Research and Planning 2.0

2.1 Digipaks Analysis


In order to create an effective digipak, I need to research and find out what current digipaks contain, and what separates the good from the bad. Below is three analysis of different digipaks from three different genres.


“Motown 50 (Yesterday, Today, Forever)” http://data0.zic.fr/miouzikol/mod_article403438_1.jpg


The album itself was produced by Universal Music in 2008, and is a 3-disk compilation. Like most digipaks/albums, there is a front cover and back cover. On the front cover, there is the title of the album, as well as a picture of some of the artists that feature on the compilation. The images, are mostly close-ups, so that the audience can see the artists faces, and recognise the music featured. The colours featured, are black and gold – matching the colour scheme of the whole product.
The back cover, conforming with the normal conventions of album covers, displays which artists and songs feature on the album. As well as this, there is also the bar code and and a brief description of small print about the producer and where the product was made and sale distribution rights. Incidentally, both of these covers are made of cardboard.
The structure/layout of the digipak differs from others, with it actually folding out a bit like a leaflet. There are 4 'pages' in total, 3 of which, are holding a disk on the page with the other containing a pouch for the accompanying booklet. All the pages fold up to re-create the look of a normal single disk album.
The audience for this product is obviously fans of Motown music and the inclusion of 61 songs makes it a must have for fans of this genre.

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“Queen, Live at Wembley Stadium”
http://www.recordstore.co.uk/images/covers/queen/5910922-300.jpg


This album, was produced by 'Queen Productions Ltd' in 2003 and licensed exclusively to EMI Records for sale. It is a 2-disk album and is a compilation of 28 songs that was performed live at Wembley stadium.
As with most digipaks, there is a front and back cover, both of which are covered by a plastic case. On the front cover, there is the title of the album, as well as a picture of Freddie Mercury in one of his signature poses. I think this is important, because all Queen fans will instantly recognise the pose and therefore associate it to queen, thus providing a massive sales and marketing tool. The text is in red – a bold colour, to stand out from the paler – blue background of Wembley Stadium.
The back cover, again conforming with the normal conventions of album covers, displays which songs feature on the album. As well as this, there is also the bar code and and a brief description of small print about the producer, and three images of the other band members – Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon. These images are a lot smaller than that of Freddie on the front cover.
The layout of this digipak folds out into three pages, with the third page a clear plastic, holding the two disks on either side. The middle page contains a description thanking the customer for buying the album and a warning about re distributing the disk and copyright. Throughout the product, there is a colour scheme of blues – a neutral colour.

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“Ministry of Sound – Chilled II (1991-2009)”

http://img.sharedmusic.net/files/pics/1171/1170078/img_1_th.jpg

My last digipak is produced by 'Ministry of Sound Recordings Ltd', and Licensed to 'Universal Music Operations Ltd' and distributed in the U.K. It consists of 62 songs on 3-disks.
The aesthetics of this digipak differs from a lot of digipaks, as it is encased in a cardboard sleeve, with this containing which songs and artists feature, on the back, as well as the expected front cover. The front cover itself, is the logo of the company; 'Ministry of sound', pictured rising form the sea, dripping with water. Thus relating to the title of the album - “Chilled”. The colours used are of a “cool” nature with blues, whites and silver used. The background is plain to allow the graphic to stand out. Incidentally, the name of the album is in the top left hand corner, which again is different form a lot of albums, where the name tends to be in the centre of the page.
The album itself, folds out into an 8-panel design over 4 pages with three of these pages holding a disk each, and the other containing a pouch with an accompanying book giving details of each of the songs featured on the compilation. All these inner pages are white – sticking with the 'cool', 'neutral' theme. However, the two pages in the middle have an enlarged part of the logo (BCU – Big Close Up) printed on the back.
Overall, this design is quite intricate in terms of its fold layout and I think it works very well in trying to portray the “cool” feel this genre of music contains.


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Digipak ideas: 2.2

Right, is my brainstorm of ideas for my digipack, it includes possible colour schemes, what audience to aim at, possible images and also a visual design of a possible layout.

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Digipak 1st Designs: 2.3

These are my rough, drafts of potential designs for my digipaks, to help me choose the best one i will ask for audience feedback on each one, and take the appropriate actions of these results. The chosen one will then be edited and coloured in phoptoshop, ready for the band's verdict.

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Magazine Posters: 2.4

Below, are my rough designers for a magazine poster advertising my band and their song. I will ask for feedback before choosing one to edit on photoshop, adding colour and text in the process.

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StoryBoard 2.5

Below is my storyboard showing the initial ideas for my final music video, this is what we will base our final product on, and what we will refer to, if we need further development of ideas.