Individual digipak - Miss Miller

We was given the task to create an individual digipak for our artist. A digipak is a style of CD which provides the audience with a better understanding of the artist as it gives them more images and a letter from the artist to their fans. Creating the digipak allowed us to connect with our target audience well and make sure that a relationship was created between the two. We also created the digipak so that we could demonstrate our skills in portraying our artist and our genre to the target audience.

Colours:
The colours used in a digipak are very important in making it successful as they are one of the main elements that will make it conventional to the genre or not. I have chosen to use the colour black as my background for each section of my digipak, I chose this as I believe that it allows the rest of the content on my digipak to stand out well. Furthermore the colour black makes it conventional to the dance genre as it represents night and this is something that is related to the dance genre as music videos in the dance genre are often filmed in nightclubs. I have also used the colour red quite frequently in my digipak, I chose this colour for my artists clothing such as his baseball cap and tshirt. I believe the colour red is a symbol for passion and love which will both make my artist seem more appealing to the target audinece and they will be more enticed to purchase the product. I have also used the colours blue and pink in my second section of my digipak, I included these colours as I have also used them in my magazine advert and I felt that including them would make it consistent. On top of this, the electric blue and pink colours represent my artist as being edgy and I feel this will appeal to my target audience.

Conventions of genre and images used:
The digipak I have created is in my opinion conventional to the dance genre in a variety of ways. Firstly the name of the album "Euphoria" is conventional to the genre as it connotes a feeling of happiness, which is something that is related to dance music as it makes people feel upbeat. I also believe that the images I have included in my digipak make it conventional to the dance genre. In the image used on the first section my artist is shown wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap. Both of these pieces of iconography are related to the dance genre and DJ's are often shown wearing them whilst they are performing. Another piece of iconography that I have used on my artist is headphones; again this is very conventional of the dance genre as DJ's use headphones to perform. In using an image of our artist wearing headphones the target audience are clearly able to see that it is from the dance genre. The image of the sound monitor with a heart in the middle also makes my digipak conventional to the dance genre as sound monitors are often used and related to DJ's. The use of the heart in the middle also links to the album name "Euphoria" which also connotes love. This means that there is a relationship between the images I have used and the name of the album, this will appeal to the target audience.

Layout and design:
I believe that the layout and design of a digipak is important in order for it to appeal to its intended audience. I did not want to overcrowd my digipak with images and text as I thought that this would deter people from the product. Instead I attempted to keep it as plain as possible as I felt this would appeal to the eye much more. I used minimal text on my main cover of the digipak including just the artist name and the album name and I positioned both of these at the top of the page and in the centre of two as I believe it stood out most here. In terms of the design I wanted to keep it symmetrical on the main cover of the digipak, so I used two identical images either side of the page. I believe this kept the front cover looking professional and also gives the effect of "seeing double" just like you would if you had been drinking in a club. On the tracklist of my digipak, again I wanted to keep it as simple as possible so I just put the names of the songs in a simple order making it clear for the target audience to see what is featured in the album. I used the pink and blue electricity image at the top of my tracklist to make it more appealing to the eye and make it look like it is from the dance genre. Furthermore this image kept my digipak and magazine advert in relation as the same image was used in my magazine advert.

Typography:
The typography for my digipak was important as I wanted it to stand out and attract the eye of the audience. For the name of my artist I used an edgy font as I believe that it goes well with the name of my artist "DJ Sonic". The font also is conventional of the dance genre as it looks very futuristic and electronic which are both elements of dance. Furthermore I have also used this font on my album cover and this therefore means that there is some consistency between the products allowing them to be more recognisable to the consumer. The typography used for my album name is much more plain and simple which I believe creates a good contrast. The plain and simpleness of this font also means that it stands out more as it is easier for the consumer to read. I have also used capital letters for my album and artist name to further emphasise them. The typography for my tracklist is the same for each song. I did this in order to create a consistency and make it clear to the audience what is featured within the album. The colour of the font is white against a black background, again this makes the songs clear to the consumer and they can therefore see what is included in the album and this is more likely to persuade them to purchase it. In the letter to the artists fans I used the same font as the artist name to make sure that the letter had a personal touch to it and then the target audience would be able to build more of a relationship with the artist. Finally I used a signature on the letter to my fans and this was handwritten by myself. Again his makes it more personal to the artist and the consumers will feel like the digipak is giving them an exclusive look into his life.

Language: 
The language used in a digipak as it is what is going to persuade the consumer to purchase it or not. Firstly we have the artist name "DJ Sonic", which is likely to persuade dance fans to purchase the digipak as it is clear that it is from the dance genre and the connotations of the word "Sonic" is fast paced and upbeat music which is likely to appeal to a dance genre audience. The album name "Euphoria" also gives the audience a hint that it is from the dance genre as it connotes happiness and love. In the letter to the artists fans I used collective lexis such as "all" to make it clear to the audience that he is thanking them for helping him become what he is. I have also used the term "like a rollercoaster" to describe his career so far. I believe that the word rollercoaster goes well with the dance genre as it connotes speed and excitement. Finally I added an "x" at the end of the letter to the fans to show to the audience that the artist loves his fans and ares about them, which will urge them to create a relationship with the artist. 

Using photoshop:
I found using photoshop quite difficult when it came to putting an image onto my CD disc. I struggled with this as there was so many different layers and the CD disc was an awkward shape to project an image onto. To overcome this I fiddled about with the different layers and managed to put the image on in the end. I also struggled with cutting out the image of the heartbeat monitor. I struggled with this as it is an awkward image to cut out as the part of the image I needed was so small. To overcome this I used the rubber tool on the smallest setting and managed to erase all the unwanted parts of the image. I feel that the strength I had in photoshop was editing the images that I had taken. I found it easy as I just altered the brightness and other aspects of the image. This allowed me to create an image that was conventional to the genre and one that also stood out on the magazine advert. This strength helped me create a successful magazine advert as the image is the focal point of any advertisement as it is what catches the eye of the target audience. Also this allowed me to portray my artist effectively as diverse and surreal. 

Conclusion:
In conclusion, I feel that the individual digipak that I have created conforms well to the conventions of the dance genre. I believe it does this in a variety of ways such as the use of bright colours against a dark background making it stand out to the eye. Furtehrmore I believe that the images and language that I have included make it clear that the digipak is from the dance genre. I also believe that my digipak appeals well to the target audience as it is clear to them that it is from the dance genre. This means that they will be more likely to buy the digipak as my target audience are people who like the dance genre. In addition I believe that the letter to the fans that I have included make the digipak more personal to the fans and this is likely to appeal to them. Overall I believe that creating individual digipaks will benefit our group as a whole as we will be able to combine all of our ideas into one and create a digipak that appeals to our audience in every aspect.