CD Digipak Front Cover Flat Plan

Before we create the design for our CD digipak front cover, on Photoshop, we have first drawn an initial rough draft as an idea of how we wish the front cover to appear, which will provide us with a guideline for our creation. This initial rough draft can be displayed below.

CD Digipak Front Cover Flat Plan Initial Design

Rationale Questions

Colour

Within the front cover image, we will be using a large variety of bright colours, specifically on the clothing of the band members and the props. This we feel will be very effective in emphasising the chaotic and wild party atmosphere, we hope to create with a chaotic use of bright colours. We will also be using the large variety of bright colours, to allow the front cover to be befitting with the other aspects of the CD digipak, the magazine advertisement and the music promo video, to allow our overall package to appear consistent and professional. For the background, behind the models that are featured in the image, we will be using very vintage and faded colours such as light blue, brown or grey. We have chosen to apply this, as the worn out colours will contrast greatly with the bright colours used and as we would like the band members and props used to catch the majority of the readers attention, this will allow them to stand out to the audience, ultimately creating more emphasis on the party atmosphere.

Image

The image which we we will be using on our front cover, will be located outdoors, with a fence backdrop. We feel this would be appropriate, as rather then having a very stylised image with a studio backdrop, the image will appear much more candid and realistic, similar to a average photograph taken at a party with a regular camera. This will allow our target audience to relate to the front cover of our CD digipak, which is a very important factor, in order attract our target audience and encourage the purchase of the CD. We also felt the use of an ordinary and rather plain background would be more effective, as this will allow the colourful props and band members to stand out more, as they are very significant to the overall cover. The props which we will be using, will consist of items such as alcohol, cigarettes, party poppers, balloons etc. After various research we found many of these props were evident, specifically cigarettes and alcohol, in the everyday lives of our target audience, therefore this will increase the use and gratification of personal identity, allowing our target audience to relate and identify themselves with the band members and the overall image. We have also selected these specific props as they are consistent with the 'party' theme we have chosen, ensuring the overall theme is identifiable and creating a professional and consistent package. The costumes which will be featured in the image, as mentioned in the costume planning, will be highly influenced by the type of music, specifically indie and rock and also the current fashion trends with teenagers and young adults. Therefore not only will this allow the band members clothing to appear consistent with the genre of music and the overall theme, furthermore this will allow our target audience to identify themselves with the band members featured. For the image we will be using a medium long shot type. This will provide a sufficient amount of clear space around the band members featured in the image, to allow us to place the text without distracting or inflicting with the models or props featured. The camera angle we will use is eye line, as keeping the band members on eye level will help to ensure they are the centre and key focal point of the overall CD cover. After both the text and images have been placed onto the front cover, we will then add a vintage overlay,  which will fade out the edges of the image, lower the saturation of the colours and overall add a grainy effect. This will be used to help emphasise the destructive party atmosphere, creating an old, worn out and dishevelled look, to the image. 

Text

The text which we will be using on the front cover will simply consist of the bands name. Although there are many artists who do not place there name on the front cover of their CD digipak, we felt it would be appropriate, as the band would be relatively unknown and therefore unlike famous artists, of whom could be simply recognised by their face, audiences may not be aware of the appearance of the band members, therefore the name of the band will allow them to identify who the CD digipak belongs to easily and clearly. 

Font

The font which we will be using for the text featured, will be Nova Solid. We felt this was an appropriate font, as although it is simple, which will allow the text to be read easily, it is also quite unique and as we will also be using the same font on our magazine advertisement, this will allow our audience to associate this specific font to this band. The font of the text, will also appear in the colour white. Although this may seem like an inappropriate choice of colour, as it will not allow the text to stand out greatly, we would like the image used on the front cover to be the main focus, with the band, the props and the party atmosphere catching the viewers eye, in order to emphasise the atmosphere we would like to generate. Therefore the choice of white, will allow the text to stand out enough for it to be readable but not to much that it would be distracting.

Layout

Initially we would like the image we will be using to consume the overall front cover of our CD digipak, specifically as the image will play a vital role in reflecting the theme of our package and creating the choatic and controverisal atomsphere we intend to generate. The text, the band name, will be placed at both the top and bottom of the front cover, in order to allow the text to  not distract from the central focal point of the cover, which will be the members of the band. It is very important that the band members are seen clearly on the front cover, to allow audiences to recognise them and identify them with both the magazine advertisement and the music promo video.