Final Magazine Advert

This here is my final magazine advert, as we can see I have a white band logo one which replicates a similar logo that has already been established by the band themselves. The white text I chose was in order to keep with the black and white silent film look, I did this because it makes the whole production more professional.

I also then proceeded to make my own font by drawing in normal biro pen and scanning it into my printer and scanner. I then put the scanned file on the memory stick and placed inside my computer, and opened it in Illustrator. Then I did the same as I previously did with my digipak and image traced the image After other tweaks I finally created this text font effect. Which I'm happy with overall.

I followed conventions of magazine adverts by adding the music production companies logo, this was hard to do as I was unable to get a vector online so I simply took a normal Jpeg and again image traced, which aloud me to create an image which appeared to be a vector. Finally I also made the colour of the production companies logo a grey transparent colour this was because the shape of the logo with the circular curves. As I did not want it to be predominate as most of my design has no smooth bendy edges.

Final Digipak

This is my final digipak, as you can see I have 3 different pictures on my digipak instead of the normal 4. This was done to purposely break conventions as it represents how my video is not the normal everyday video.

I also used my own font for the track list much like I did in my magazine advert. Furthermore I have also previously described how to put in my own pre made text in a different blog so refer to that for a description.

Also I found a vector of the rattle pop logo and a random barcode. This was useful as it meant I was able to easily for fill genre conventions. This is useful as it provides a familiar layout to that of a more professional real digipak.

Something that has not been seen on my magazine advert is the different pictures I used for example the one at the bottom of the two shadow figures. These were used because it provides mystery, which fits the genre of my video as throughout it has a storyline which is only revealed at the end so there is always an atmosphere of mystery and anticipation. Finally there is the close-up of the protagonist under where the disc is meant to be which would mean we would have the characters face reveal in a certain way.

Overall I really like my digipak as it fits my theme and looks like a typical digipak in my genre. However that is not to say that it is a copy of any other digpak's as it is very individualistic, mainly because they are actual screenshot of my A2 music video.

Digipak Questionaire and Results

This questionnaire is very simple and has been put together in order to decide which digipak I will use for my final product.

Answer- Cross out the corresponding letter for the one you prefer.

A)

B)

C)

D)

E)

Results

From this questionnaire I have found out that I will use E as my final digipak as it got an overwhelming amount of votes with 16 of the possible 40 available. Although this is not a majority compared to the variation  D it has twice as many votes. This is significant as D got the second most votes. Peoples reasoning for voting for E was because it had the most simple and appealing colour way. With the JAWS badge being black and white instead of black and transparent or yellow and transparent. People really did not like A as they felt that yellow was an intrusion on the silent film aesthetic I have in my whole production. While people felt C and D were to similar so it probably split the vote.

Magazine Advert Questionaire and Results

This is a questionnaire which when complete will allow me to choose the appropriate magazine advert for my AS coursework.

Cross out the letter that corresponds with the magazine advert you prefer.

A)

B)

C)

Result


The results show that B with the digipak has the most votes with a majority 28. The reasoning people gave to that was again much like the results with the digipak with the fact people preferred to keep the black and white aesthetic throughout the overall production. As they felt it created a more professional brand image. People felt that the red one did not sure indicative of love and romance than horror and said maybe I should have offered a yellow option as it is currently on trend. But I will not offer a magazine advert which is yellow as the digipak has been won by a black and  white option. So there is no need. 

My Final Magazine Advert's (Devleopment)

I have done a blog on the codes and conventions that consists of a list of typical things we see in music artists magazine adverts. During creating the following adverts I  followed those conventions however I did also go against some of them.

In this version of my magazine advert I made a variation with the yellow font of the text Bad Company.

In this version we see the Bad Company text and the track list in a red colour that could symbolize blood.

This is the simplest of all the designs with all the text a solid white colour, if any I prefer this one however I do plan to have a questionnaire to gain audience feedback in order to pick which on people prefer.   

My Final Digipak's (Devleopment)

When I created my Digipak I decided to create several versions of it which show a change in font, font colour and image position. In general I followed the conventions of Digipak's by using the typical barcode, band name, track list and record label symbols. In total I created 5 different variations of the digipak as seen below.

In this version of the Digipak we see the black and transparent JAWS logo and my handwritten track list which has been position in the bottom right of the back cover in a era yellow colour.  

In this version of the Digipak we see difference from the first one with the track list still being on the back cover however it has been made larger and put to the bottom left of the cover. Furthermore it has been made black in colour. Finally, other colour changes come in the new white colour of the record label and the Barcode.

In this version of the Digipak, I slightly changed the JAWS logo by making the Text and outlines white instead of an all black logo.   

In this version of the Digipak there is an obvious difference in that we see the JAWS logo is in fact yellow along with the track list text.

In this version of the Digipak, we see just a white track list instead of like a similar in that has the white text and a partly white logo.

I plan to create a questionnaire in order to pick which will enable me to choose the Digipak I will use.

Codes and Conventions of Magizine Adverts (Research)

• Following the codes and conventions of a print advert, the advert should have one striking image that captures the audiences attention and intrigues them to find out more.

  

• The poster must follow the required size of what the channel requires. Usually A4 landscape • The slogan must attract the audience and also anchor to the image.  

• The print advert must include the channels logo, While producing ours for channel 4 we had to follow guidelines of the size and placement of the logo.

     

• The scheduling information should be clear for the audience to see, it should present the date, day and time, also sometimes should be placed in a colour block to make it stand out to the audience even more. 

  

• There must be a simple colour scheme.- The name of the program should also be presented in a colour block. 

• There must be a simple colour scheme.- The name of the program should also be presented in a colour block.

I have looked into some other artists magazine adverts and found the following characteristics.

Calvin Harris I create disco album, We can see in the picture above there is large text placed on each side of the main graphic in the middle that reads the artist name. Obviously it is a convention to have the artist name as it is essential to push and artists brand image. It is also one of the most dominating parts of the magazine advert which is typical of any magazine advert.

Furthermore the text which reads "I Created Disco the album" is, of course, as the name of the album. The use of a date after this ensures the viewer is aware of when the album is out, allowing them to purchase it. Then we can see in smaller writing that reads "includes the singles". This denotes what tracks are included within the album and may attract the target audience as if they recognise the song names they may decide to purchase the album. And obviously this is the main purpose of a magazine advert.

We can see in the bottom right hand corner of the poster a promotional picture for amazon which of course tells people and audiences where to buy the album, potentially securing a purchase. Also we see the log of the record label again allowing the viewer to identify who produced the music.

Other design choices such as the yellow used for the background which connotes happiness, ensuring a chilled, cheerful vibe which may make the viewer feel good. This should in term draw them in as It will encourage the purchase the album. Again with colour we can look at the black and white head of the artist himself. These colours help him to stand out creating an eye catching contrast for the viewers.

Digipak Conventions (Research)

What is a Digipak?

A DigiPak normally has what is called a gatefold like a book. The outer packaging is often made of made of card/paper and the inner packaging tends to be made of plastic. They are normally used on special editions and albums by artists as they as seen to be more exclusive. Furthermore they have there downsides as they can be more vulnerable and likely to wear than the average hard back CD case. They first became popular with artists and record labels in the early 2000s .

DigiPak's are designed to fold into a square CD case. They can fold many different ways and can have different amount of panels depending on what the artist feels he wants to involve. The front and back panels are called promoters’ and they are what is seen to cell the CD and are very much used to draw in the customers. The inside of the DigiPak is used more for information and extra bits to do with the artist/song/album. The theme of the inside packaging normally is more subtle compared to the outside packaging. The cardboard/paper normally folds around the plastic CD holder that is enclosed in the middle of the folds.

What tends to be on the front of Digipak's and why?

The front of DigiPaks tend to have a large eye-catching picture on the. The picture illustrated on the front panels tend to have some relation to the songs or artist this obviously varies between music artists as of the genre. The song/album title is also found on the front panel. This is all displayed by the picture we see to the right.

What is found on the inside of a digipak?

Artist/Album name Track list, barcode, album artwork, record label  and any other extra information the artists wishes to be on there. In extended detail you could say you find the following inside a DigiPak. The plastic holder for the actual CD itself. A lot of plastic holders nowadays are see-through with another piece of album artwork behind which goes with the rest of the packaging. You can also find inside the pack itself more information and possibly more artwork to do with the disc. Extra information provided within the packaging could possibly include song lyrics, artist information and personal messages.

In Conclusion the following is normally found on a Digipak:

• Track list
• Album artwork
• Record label
• Extra information
• Barcode
• Artist name
• Album name

I have also done a digipak analysis as I think it will help me explain and improve my knowledge of digipaks and what you would commonly see.

For example here is one on Rihanna's Loud album. We firstly notice a large image on the inside of the digipak which presents the viewer with a lot of emotion a is bold and uses deep red roses which connote love while we also notice the artist laid over the splayed over them which may signify weakness or vulnerability. The image is defiantly eye catching to say the least, as it makes the audience think trough what the image means as of the mix match mise-en-scene that has been setup. We also see the use of the male gaze by showing the artist in what is arguably a seductive look. This may be because she wanted to reach out to the male audience or even a lesbian audience.

Secondly the typographic used in the inside cover and on the front is very minimal. With only the name Rihanna displayed and the albums name of course which is "LOUD". This is placed upon the front cover, above and below the bold image of the protagonists face. The white text was used as it is able to stand out because of the colour of the artists skin and hair. The White text connotes pureness and adds to both the feminine and romance theme which exist through the digipak. There is unusually no text within the digipak however I think this is because the image are meant to be the main part of the digipak so it is more of a statement of the artist to get herself more recognised and create a brand image.

Finally, we see the image on the very front of the digipak. The first thing that jumps out at us is the contrast between the text LOUD and the picture of the artist looking calm and essentially the polar opposite to what the text may try to present her. We also see her lips as a dominant part of the image as they are a blood red colour which again denotes love or romance.

I also did some research on Katy Perry's Teenage dream digipak which can be see below.


On the front cover, we see the main text illustrating the artist's name and the album name which has been out near the top and bottom of the cover, it has been done this way so that the image of the artist is kept in a sandwich layout and, therefore, shows her as the most significant item within the design. This is a good style to use as its layout encourages the audience to look from top-to-bottom. The use of the colour pink does connote sweetness and innocence to the title; encouraging the audience to take a further look within the digipak as they feel as if it may be an easy listen or read of any text inside. The background of the cover is the artist seductively laying upon pink clouds  this is likely to be because the artist wants to use the male gaze in order to sell albums much like the album LOUD I talked of earlier. The image focuses upon the artist's image and how she's portraying herself to her audience, being her first hit album and her breakthrough into the music industry as a worldwide artist. It's made clear that the album contains some connotation and denotation of sexuality mixed with the idea of a teenager's dreams of love, further indicating that she is using this theme to appeal to her young audience to help boost her career.

Secondly the back cover continues to follow through with the sweet theme, however they have made sure it is kept away from the artist's image, as shown through the font used to name the track titles. The is a bold colour red which allows the design to keep up the same look creating a feel of consistency of the candy cane theme and helps the text stand out against the fluffy, pink clouds. Additionally, the text is stocky and has a sweet-related connotation that continuously connects with the overall theme. A small portion of the text is presented very differently against the red text in a bright blue (a similar colour to the sky pictured in the top third of the design) and is positioned differently so it is eye-catching to the audience. This position is often seen in digipaks and its has importance as it promotes the extra CD as part of the packaging that provides extra tracks for the audience, something that will appeal to them as consumers.


Finally we see the inside design, Katy carries on with the sweet theme it thrives as a main factor to the album's design although does involve the artist's image more; following Goodwin's Principles of keeping the artist's face in full view of the audience. In one image, there is a closer shot of the artist laying on her back on the pink candy floss cloud. She is still visibly naked and this emphasises the idea of the male gaze which plays a huge role along side the significant contribution of  innocence and sweet things within her music; also portraying the artist's confidence with herself which will encourage consumers to further look at the digipak. Additionally, the leaflet left inside sees her wearing clothing but in a more princess-like manner which presents a contrast with the artist's vision for the album.