As I said in this post [link], the digipak must "advertise the contents", "stand out to attract suitable members of the target audience", as well as provide a resource for fans to indulge in by offering otherwise inaccessible material such as photographs or behind-the-scenes work from the album.
[Here is a link to my post containing the final images to be used the product]
Front: I have made a specific post evaluating and reflecting on the merits of our album artwork as a standalone image here [link], however it is also important to reinstate the extent to which the cover art fits in with the rest of the products created for our band, from the rest of the digipak, website designs and the promotional video too, creating a unifying identifiable brand image.
Inside Left:
This image was taken very early on in the project, and is one of few we actually had where the actor pulled an interesting facial expression during the photoshoots. This was important as we needed to give a rounded representation of the artist rather than a singularly sincere image in order to generate similar excitement in the fans. Although the canted angle creates eye-grabbing drama in what could have otherwise been a dull shot, I think that this could have been improved on if instead we were able to use an extreme close up of just the face, as the unassuming pose makes the artist easier to identify with, and I believe this effect would have been amplified with a close up.
We also created a separate lyric booklet, hypothetically to be contained in the sleeve of this inside page (link to booklet art here). We used lyrics from other songs to create a conventional content layout, using the same font style as on the album artwork to create a sense of a conjoined product. This unified brand identity is demonstrated clearly through the reflection of the album front art work in the cover image for the booklet, tying the two products together. The booklet continued the photographic themes of the digipak - as well as carrying its own typified image theme (ie the similar black pictures) - although has a much higher emphasis on star image, for example through the use of facial close ups and stage lighting, which signifies attention on the artist (as well as linking to the club scene of the video). This is because the type of fan who invests in a physical album just to consume these additional materials is usually the type of fan who engages in artist-worship behaviour. Therefore, I think it is suitable to have this additional material separate from the digipak, as it enables different levels of fan involvement with the texts. This way, we can provide such conventional materials, but also target the audience who will focus more on the musical content rather than additional materials, and as a debut album it gives depicts an approachable, unpretentious portrayal of the artist.
Inside Right:
As the front cover, this image uses a recognisable location from the music video, and by displaying our artist doing something as down-to-earth and relatable as walking while listening to an ipod through a long shot it again illustrates the normalcy of him as an artist rather than a distanced star. Also, the idea was to have his face in this photo be show directly through the hole in the middle of the CD while in the case, and taking the album out would 'reveal' the scene, including the location, his costume and what he was doing.
Back:
The rear cover of the album is interesting as it doesn't show the artist - the reason we used this photo was because the framing of the bin particularly suited its use for the tracklist to be placed on the side, as well as its appealing connotations of filth and chaos which seem appropriate to associate with his music (together with the more obvious reasons for including graffiti). The track names were imagined, created to reflect an overriding lifestyle theme to the album and using the same font as the 'letdowns' on the front cover. Finally, we also included some institutional information, such as the barcode, year, and printed band name and production company copyrights.
Ultimately, I am pleased with the professionalism of our final product, as after looking at examples of work done by previous yeargroups I was worried we would end up with an amateurish digipak that looked like it had been concocted in microsoft paint. Thankfully, through tasteful rather than brash editing (I only slightly adjusted the saturation, contrast, exposure and shadows) and withholding from abusing the visual effects photoshop offers resulted in a set of images that looked like we had spent time on them without looking dreadfully edited. I am also satisfied with how although each image is different, there is a unifying visual theme across the digipak, making it seem like a coherent product and not just a senseless collection of pictures. Finally, I also feel that the digipak is a successful representation of the independent genre, enabling it to effectively target the market niche.
