful and ended us with many photos of this variety.

 

However, the majority of the work completed for our Digipak front cover, was down through illustration, which will then be scanned so that we can edit over the top of it using InDesign and Photoshop.

Our finished illustration to be used on our Digipak.

Reflection:

Next our job once the artwork has been made available for editing on photoshop and InDesign, we will be editing colours and merging our work together in order to create a full image. We plan to use neon colours in our editing in order to resemble the conventions of EDM, such as making the pattern of kaleidoscope a more psychedelic feeling purple. Then, then images can come together in order to create the final product.

In order to safely complete any photoshoot required for our Digipak, it was important that we filled out a production meeting agenda and a risk assessment. The only photography taking place was of

Risk Assessment

Music Video Production Meeting Agenda (Click Image)

 

Reflection:

When planning our Digipak front and back cover it was decided that instead of using a photoshoot we would instead complete our Digipak through illustration so therefore these were not entirely necessary, however photography was used in order to capture the Kaleidoscope pattern, so we filled out these for this reason.

Digipak Front Cover: Within the front cover it is important we have a large masthead, we have decided on naming our album ‘Kaleidoscope’, we are also going to be incorporating this into the design of our front cover, including kaleidoscope patterns throughout the colour scheme due to the similar nature of the EDM genre. We have also decided not to use the star image within our front cover as we wish to communicate the importance of the art over the artist within out genre. We also plan to have the cover mostly hand drawn.  The centre piece of our digipak front and back cover will be a bird in order to symbolise freedom. At first we thought of a hummingbird before deciding on a phoenix due to its affiliation and symbolism for enlightenment, the theme of our album and in particularly the nature of being set free communicated within our music video.

 

Digipak Back Cover: We have decided that we will have the usual conventions of a Digipak such as the barcode, copyright information, record label logo etc. We have also decided to carry the phoenix over to the back cover, as wall as the kaleidoscope pattern and colour scheme.

 

Reflection

I personally am very happy with the mockups that have been created for our Digipak, I feel the use of Kalideoscope patterns and colour scheme will mean that it really catches the eye and represents the genre of EDM. The hand-drawn aesthetic of the piece I believe will also make in unique whilst fitting in with EDM conventions.

Before creating our Digipak it is important that we understand the conventions of a Digipak especially within our genre, so today, we did research into what exactly the conventions of an EDM front and back cover are.

Reflection:

I have noticed within the EDM genre, it is very heavily noticeable that the brand they represent is more about the music an artist creates rather than the artist themselves. It feels more important that when designing our Digipak front and back cover we focus on fonts, colour schemes and mise-en-scene rather than how we will represent our star image (if at all). Focusing forward we will continue to look at how EDM artists use their artwork to represent their genre and we will continue to represent this within our Digipak. This post has been very important as it has allowed me to get a deep understanding of EDM digipak covers.