Final digipak desgin

This is the front cover of my digipak:

I chose to keep the same background as my magazine advert to maintain consistency and a "signature" design. The forest is shown in the music video "Half Remain" and has connotations of isolation, as well as nature which complements the theme of life. I decided to remove the image of the protagonist because I felt that the cover suited a more simple look. Also, the title has now been placed in the center of the album cover so that it is at eye-level viewing of the reader and more eye-catching. The font is also larger and is still the same as the one used on the magazine advert as it is now the "signature" font. Underneath is the album title. Both titles are capitalised which catches the reader's eye. I kept the parental advisory sign at the bottom of the cover which sets the target audience as being old enough to be able to purchase this sort of media. 


This is the back cover of my digipak:

The back cover of the digipak uses the colours black and white, matching the front cover. The font is the same as the front cover and also the magazine advert to maintain consistency. The track list is also in the same font, and in white colouring and capitalised. It is placed on the right hand side and clearly in front of the background image of the killer from the music video. The killer is placed on the left side. The image has been flipped horizontally so that it seems as though the killer is walking away from the track list, and away from the murder. The band's name is printed at the bottom to attract the reader's attention. In the top left is the record label company's name and their website printed in black colouring to distinguish the different companies, one being the record label and the other being the band's company.

These are the middle panels in my digipak:

The left side of the panel is where the CD is placed, and the right is an image of the killer featured in "Half Remain". Both panels are separated by the spine which states the album title. I chose to use the image of the killer again to emphasise the themes in the music video. The black and white filter maintain the consistency of the colour scheme used across the music video, the magazine advert and the digipak. It is also a convention of the rock genre which I incorporated into my own work. The image is simple yet demonstrates the predator looking for his prey, emphasising the strong narrative of our video. 

Digipak

My first draft of my digipak:

 The front cover consists of the same background of my magazine advert which was originally taken from the beginning of our music video.  I was inspired by a front cover of a digipak I saw online:

I liked the dark colour palette which I incorporated into my front cover. The black and white image at the front conforms to the monotone colours used in the rock genre. I also liked the idea of having the band title's name printed at the top in bold letters so that it is eye catching with the album title printed underneath in the same font and colour. I added a "Parental Advisory Explicit Content" image at the right bottom to warm the audience about the content. 

Digipak first draft!

This was my first draft of my digipak:

I chose to keep the same background as my magazine advert to maintain consistency and a "signature" design. The forest is shown in the music video "Half Remain" and has connotations of isolation, as well as nature which complements the theme of life. The image in the middle of the album is of the protagonist of the music video which relates to Richard Dyer's theory of star quality image, something my group and I decided to refer to when producing our final product. The colour of the image is similar to the background and is a convention of the rock genre where many of their advertisements including their music video is shot and then edited into a black and white filter. The band name is printed at the very top of the album cover; the font is the same as the one used on the magazine advert as this font is the band's "signature" font. Underneath is the album title. Both titles are capitalised which catches the reader's eye. At the bottom is the parental advisory sign which sets the target audience as being old enough to be able to purchase this sort of media. 

The front cover was inspired by this:

Before creating my digipak, I searched online for examples of digipaks from the rock genre. I liked this particular design because it is simple yet effective as the font is eye catching and I liked the placement of the image in the centre of the album cover. I liked how the band's name is printed in large and how the album title is beneath it - the same length but smaller font. I tried replicated this onto my own digipak cover but adding a little bit of originality.

Digipak cover ideas

I have been doing some thinking about the design on my digipak, both cover and back. I also did some research into album cover designs of the rock culture and analysed the conventions that were both conformed to and subverted from. 

The Bronx

The Bronx are an American hardcore punk band. Their album cover design for their third album titled The Bronx (III) subverts from the conventions of rock bands. 

Their album cover consists of two birds edited in a spiral shape. This reminds me more of a sci-fi theme than rock, however, the harsh colours of black and white against the pink conforms to the rock genre. The band's title is clearly marked in front of a black background for emphasis. 

I would like to incorporate this design on my own digipak with maybe images of the "protagonist" of our music video as the main attraction. I also considered using the trees constantly seen in the video, as a background. I think this design is very original and interesting and the bright colours caught my eye, which is something I want for my design. 

Haerts

Haerts are an American indie pop band and their album titled "All For You" caught my eye as it is simple and basic, yet effective.

The front cover of their album is shown on the left. It consists of a colour palette of greys, purples and whites which is very conforming of the indie genre. It also displays an image of a naked person from behind which may represent the exposure of emotions, which is something implied in their lyrics. The band's name is sprawled at the very top of the cover and looks as though it as been written on with a white board marker. Underneath the band's title is the word "hemiplegia" which is the paralysis of one side of the body. This can explain the reason there is a line drawn in the middle of the cover, halving the body, thus illustrating the paralysis on one side of the body. On the right is an image of the back cover which simply consists of the song titles listed in basic font. 

This design interested me because although it is simple, it is very interesting to look at, especially at the image directly positioned in the middle of the framing. I would like to incorporate this into my digipak design, possibly on the back cover with the song titles printed over it. 

Lower Than Atlantis

Lower Than Atlantis are a four piece alternative rock band from Hertfordshire, UK. 

Their newest album titled "Lower Than Atlantis" consists of a pink background which subverts from the usual colour scheme of black and white for the rock genre. In front of the background are the four band members, with the lead singer being closer to the camera than the others. This conforms to the star quality image theory proposed by Richard Dyer. There are two different fonts used which is effective because it creates diversity contrasting with the simplicity of the design. The name "Atlantis" originates from a fictional island from Plato's works. The font suits the idea of Atlantis being an island as the wavy font resembles waves. 

I like the idea of the band members being used on the front cover as it conforms to the rock genre. I am considering incorporating this onto my dijipack cover with my group members and I lined up. I think the background should be a faint image of the trees featured frequently in the music video as it ties the album cover with the video. The image I would be using is from our opening of our video:

Instead of the writing, there would be an image of the band members. The band's title and album title would be at the top in bold white writing so that it is bright against the dull background.

Digipak design and band name

This is another image that Shoi took while we were out filming that could possibly be used for our Digipak design. I want my Digipak to contain at least two different images of the artist to be used as star quality image which is something commonly illustrated on Digipaks of the rock genre.

Also, my group and I have decided on our band name and song title in a Whatsapp group in which we are all added on. 

Band name: Enemy's Song

Song name: Half Remain

We got the inspiration for this from lyrics in the song we have chosen.

Digipaks

A digipak is a form of packaging for CDs and DVDs that are made out of cardboard. 

 

They were first created by MeadWestvaco and their product named Digi-Pak is trademarked.

Digipaks can have 2-8 panels. The most popular number of panels used is usually 4 as it provides enough room for logo, information and a track list as well as a panel for the actual CD or DVD disc. 

Our chosen genre is alternative rock and many bands/artists from this genre use digipaks:

Linkin Park:

I found this analysis of Linkin Park's digipak online which describes the connotations conforming to the genre of rock. Typically, this consists of the use of dark and bold colouring such as black, grey, white and reds. The font used is also described as "loud" which suits the genre of music and also the band's performance which is like a reflection of the artists' as a whole.

Bring Me The Horizon:

BMTH's digipak has many similarities to Linkin Park's choice of appearance such as the dark colouring yet this digipa's design is a little different as the contrast of white and black is used. The design could be considered controversial as the cover is very graphic which is something the band have dealt with and often introduce through their music. The second cover is again, controversial, however not as explicit as the first as it shows a topless male (nudity is often used in the media to attract audiences) where half of him is covered in what seems to be markings (tattoos?) whereas the over half is bare. This may represent a split personality as shown in the photo and then in the third, two people becoming one. As in many genres, artists refer to romance/love as one of their key emotions and this is portrayed in the third image of intimacy. On the back cover, there is also a barcode and the tracklist which is very important in digipaks.