Outer Packaging

Back Of CD With Spine

Back Of CD Cover Complete

Using photoshop and by looking at existing CD products both physically and digitally on the internet, radio websites and online music stores, I have created the back of my cd cover following the conventions that I found made a regular appearance on popular selling albums and digipaks. My design continues the image and colour scheme found on the front cover as well as including a barcode, record label logo, compact disk logo, barcode scanner and parental advisory logo. Also I have added production information and copyright which is seen printed in small of almost all cd covers acting as music industry laws.

My Record Label

Above is my record label logo shown in both black and white. The conventions of a music label is that the colour scheme is bold and simple, favouritising the black or white colour choice. I have created the logo in both colour options so both variations can be seen and then the one which fits best with my CD cover colour scheme will be chosen. In my opinion the black font on the white background looks more professional but the white text will stand out more on my cd cover as the colours on the graphic background are quite dark.

Draft 1 (Start)

Here is a 30 second draft of the start of my music video that I plan to add more film footage, imagery and edits too to illustrate my 4 minute long chosen mp3 song by Kid Cudi called Teleport 2 Me.

Back Cover

I have created a basic idea of what the back of my digipak will look like with the song titles and barcode. The font style seen on the front of my album cover has been continued onto the back to form continuity and the graphic imagery that was incorporated into the front design can also be seen too to give it a professional look. I will develop this by adding my record label logo as well as other information about the production that is seen on existing CD covers in the music industry. 

Back Cover Composition Ideas

 

Here are various back cover composition ideas of the position that conventions of the cover could possibly be placed.

Back of Album Cover Analysed

Here is the back of a Beyonce album. As you can see this cover simply follows all the expected conventions of an album back. Those conventions being a main image spread across the whole album with a colour scheme continuing the image onto the spine. A contrasting bold clear font has been used for the Artist name and song titles so the audience know what to expect to hear on the album. The way Beyonce has presented this is a bit different to what you usually see but still contains the convention. Instead of having the album name as the title on the back of the case she has her own name which doesn't break the conventions as some albums have neither of these features on the back it is just something you don't see as much. Following on from that she has a barcode that is needed on all albums for sale, her record label log and other company logos that she has worked with to produce the album and also information about copyright and production laws for her own rights.

Two Front Cover Ideas

On photoshop I have created the front cover of my digipak which contains an iconic conventional main image of the artist. I have include the artists name and also the album title, both in the same font but the artist name noticeably larger to form structure, and to show the difference in importance. I have also include a parental advisory logo as the artists music contains explicit language and by law this has to be shown. The theme of the image matches the song title 'teleport 2 me' showing a sense of space. The reason I have created two covers with only one difference, one has a blurred effect and one without. On the completion of my digipak I will chose my final cover.

Front Cover Composition Ideas

 

 

 

Here are various different compositions of how my cd front cover could be presented.

Analysis

Here is an album cover for the band Nirvana. The conventions of this album cover follows that of all expected albums. The main image is not an image of the band but an iconic commercially funny picture of a naked baby that because its funny will stick in the mind of not only Nirvana fans but other audiences too. It will create conversation and gain a lot of publicity making that album a bigger success. Because of this aimed focal point the titles have been kept small, Nirvana being the recognized iconic font they're known for and then the album title in a wave font style linking it to the mise en scene of the image being based in water. It is a very simple yet effective album cover that is still recognised iconically to Nirvana today due to the comical aspects.

My Record Label

Lacuna was one of my chosen song titles that I decided in one of my recent posts. When thinking of a name for my record label I looked I decided that Lacuna sounded quite interesting for the name of a label so I looked into the definition to see if it would fit well.

"Lacuna: an unfilled space; a gap" - with this definition I decided that the missing gap of 'Lacuna Records' would be filled by each individual artist that is a part of the label so the meaning behind the names works very well. 'The music artist.. filled a Lacuna in the music industry'.

 

Record Labels

 

 

A record label is a brand/trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. These are the logos of some existing record labels: Song Music Entertainment, Islands and Def Jam Recordings, XL Recordings and Good Music. As you can see the contrasting colour of black and white are the prodominant colours that seem to appear as a convention for label logos. These colours work well as they are bold, clear and easy to notice when combined with the other conventions of an CD digipak. Some, such as the image above most clearly, incorporate image or stencil into their design to make it more iconic and rememberable to the audience. The designs also create a geometric shape which makes them easier to be placed in the corner or centre of a digipak/CD whilst making it look professional and well structured.

Track List Ideas

 

I have take a few of the font thats I looked at in my last post and put together a possible track list for the back of my digipak trying different positionings too. I like all the positionings I have practised with all equilly the same so the chosen one will be decided when incorporated with my image. The song titles I have choosen stick to the cosmic theme of outer space as this is what I wanted to keep continuous throughout, some names are more creative than others but still share the same elements. Some of the names vary in size and this was dont so that when combined with my main image on the digipak it will create layers which makes it look more realistic in comparison to existing products. The font style I choose will be the same as the front cover and that on the spine of the CD and throughout to create continuity. Depending on my choosen images I also plan to continue the same colours of font on both the front and back to link them both together.

Text Ideas For My Ancillary Texts

 

For my front of digipak title font I have taken two approaches as well as changing the font style. The 'T2M' approach represents the 'teleport to me' title which I though could work but after looking at in in the various fonts I have decided the title spelt out in full looks much better and is easier to understand for the audience. I have choosen quite space styled fonts or old fashioned and mysterious to represent time in association with teleportation and the sense of travel. Although I have not yet decided on a final font, this will be decided when I put my digipak together and I get to see all the conventions put together.

Album Covers New and Old

Here are examples of old album covers for artists such as The Beatles and The Clash released back in the 70s. Compared to album covers now seen below, they appear very simple yet artistic. There is only one cover her that shows the actual artists face on and even then its a long shot including others which wouldn't been seen today unless it was a collaboration album for example, a charity single. Cd covers today contain a medium to closeup shot of the artist so the audience instantly know whose work they are being shown and it will be accompanied with their name and the album title, usually in different size fonts or possibly different styles to differentiate the importance. 

Although these conventions are the new expectations to see on an album cover some of the artists who are at the top of the industry not only within my genre but a lot of the others too, stars such as Beyonce, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Kid Cudi, Arctic Monkeys, Passenger and Eminem are now presenting simple yet artistic album covers to differ themselves but yet seem to be going in full circle back to the album style of the past. Some of these such as Kanye's, Watch The Throne even lacks the simple conventions of a Album title and even his name the recognition of the album goes simply by the design and people will only realise this is an album belonging to him if they truly follow his work and see him announce his album release over the media. This does in my eyes bring the connection of an artist and their audience closer as you have to know what you are looking for and know what to look out for instead of simply going into a shop and looking for that artists name. But it also makes me think that it could make it harder for audiences not so familiar with these artists work who are looking for a new genre or artist to explore but they're not going to instantly know who they are looking at.

Conventions Of An Album Digipak

In relation to my choosen song that I am recreatting my music video to I have looked at a digipak belonging to the same artist, Kid Cudi. The digipak follows an abstract theme throughout whilst still following the conventions of a music CD (digipak). The front cover presents the artist to easily identify to the audience who the album is by. Although it is not a clear image due to the edit that gives it an abstract effect, Kid Cudis iconic glasses make it clear for the audience to identify him. The image also represents his uncontrollable crazy mind and how he thinks creatively with his music with the influence of his constant 'high' addiction represented through the 'man on the moon'. The title also indicateswho the album is by and is prominently placed in a position that doesnts distract the audiences attention from the main image. With this album the style of font and the bold white colour used helps it to merge into the design so all the focus is given to the abstract image of cudi. The size of the font for the artists name is larger and bolder than the font used for the title. This helps to show the importance of each bit of text and to also form structure. As this album contains explicit content this is made aware through the parental advisory logo in the bottom left corner. It is not conventional for it to be placed in the left corner but it is law for it to be on the cover if the contents may be unsuitable for certain audiences in relation to their age.

On the back of the digipak cover a song list can be found so that the audience can be informed about what the album contains. An image, that is again central, can also be seen that brings continuity, showing another skull abstract image linking it with the front cover as well as carry on the colour theme. Aswell as the CD information that the audience are mainly interested in, it conventionally presents a barcode and information, shown through logos, of the record label and those 'behind the scene' organisations who helped put the album together. The font colour is the same as the front on the digipak to link the two together.  The spine of the album again reinforces the title name and who it is by so that depending on the positioning of storage it can always be clear to the audience. Inside the album is another panel before the album that shows a clear image of the artist that brings contrast to the bright and colourful abstract theme. The image is full of character and very natural which highlights Kid Cudi's calm and 'chilled out' personality. It has not been forced in a studio it is just him, almost looking as though he is just walking down the street in the iconic clothes he is recognised for.

The CD its self in my opinion brings down the uniqueness of the album cover but it still shows clear links to space and how an astronaut environment, in terms of their work equipment would look. The colours used on the graphics of the cd links with the outside packaging to bring the producrs together as a whole. The designs on cd covers can vary with every artist and every genre, there is no specific style or aspects to be seen. Some CDs can have the song title on or the name of the artist, sometimes it is one bold colour or a design that shows a link to the rest of the digipak. On the border of the cd in small print is information of the record label, production and the artist, all similiar to that found on the back of the cover.

The whole digipak, conventionally, all shares the same theme, for example this one is abstract, the same colour combination, the same font, the same artist, the same information and the same aim.

Below is another digipak, this time by Rihanna. I have included this to show how the conventions overall remain the same within the digipak formation but also how each artist adds their own individual style and layout to make it iconic to them.

Practice Shots

Animatic

Storyboards