Production of Ancillary Product - Creation of Digipak and Advert

Creation of Digipak and Magazine Advertisement

To create both ancillary products , I used the program Photoshop Elements. However , as time was getting ahead of me and the deadline for the ancillary products was getting nearer I had to download Photoshop at home and used the Program Photoshop CS5.1 Extended which was similar to Photoshop Elements. At first I found great difficulty using Photoshop as a whole , as it was a program that I  did not regularly use or familiar with , but after producing a pre - digipak for the artist Dan London in class , playing around with the features on Photoshop and watching Youtube tutorials, I was able to begin my creation.



Creation of the front and back panel of digipak

To create the front  and back panel of the digipak , I had to open the template for the digipak which was already made for us. The template was a blank canvas so I decided to add a background colour. I decided to use the colour 'Black' as I felt it was a bold colour to use as I felt the photos and colour scheme that I was going to use would work well against the black background. I felt it would allow the text to stand out and felt that it would suit my simplistic theme for my digipak.

This screenshot shows the background colour added onto the template of the front and back panel of my digipak.

Next , Using the type tool , I was able to add some text to the front panel of my digipak. I decided to type the album name first as I needed it as a guide to help me know where I could position images of the artist. I decided to type the first part of the album title downwards , to illustrate the words ' KNOCK ME DOWN' . I felt it was a fun way for the audience to read the album title, as they would follow it downwards with their eyes. The remaining part of the album title ' BUILD ME UP' would be typed going upwards to reinforce the idea of the word 'UP'. This would also allow the audience to follow the title upwards which was the purpose of me writing the album title in this way. I felt that it was a creative , fun way to illustrate the album title and felt that it reinforced the message of the album title.

This screenshot is of the album title positioned on the front panel of my digipak. I decided to used the font: Century Gothic as I wanted to use a simplistic font for the album title. I wanted there to be a contrast with the fancy font I would use for the artist name.

I decided to continue using the font : Century Gothic to type the album title on the side panel of the Digipak , the artists tracks which was positioned at the back panel of the digipak and the copyright clearance information for the album. I decided to use the colour ' white' as I felt that it would stand out against the black background. Also , I felt that it is a nice simply colour that links in with my simplistic theme.

This screen shot shows the remaining text added on the front, side and back panel of the digipak.

For the images that I wanted to use for the front panel of the digipak , I decided to use Photobucket to edit the photos of the artist.  I selected the four images that I wanted and decided to put them in a collage. The position of the photos look like a photostrip which was the effect I was going for. I decided to use four different images to show different emotions of the artist 'Messie M'. This was to show the audience that there is more then one side to the artist.

This is the screenshot of the collage that I created on Photobucket for the front panel of  my digipak.

As my colour theme was black , white and purple, I decided to incorporate the colour purple in Messie M's photos. In the original photos , the artist was wearing 'red' lipstick , I wanted to change this and have her wearing 'purple' lipstick to maintain the colour theme. To do this I used the effect 'Duo Tone' and chose two colours I wanted to apply on the images. I chose the colours black and the colour #9966CC which was a mid- purple and applied this effect onto the images.

This screenshot illustrates the 'Duo Tone' effect being added on the images.

To apply the purple on Messie M's lips I had to apply the effect 'Colour Splash' which would disaturate the images and allow me to highlight the areas that I wanted to expose purple. To do this , I was able to use a brush and brush over the lips which would then change the colour of the lips to the purple used in the 'Duo Tone' effect.

This screenshot illustrates the process of changing the lip colour for Messie M. The first two images of the artist show the effect taken place.

After the effect was completed I was then able to import the images onto the front panel of my digipak. I decided to duplicate the images and position the images both and the top and bottom of the front panel of my digipak , allowing there enough for the artist name to be positioned in the middle.

This screen shot illustrates the position of the images of the artist on the front panel of the digipak.

I then overlayed the purple title on top of the white title , this was to give the artist name a 3D effect as , I felt that the white highlighted the artist name making it stand out more. In order to overlay the purple title on top of the white title , I had to move the layer with the purple title on top of the layer with the white title.

This screen shot illustrates the different layers created whilst producing my digipak.

I then added the finishing touches by adding the record label logo that is associated with the artist , also a barcode image and the websites to both the record label companies and Messie M's official page. I decided to highlight these two links in purple to make them stand out in contrast to the remaining white text seen at the back panel.

This screen shot illustrates the finishing product of the outside panel of my digipak.

Creation of the inside of Digipak

To create the inside of my digipak, I used the previous technique of using Photobucket to edit the images that I wanted to use for the inside of my digipak.

This screen shot illustrates the 'Colour Splash'  effect that I used on the image of the artist Messie M which would be prime image used for the background of the inside panel of my digipak.

This screen shot illustrates the finish product of the Colour Splash effect added onto the image.

I then imported the image onto Photoshop , positioning it on the left side of the inside panel. On the right hand side of the panel, I used the ellipse tool to draw two circles. The circles would be used to highlight the CD. To highlight the outline of the two circles I applied a style called a ' double ring glow' which would reveal the shape of the inside panel of a CD.

This screen shot outlines the process of positioning the image and adding the double ring glow onto the two circles.

I then later imported another collage strip of different images of the artist that match the scenery used in the main image inside. Using Photoshop I applied a desaturation effect to maintain the same effect used on the images. I then decided to used the text tool to create a personal message made for the artist for her fans. I used the same font used for the album title , track list etc... to maintain the same fonts used. To sign it off I used 'Messie M's signature font ' Earwig Factory'. The use of this allows the audience to know that the use of the font relates to the artist , like the artist signature font.

This screen shot illustrates the text added inside the digipak.

I then applied the The artist title on the CD panel maintaing the same font and colours used.

At the bottom of image shows text that is information regarding production , distribution , design and copyright clearance information. I felt this was essential to add these details as it is general features usual seen within artists digipak.

This screen shots illustrates the finished product of the inside of my digipak. To add a finishing touch , I added the compact disc logo which is primarily seen on CD's.

Creation of the magazine advertisement

To create the magazine advertisement I had to create a new canvas at an A4 size. I then applied a background colour onto the blank canvas. I applied the colour black to tie in with the colour scheme used throughout the design of the digipak.

This screenshot illustrates the background of my magazine advertisement.

At the top of the magazine advertisement , I decided to insert 'Messie M's name using her signature font. At first I decided to just use purple for the artist name but decided to change this and apply the white underneath the purple , which I original used for the front panel of my digipak.

This screen shot illustrates the originally title that I was going to use for the magazine advertisement of the artist name.

This second screen shot illustrates the improved title used for the magazine advertisement. I felt that the white makes the title stand out more against the black. It also highlights each letter making it more easier for the audience to read.

This screen shot illustrates the overall look of the title added at the top of the magazine advertisement.

I then took a screen shot of the front panel of the digipak created and position it underneath the artist name in the centre. This will allow the audience to see the product when they see the magazine advertisement. Under neath the screenshot of the album , shows the shape of a purple rectangle. Using the ellipse tool I wanted to add a background to overlay the text on top of the rectangle to make it stand out.

The text inserted on top of the shape reads 'Debut Album' , the use of this attracts the audience attention to the word. I decided to use a white font to make it stand out in contrast to the purple background. Using Messie M's signature font , I wrote ' Out Now' , I wanted to maintain the number of fonts used. I felt that it gave it an edgy look instead of using a normal font. I used the colour white for the font to stand out against the black background.

I then applied further information on the advertisement using the colours white and purple. The information included information regarding no.1 singles and additional tracks. I decided to highlight the single titles in purple to highlight the titles to the audience when reading the advert.

I repeated the use of the 'Earwig Factory' font for the the title 'Available at': to separate the phrase from the remaining information. I then imported logos of companies in where the album could be obtained from. In addition, I included the record label company that is associated with the artist , the copyright clearance information and the artist website just in case the audience wanted to obtain further information regarding the album.

This screenshot illustrates the finished product of my magazine advertisement for the artist Messie M.

In conclusion, I was pleased with the overall design and outcome of my ancillary products. I felt that I reflected the artist personality , artist gender and artist genre onto both products. I felt that I translated My theme throughout the two products but in different ways. To begin with I did found it quite difficult , but eventually got the hang of the process. If I was to repeat this project again , I would assure that I had a clear layout of where I would position everything and assure I was certain on the features I wanted to include on both products. If I had more time , I would be able to spend more time perfecting both products to make them look professional. Overall , I am quite happy , besides the fact it was my first time producing ancillary products.