MAGAZINE ADVERTS
From the magazine advert analysis, the key elements are the artist name, album name, record label and where it is available. Other elements are the main picture which can either be the album cover or the artist's photo. It is important to have the picture as the main element as these adverts are suppose to grab people's attention. The fonts also have to relate to the album as a form of synergy.
So for my advert, it is important to have the key elements stated above, and also the main image and the fonts( and the colour scheme) has to relate together with the album, so there is an indentifiable synergy so the audience can realise who/what it is.
ALBUM COVERS
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Album covers follow a similar pattern of either all photography based or graphic/photo manip based with either the album title and artist name or none. For my album cover, I want to make it more photography based with editing done. The idea right now is to create scenes that represent her mind, with colours to represent her emotions.
Since the cover would be what attracts ones attention, it has to sort of make the album as a whole. It has to represent the songs,lyrics and also the emotions of the album. We cannot have a picture of something that does not relate to the album at all. From the songs, I want the something to represent the whole album, for example like a building that contains her journey/path to her journey. From the albums on top, it can be anything but as an upcoming artist, I think it is important to have the at least have the name of the album on the cover so when people look at it, they can easily google it to find about it.
The back cover of every album have a tracklist, copyright information, record label and a barcode. These are key elements when designing the back cover. The back image/design can also be of anything, but it mainly relates to the front cover.
DIGIPAKS
On your left, there is one of the template of a digipak. A digipak is a cardboard material version of a CD, which is made of plastic. Digipaks are similar to the plastic type, with the images used however, the actual feel of it is different. Digipaks can include numerous amount of panels, portraying whatever the artist desires. Below is one of the albums that used every advantage of a digipak. (Images taken are mine.)
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Blurryface by Twenty One Pilots ( May,2015) Artist: http://brandonrike.com/behind-blurryface
A simple digipak would have just images on each panel but they have taken it to the next level.
'He (Tyler Joseph, singer/songwriter) explained the elements of ourselves that we hate, and the constant battle against these traits. In order to add clarity to this internal struggle, he gave a name to these negative attributes: “Blurryface”. This way, we can attempt to define the struggle, and to see the battle we are actually facing.
But Blurryface isn’t that black and white. There are more layers to him than described. He can either be represented as sad, angry, evil, or deceptive. He has a tendency to draw you in, but only to pull you down. Tyler mentioned a vision of his mutilated face, and all of the dread associated with the elusive enemy. There is something vague about him, and something that cannot be completely described. No matter what your interpretation of Blurryface is, it’s safe to say that he remains something that we try to hide, and not show to the outside world.' (from the website above)
The two paragraphs pretty much explains why this album was designed like this. What I really like is the fact that the 'mutilated face' ie Blurryface is designed to be removable, which represents how you can 'remove' the negativity away. The use of black and white with the hint of red represents various emotions, while the patterns show the story. The minimal use of words compliments the variety of patterns and also especially the font. Fonts are very important as they have to compliment everything that is going on. I really like how the album cover is not simple and obvious as it gets us to think, especially as their songs are quite thought-provoking. I would like to create something similar, with the idea of a 'journey' represented through different images of things such as a path. The personification of the negativity in Blurryface inspires me to personify the the journey and the songs Halsey have written. Although thinking about patterns can be very tricky, for my album, the use of images will be important and I do not think patterns can represent what I want.
The lyric booklet shows the patterns in their full size, with each pattern representing the song. I really like how the patterns connect to the song, so perhaps for my lyric booklet, the images will connect to the lyrics/song on the page. I might create the lyric booklet to be more personal by adding images of the artist, so that it is like looking into her story. Although the idea of having many layers is a good way to convey the human emotions, for this project, I will be focusing more on the images that will be placed onto the panels as we are not printing it out but only making it digitally. I would like to keep it a minimalist style, and not to over complicate the design, to portray the idea that we want to get straight to the point, showing everything or even confessing the emotions.