In order to produce a digipak I will not only need an overall understanding of digipak conventions, but need to also take inspiration from more specific album artwork within the pop genre. Album artwork is the fulcrum upon which the design of the overall product is based; it is the most important part. I've gathered together some existing album artwork to create a mood board which will hopefully influence the design of my product. I'll briefly try to pull out any apparent conventions that I haven't already noted.
Looking at a variety of digipaks in addition to those above it's apparent that the majority of "rock" artists utilise their name at the top of the artwork and the album title at the bottom, over or aside, between or aside an image of the artist. Some do not show the band or artist, some show logos and other features that are representative of the band. It's shared knowledge when audiences can recognise bands or artists via a logo.
All the digipaks seem to be designed quite neatly, with things positioned centrally in the middle of the frame or in line with other elements. For example, with the band kiss, their title is positioned directly in the middle at the top and they are directly in the middle underneath. Obviously this contributes to their professional look and appeal, everything has been carefully considered to attract audiences. In many cases a minimalistic is adopted with purely text and a single image. The products are therefore quite striking given the little available space, and would stand out in a point of sale display.
All of the adverts have a distinctive "star image" about them which matches not only the artist, but the album itself. Many factors contribute to said "star image", including colour, any visual effects, the pose of the artist, etc. Using the example of Kiss, we know as a audience they are quite extravagant and abnormal so the way they are all standing shows individuality and their 'star image'. I have noticed that a common colour in most of the album covers is black red and white this just signifies what style of music it is and has different connotations, e.g. the Green Day cover has a red heart with blood pouring down - this could indicate a heartbreak or some sort of emotional difficulties within the songs in the album.
Interestingly, Razorlight have used a continuous theme of black and white which is highly simple but extremely effective, they are all stood in different positions that appear quite natural and not staged which again adds to individuality of each band member. No really impressive editing has been done however in my opinion it's one of the most eye catching album covers i have seen just because of the simplicity and unique assets it has.
All of the adverts have a distinctive "star image" about them which matches not only the artist, but the album itself. Many factors contribute to said "star image", including colour, any visual effects, the pose of the artist, etc. All album artwork, and thus respective digipaks, have a very carefully considered colour schemes in which elements complement and contrast each other to emphasise certain aspects and to create a more cohesive product. The majority of the covers have a lot of black on them which shows conventions of the genre and also looks quite sophisticated and professional in my opinion. Some for example, the Rolling Stones cover juxtaposes and challenges rock conventions by bringing in bright colours and a bit of excitement.
Although Lady Gaga's genre is pop, she portrays quite a rock look throughout her videos. On the album cover shown above it has a motorbike with her head on with a black background which to any normal person would look rather weird and inventive, her album cover is always similar to her actual videos which helps with advertising. This is a very successful and effective means promotion as the themes underlying the promo package are very integrated and cohesive.
Although not artwork as such, I've noticed a growing trend in the back panes in CD cases / digipaks being increasingly simplistic and raw, with plain white backgrounds, minimalistic list and no artwork or imagery. Some don't even present the songs in traditional list - or even with numbers! Slashes are sometimes used to separate the songs out.
All the digipaks seem to be designed quite neatly, with things positioned centrally in the middle of the frame or in line with other elements. For example, with the band kiss, their title is positioned directly in the middle at the top and they are directly in the middle underneath. Obviously this contributes to their professional look and appeal, everything has been carefully considered to attract audiences. In many cases a minimalistic is adopted with purely text and a single image. The products are therefore quite striking given the little available space, and would stand out in a point of sale display.
All of the adverts have a distinctive "star image" about them which matches not only the artist, but the album itself. Many factors contribute to said "star image", including colour, any visual effects, the pose of the artist, etc. Using the example of Kiss, we know as a audience they are quite extravagant and abnormal so the way they are all standing shows individuality and their 'star image'. I have noticed that a common colour in most of the album covers is black red and white this just signifies what style of music it is and has different connotations, e.g. the Green Day cover has a red heart with blood pouring down - this could indicate a heartbreak or some sort of emotional difficulties within the songs in the album.
Interestingly, Razorlight have used a continuous theme of black and white which is highly simple but extremely effective, they are all stood in different positions that appear quite natural and not staged which again adds to individuality of each band member. No really impressive editing has been done however in my opinion it's one of the most eye catching album covers i have seen just because of the simplicity and unique assets it has.
All of the adverts have a distinctive "star image" about them which matches not only the artist, but the album itself. Many factors contribute to said "star image", including colour, any visual effects, the pose of the artist, etc. All album artwork, and thus respective digipaks, have a very carefully considered colour schemes in which elements complement and contrast each other to emphasise certain aspects and to create a more cohesive product. The majority of the covers have a lot of black on them which shows conventions of the genre and also looks quite sophisticated and professional in my opinion. Some for example, the Rolling Stones cover juxtaposes and challenges rock conventions by bringing in bright colours and a bit of excitement.
Although Lady Gaga's genre is pop, she portrays quite a rock look throughout her videos. On the album cover shown above it has a motorbike with her head on with a black background which to any normal person would look rather weird and inventive, her album cover is always similar to her actual videos which helps with advertising. This is a very successful and effective means promotion as the themes underlying the promo package are very integrated and cohesive.
Although not artwork as such, I've noticed a growing trend in the back panes in CD cases / digipaks being increasingly simplistic and raw, with plain white backgrounds, minimalistic list and no artwork or imagery. Some don't even present the songs in traditional list - or even with numbers! Slashes are sometimes used to separate the songs out.
