Digipak Front Cover Feedback

I did the same feedback method for my digipak front cover as I did for the magazine advert - I asked the same people as well to try and make it as accurate as possible.

SHONA

What did you like about this CD case front cover? I think that her eyes are amazing! I am so drawn to them, and they don't look over edited either - it's really really well done. 
What would you improve? I would say that the writing should be in a different place, to be honest I didn't even see it until you mentioned it! 

JOE

What did you like about this CD case front cover? The writing looks really professional, and it looks the same as the writing on the magazine advert as well. I also really like the wings, they obviously aren't real but you don't notice that straight away, it was really well edited. 

What would you improve? The eyes kind of scare me I'm not going to lie, she looks like a vampire. 

ZOE

What did you like about this CD case front cover? I really really like the wings and the crown!! I think that they were such a good design idea, I mean I've never seen anything else like that before! The crown makes her look sassy, but the wings suggest angelic... I really love it, it looks great. 

What would you improve? Maybe re-think where the writing should be? Not sure that it gets the attention that it needs where it is. 

PATRICK

What did you like about this CD case front cover? It looks really relaxed but it has such a big effect, does that make sense? It sets a really good vibe, and I've listened to [Confess To Me] before and it really fits well. I also really like the way the artwork goes over the image itself and into white borders - that was a really nice design element. 

What would you improve? I think all of it works well, and to change it would disrupt the vibe that it gives off. 

SARAH

What did you like about this CD case front cover? I am so drawn to the eyes - they look so cool! It really adds to the mystery - like why do her eyes shine like that? And the black and white colour scheme adds to that too, I think that no colour really works for this design and style. It's so unique, I don't think I've seen advertising like this, with the crown and wings. Really memorable. 

What would you improve? I think that the wings should be the same colour as the crown, not a paler shade. I think it would flow better if that was the case. 

ADAM

What did you like about this CD case front cover? The photo itself is really cool, I love her pose and how she looks so sassy and 'I-don't-care'! Her eyes as well, they look so cool and mesmerising, that was a really nice touch! I like the artwork too, the crown and the wings - they make it really easily recognisable, like if I saw something similar this would be what I thought of first. 

What would you improve? The writing isn't very noticeable where it is, I think maybe putting somewhere that the audience would look first (maybe the top?) would be better. 

From the feedback I can see that my audience think that the writing could have been placed better. In the creative process trying to place it elsewhere resulted in the writing not being clear, and changing the colours would disrupt the colour scheme. But then instead of going with the better design option I went for the easier option, to keep it the same and put it somewhere that would result in lower success rates for this digipak front cover. After gaining this feedback I can see that this decision didn't go unnoticed by my target audience and in the future I can't underestimate their ability to notice specific elements of design. 

Magazine Advert Feedback

In evaluating my magazine advert, I consulted my target audience for the last time. Choosing three boys and three girls, I asked each of them what they liked and what they would have changed. Below are the responses.

SHONA

What did you like about this magazine advert? The symmetry. I think that something as simple as that can make an advert look so much more interesting! I also really like the pose that she's doing, and it reminds me a lot of the CD cover, so that's a good thing as well! 

What would you improve? I think that the text could have been made slightly bigger - like with the reviews, if I'd been walking past the advert then I wouldn't have noticed them! 

JOE

What did you like about this magazine advert? I absolutely love the crown idea! I think it's a really nice and stylish touch to the advert. I think the white border was a good design choice as well - it makes it look even more professional. The pose also synergises with the digipak, and I think that that will boost the recognition of the album. 

What would you improve? I think a dash of colour wouldn't go unnoticed - something to really catch people's eye as they flick through the pages of a magazine.

ZOE

What did you like about this magazine advert? I think that the reviews were a really good idea - I know that some magazine adverts that promote albums decide not to use them, but I think that getting opinions from renowned magazines and critics can really boost opinions of that artist - and will definitely give them a wider audience. 

What would you improve? I think that the bottom itself is really plain - the monochrome colour scheme doesn't help really, but I think that the text could be in colour to just make it pop out of the page more. 

PATRICK

What did you like about this magazine advert? The cross over between the art and the photography was such a good idea! The style and creativity of the designer really shows through in that aspect, and it's something that I am definitely drawn to from the page. I also think that because of the monochrome colour scheme it's not too 'in-your-face' which is so good - too many artists at the moment are trying to be so outrageous and different that they end up being all the same, simplicity is where the real difference is. 

What would you improve? I think that, although the border is a good idea, that it is a bit plain. Why not put some information at the top? Draw some dots down the side? Just something to add to the border so it isn't as bland. 

SARAH

What did you like about this magazine advert? I like the bottom text - not only how it's laid out but also the actual content. It's a good layout for this artist - and it's reflective of their music (simple and effective). I also like the synergy between the album cover and this advert - the pose, the tiara... A really nice touch. 

What would you improve? I think that the text could have been bigger - when people are in rush they may not pay attention to the text at the bottom but they should, it's important and it boosts people's opinion!

ADAM

 What did you like about this magazine advert? I like the use of the tiara - and how you've also used it on the CD cover. I think that the eyes really stand out here - that the makeup has been used to make them look bolder and darker, and it really jumps out from the page for me. I also like the black and white colour scheme, I think that it adds to the mystery of the advert and the artist, and that it will draw people to their music. 

What would you improve? Honestly? Nothing. I thought it was great. 

After receiving this audience feedback and I can say that, in hindsight, I think that splashes of colour may have been a good idea. This is because the advert itself - although professional when looked at in detail - may not catch the eyes of the audience when flicking through a magazine, or walking down a street. Because of this critique I have received it can help me to not make the same mistake in future endeavors. 

Magazine Advert Development

Firstly, I chose the image that I wanted on my magazine advert. I decided from the beginning that I didn't want to use the same image on the front of my digipak, but I wanted them to look similar. So, I chose the photo where Zoe (my model) was doing a similar pose, I put the tiara on and I also put it into black and white.

I used the same website to edit this photo as I did with the digipak front cover - Pixlr Express. This is because to make them look as alike as possible (without them being the same) I wanted to edit them in the same way. 

So I lowered the saturation, increased the brightness and the contrast and then cropped it, so that unnecessary background detail was gone and the focus was on Zoe (Fringe).

After this, I went back onto Microsoft PowerPoint to put the tiara on and the additional text. I removed the background from the image of the tiara and then placed it, at a slant, on her head. 

Then I put the album name and the artists name on it. I wanted it to be central but not at the bottom, I wanted it to be the first thing they read. I also needed it to be in a place where I could keep the same colour as of that on the album and still have it where I wanted it - and it worked out nicely. Still central to the image and the page, the writing is in a clear and easy to read lay out. 

Then I used the white borders to my advantage. I didn't want any other writing on the image itself because I didn't want it to look too crowded with text, and I also didn't want to take the attention away from the artist, their name or the album name - as these are the most important pieces of text. So I used two reviews and put them on the either side of the advert - to try and balance out the alignment on the page. I chose NME and EDM magazines, because NME is renowned worldwide and having a good review from them will attract wider audiences, and EDM (Electronic Dance Music) because it is the genre of my chosen track and so it would apply an accurate representation of which audiences would like this album.
I used black stars because they fitted with the colour scheme - and I gave them five star ratings from each review because I want the audience to know that this artist is talented and original. 

I then added the next piece of text - the featured tracks. This I wanted central because it relates directly to the album itself and I wanted it to synergise with the main pieces of text. I put this in grey as well to coincide with the colour scheme (monochrome) but not black because I didn't want it to stand out. However, I made the stars black because I wanted the audience to see the five stars before they saw the reviews because it gives them a good first impression before they see who has given it. 

The release date of the album was what I added next - I made this bigger than the rest of the writing at the bottom because I believe that this is an important aspect of the magazine, so that those who are interested know exactly when it will be available to purchase instead of being confused trying to buy it beforehand because the writing wasn't very clear. I took this design idea from Kasabian's magazine advert for their album 'Empire', where they had the release date at the bottom in larger writing so as to catch the audience's attention. 

Finally, I added the url of the website for my artist - fringemusic.com - this will tell my audience that the artist is modern and current, and being accessible in the digital world will open up doors to larger audiences. 

Below is the final product of my magazine advert, which I think will prove to be very successful amongst my target audience. I have taken their feedback into consideration and made the appropriate changes and I hope that that will show in their appreciation of it. 

Digipak Front Cover Development

To edit my photos I used a website called 'Pixlr Express'. I chose this website because it has a vast range of editing tools, and I'm familiar with it because I have used it in the past. Firstly, I cropped the picture so the size was that of a CD case.

After cropping, I changed the brightness and the contrast of the picture. This allows for her to be seen easier, with the ambient lighting in a better shade. With the contrast, it highlights the darker sections of the image - such as her eyeliner.

I then changed the saturation to the lowest setting - this means no colour, only monochrome. This is because I have a monochrome theme running through all the advertisements for this album, and so the album cover synergises with the rest of the digipak and the magazine advert. 

I then used the brightening effect to whiten her teeth and make her eyes stand out on the cover. This will have a positive effect because then something stands out on the page, and without the use of colour this is quite difficult to achieve and still look professional. Lastly, I enhanced the brightness again, because it still seemed dark overall.

I then saved my edited image and started making it look like the cover of a digipak.

I used this image of a sketched tiara, and removed the background using Microsoft Office Power Point to do so. This meant that I could place it onto an image without having the square, white background on it as well. 

I also twisted the tiara on her head so it looked slanted, giving the image an imperfect look. The crown suggests royalty - in the music industry perhaps? With the crown being tilted and her body posture it suggests that her efforts to make her music royalty were easy, and she did it effortlessly. I have also incorporated a white border, to make room on the CD cover for the wings. 

These are the wings that I used for my album cover. I liked how one wing was more folded in than the other - that they weren't symmetrical - and I felt that this would help it to stand out, and although it is obviously not real it may look more natural in the way that it's placed. But when I placed them on the image, it took attention away from the artist herself, so I had to change the effect on the wings.

The effect that I chose was labelled 'Tan' and I think that this works better on the album cover because: 

- It doesn't steal attention from the artist anymore

- It doesn't stand out as the first thing that the audience sees on the cover

- It looks more angelic, with the wings being closer to white than black

And because of these reasons I decided to keep this effect on the wings. 

I sized the wings according to the size of a regular CD case. This meant the the wings had to be slightly smaller than that of the original image, but in hindsight I believe that it works. The wings are large enough to be significantly noticed, but not large or bold enough to take attention from the artist. The tiara then stands out on her head more, and doesn't blend into the lightness of her hair or the size of the wings. 

The last thing I had to incorporate was the artist's name and the album title - Fringe; Conversion. 

This is the finished digipak cover. I chose the font 'Chapparal Pro' because it looked sleak and professional, and the font allowed the writing to be seen without being in bold or in black. As a finished product, I believe the outcome is stylish and current, and will catch the eyes of my target audience members as they browse the shops. The artist's name 'Fringe' is unusual, and different, and 'Conversion' implies power. These decisions that I made are all to promote authority and effortlessness in the digipak cover, and I believe that that has come across well.

Digipak Unedited Images