Digipak Skeleton Layouts

My song by Ed Sheeran, 'Autumn Leaves', comes from the deluxe edition of his album '+' so I have decided on the basic idea that I want to incorporate two disc trays or pouches into my Digipak, one for the standard songs, and one for the additional audio files. In order for me to create some mock-ups for my Digipak, I have started with some research into basic Digipak templates which are available online.

With the above Digipak template, I like how it includes two trays for the discs, as this is useful for my 'deluxe' edition of the album'. However, I don't personally want to use trays in my Digipak as the plastic often can't be recycled and the are prone to shattering, which can result in the discs being damaged, therefore I want to use card pouches which I picked up on in my Digipak textual analysis. With this template also, it is made so that the two trays lie in the middle panel and the panel to the right of it, leaving the front panel open. What I want for my design is the two discs to be on the front and the back inside panels so that the design is better balanced and symmetrical.

Digipak Dimensions (three interior panels):

Closed Dimensions = 140mm x 125mm x 7mm
Open Dimensions = 434mm x 250mm
Each individual panel = 140mm x 125mm

This is a quick skeleton layout/template I made for my Digipak. The dimensions are important for me to know as this will ensure the complete layout is correct to real products and all the compartments will fit together properly. I will now take this template which I created in Photoshop and section-by-section I will create a skeleton layout to more specifically show where the images and text will be presented in the design. 

I have now created a much more detailed skeleton layout for the Digipak. I used Powerpoint and the original layout (above) and applied shapes to identify where certain images and textual pieces will be placed on each section of the Digipak. I will now go on to create a skeleton layout for the lyric booklet which makes up a vital part of the Digipak and also a mock-up of the entire thing using existing images to ensure that my design is going to work and will look as effective as I want it to.

Audio Permission

For my music video, I decided upon the song 'Autumn Leaves' from Ed Sheeran's album '+'. However, before I begin construction it is important for me to ask for permission to use the song due to copyrights. I have asked, which is more than I can do, and even if I don't get a reply, I will still credit the record label, 'Asylum Records' and the musician when I publish the final products. If I get a reply soon I will post the response below.

Target Audience Research

When I come to produce my ancillary task products alongside my main product, it is essential for me to consider my target audience as a whole to ensure that they are successful in promoting the music video (main product). I have set a basic target audience profile for the music video on the basis of the basic research I have so far conducted, and this will also follow-through with my production of the ancillary tasks as I will be more-or-less targeting the exact same people. However, because of the location and distribution of said ancillary products, the target audience for each one might change slightly.

For example, the link that I have posted below takes you to a blog post written by Jay Frank, where he states that 61% of online books, music and video are purchased by women, which suggest that my website will have to take a slightly more feminine approach, whereas over 2/3 of Top Single Download purchases were of artists with a female majority fanbase, which suggests that women are more likely to download music from sites such as iTunes, whereas men prefer the idea of going into a store and purchasing a physical copy, which might suggest that my Digipak has to be aimed more at the men that make up my target audience.

My general target audience is:

• Men/Women 40%/60%
• 16 - 24
• Festival go-ers
• Play live music/guitars
• Quiet, calm personalities
• College and Uni students
• Ed Sheeran fans
• People based in England and America mostly
• Very few people above and under the age-range stated above.
• The people in this target audience make good friends
• Hobbies include going bowling, shopping and photography

These are the sort of qualitites I will have to take into account when I create my ancillary tasks. In terms of colour scheme, I will use orange as this is a rather neutral colour and will suit the rather close ratio of men to women - the colour also co-ordinates with the singer that I am using. I will also continue to use imagery and lighting to reflect those used within my music video, and these will also reflect the quiet, calm nature of my target audience. With the website, I will use slightly more colour to attract a more feminine feel to it, using a fun, but casual layout and styling, in comparison to curly hand-written fonts which might be used on a female's website. For the Digipak, to suit more women in the target audience, the imaging I use will particulalry touch the heart, as well as warm, autumnal colours to really attract the female side of my target audience.

This children's website for example attracts it's target audience with the use of bold shapes and patterns, as well as strong colours. The target audience is clearly females because of the use of pink and purple colours.

An information website, such as the BBC, uses a set colour scheme which usually contains no more than three main colours to not discriminate against anyone. However the lack of colour in comparison to the first website makes it look more professional and suitable for an older target audience.

Summary of my Audience Research:

Bibliography:

• War of the Sexes

Digipak Textual Analysis

Ancillary Task Secondary Research

ALBUM COVER/DIGIPAK RESEARCH:

http://abigailpaceyamvcmedia28.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/the-iconography-of-the-album-cover-media-magazine-article/

This SlideShare Presentation includes photocopies of an article based on The Iconography of Album Artwork from MediaMagazine (September 2012) [written by Christopher Budd]:

The Iconography of the Album Cover from Belinda Raji

From the article I have learnt that album artwork should not only be eye-catching, but it should also portray a message about the musician and the music they produce. All elements of mise-en-scene are considered to be symbolic of the musician and the meaning behind their music.

I also know that the album artwork will be presented at a variety of different sizes depending on the format, such as small icons in iTunes, or thumbnails on the website, so the artwork I create should be identifiable and recognisable from various distances (Artistic Abode).

Bill Smith is an album cover designer, and he said in an interview with Arkade (a UK-based independent music company),

"ARKADE: Do you have any advice for bands on how to choose a successful design?

BILL: The simplest ideas are the best, try and come up with an idea and stick to it and try not to get leant on by anyone to change or modify your ideas."

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To help me start to create designs for my Digipak I have begun to look at the most iconic and famous album artwork designs of all time, to try and get myself some inspiration, and to begin to identify what makes a 'good' album cover.

#1 according to musicradar.com is Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon:

For this album, Richard Wright instructed the designers to make the album cover  "smarter, neater—more classy" in comparison to the band's other albums. The design was constructed under three rules; the requirement from Richard for a 'bold and classy" design, the prism represented the band's love for lighting effects on stage and to represent the album's lyrics. I personally like the use of bold, contrasting colours in this artwork as it really makes it stand out from any other albums on the market. I also think that the concept is really strong and perfectly reflects the requirements for this album.

#2 is Nirvana's album 'Nevermind' which features a naked baby swimming after a dollar bill which is attached to a fish hook.

 People assume that because of the obscurity of this artwork there is a deep metaphor behind it, but the idea actually originated when Kurt Cobain watched a documentary on home water births. It is however the obscurity of the imagery on this album cover which makes it so infamous - but we don't really understand why. It is nevertheless a brilliant, award-winning album, but the artwork itself is what ensures that generation after generation of audiences know and identify the album.

From this I can see the real importance of a successful album cover- it needs to be eye-catching but it should be relevant to the musician and the songs itself to really make an impact on sales. I will now have to research further into the planning that goes behind creating album covers to fully understand the importance of aspects such as fonts, layout etc.

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http://blog.crazyegg.com/2012/05/02/example-musician-websites/

Stephanie Hamilton, a freelance website designer who holds a degree in Graphic Design, write for the blog The Daily Egg (conversion optimisation, design and copywriting tips) has written an article on her opinion of the top 20 musician websites which keep audiences engaged and what she believes is needed within the design process.

She believes that a good musician's website should include:

• latest news
• upcoming shows and events
• blog content and social networking
• merchandise/store
• media in the form of pictures, videos etc.
• story/bio
• community forum/subscription service
• mailing list/newsletter service

Looking at the top 20 Stephanie has chosen for us, many of them I don't recognise because she is American, which makes this research unreliable for me as I cannot relate to the examples. However, just by analysing some of the images of the websites, I can automatically tell some of the genres of music that they are - even without knowing the musicians - which I might be able to relate to my own work. 

Her #5 is Francesca Battistelli, an artist who I don't personally know, but from research she is a fairly low-key singer-songrwiter from the States, which kind of matches my chosen artist Ed Sheeran, as he too is a singer-songwriter, so they are of fairly similar genres.

Stephanie has placed this website quite close to the top in her top 20 as the type of styling - the colours and the illustration techniques - perfectly symbolises the simplicity of the artist's music genre. She also finds that the colour scheme is warm and inviting whilst still indicating the music genre. Social networking plays a big part of music marketing in today's society, so the inclusion of such links on the home page is a massive 'YES' from Stephanie.

Website Textual Analysis

Ancillary Task Media Timeline