I think the combination of my
products (video,website,digi-pak) is
effective in terms of creating a star
image and promoting my artist. It
was important for me to create the
video, website and digi-pak so that
they created a recognisable image
and style for that artist.
From research into album artwork of my genre I found that solo artists had
covers that were minimalistic, focusing on the artist. I wanted to make my cover
very stripped back with just the outline of the artist, and the same with the
inside of the booklet. Throughout my digi-pak I wanted to keep this because it
showed consistency and created a star image of a sleek and to the point artist.
By following these conventions I would be fulfilling the needs of my target
audience. Audiences of this genre are more concerned I feel with the
representation of the artist rather than focusing heavily on the music they
make, like an audience of the indie genre would, which influenced the way I
presented my artist in my video, website and digipak.
Throughout my digi-pak (and website) I kept to the colour scheme of black/white/red. I did
this because I wanted to keep to a constant them to make the artist recognisable and I wanted
to convey a stripped back minimalistic theme. The star image we wanted to portray was a
relatable, confident and slick artist. This was demonstrated in the video through the costume
changes i.e from a suit to his own clothing, showing that when he is putting on a performance
he take it seriously. Although we had a naturalistic and laid back aspect in our video, I wanted
to focus on the smart more artist aspect, as I thought this would appeal more to the audience.
The front and back cover meet the artist’s fans expectations as it is just the artist on the cover and
there is a plain back ground with simple writing around him. I chose to make the front black and
white as I thought it emphasised the minimalistic theme. The font is also simple. I positioned the
writing purposely in this way to add a bit of obscurity, and I thought it made the cover more
appealing for the audience. The writing is in black and the bits that overlap onto the picture are
white, this was to keep the black and white motif and also the double exposure of the image. The
double exposure could be seen as the two sides of the artist that are conveyed in the video.
On the back over I wanted to the writing to be in red so that the front and back covers straight away
demonstrate that red is consistent colour of the artist. I chose to use font that looked like handwriting, so
it suggested that it was the writing of the artist making the album more personal and creating a
connection between the fans and the artist.
I added an old style microphone so that there was motif of old style stars, the intertextuality of jazz
performers. Also it went well with the black and white on the front, again emphasising the intertextuality.
Allows
audience
to access
products
and gain
further
info about
artist.
Justin Timberlake was an artist I analysed and
researched closely as I wanted to create a
similar star image to his. Justin Timberlake is
well known and is presented as a talented
relatable figure. I really like this idea which he
included in his album booklet, this gave me
inspiration for the front cover.
In his booklet he kept a
coloured theme, which made
his star image stronger, this is
something I incorporated into
my digipak as it gives it a more
serious and appealing look.
Here the colour red is obvious,
this maintains a star image as it
is used in the video and
website as well.
Another intextuality
reference is included in my
booklet, showing a
recurring motif and
highlighting the star image
we created. I used the idea
of pop art again to illustrate
the genre, so included the
post production digital
effects in this.
I used the same font on the
disc cover as I did on the back
cover, create that personal
feel. I created a target/bulls
eye on the disc to show the fun
side of the artist, as pop likes
to show performance and
energy. This energy is also
shown in the images on the
other side, where there are
images captured midst
movement of the artist.
Originally the font for the lyrics were
different but then from feedback I then
decided to change it match the other
writing. And it made more sense for
lyrics to be in handwriting, as it looks as
if the artist has just written it.
Normally, artists include behind
the scenes in the booklet so that
their fans get a close look. I did
not want to do this as it did not
go with the star image I was
trying to create, which is
performer. I did want to develop
this so I included a still from the
music video, so that was
incorporated into the booklet. I
included this particular image
because I thought the dramatic
lighting worked well and also
highlighted the performer side of
the artist.
I made a 3d effect for the title so
that it stood out against the other
writing and it also added to the
red/black colour theme.
These were previous
designs I made before I
made my final digipak. I
liked the front covers of
these but I didn’t think
they were good enough
for the front cover which
is why I went for the one
I did as I think it is more
powerful and effective
than these. Also the
image quality of these
were not of good quality.
Looking back I would of included Aaron wearing his own
clothing in the booklet, like in the video to show both his
sides as performer and someone relatable.
A mistake I made was not keeping the same font across my main products and ancillary texts, which is
limitation because it does not maintain the star image. I do not like the font we used in our video as I don’t
think it maintains or represents out star image, as it looks very ordinary I think maybe it needed to bold. I
originally in the website had the same font as I had on the digipak but I didn’t like the way it looked. I
changed it to an old 1920s style writing which went more with the idea of intertexuality and in a way it
goes with the digipak as this was represented (e.g. microphone).
Website
I think the website is key and the most effective
way to target you specific audience, as it holds
all the social platforms, the main product and
the digipak, making it important that all the
products work together and create/maintain a
‘brand’. It is where fans learn about the artist
through their bio, gallery etc. This helps build a
fan base.
I researched many websites, including ones that were not in my genre, I did this as I
wanted to understand what made websites effective in promotion of artists. From
my research I found that there was consistency, through colour and fonts.
Therefore, I made sure I maintained the colour scheme of red and black
throughout my website and also the same font. The font I used was old style
Hollywood which went with the idea of a performer and the intertextuality in the
video.
In maintaining the star image for the background I used the same
image that was in the booklet. From research I learnt that all the
recent and important information was on the first page of the
website. On the front page I included the album, video, tour dates
and new music. This was to make everything easily accessible to the
fans and also so that everything was in their face. I added as many
social media links as I could to show that the artist is across many
platforms. Many websites I looked at had the album and where you
could buy it, I did this and also made a playlist of the album so fans
could sample it before buying it. By it being on the first page and a
link to buying it is a way of manipulation with out them knowing it.
Social media is key to promoting and building a fan base. On my website I
made the links to the different social networks easy to find and direct to the
eye. On every page you go to all these are on the page making it easy for the
fans to look around and find out more about the artist. As there is constant
access to being able to follow the artist it creates a bigger fan base which
would mainly consist of a younger audience as they often have more than one
social network that they use (e.g tumblr/twitter/facebook).
The format of my website is clear, so the audience have easy access to
what they want. Also including links everywhere was effective as again it
meant all the important information was right infont of the audiences
eyes.
I added details
that would be in
a real website,
for example a
poster with tour
dates and also an
image saying the
artist won an
award. The ‘Brit
Award’ promotes
the artist more
as it suggests
that he is
talented and is
being recognised
for it. I wrote in
first person to
again make it
more personal,
and as though
the artist was
connecting with
the fans.
Gallery included behind the scenes
and personal artist photos, letting the
fans get to know the artist.
The combination of my main product and ancillary
texts all work together effectively. They are linked
with similar motifs, such as the colour scheme and
images. This makes the ‘brand’ I am trying to create a
recognisable one and creates a certain
representation of the artist to the desires audience. I
worked carefully always considering that I am
working towards a product that will construct an
image of the star.

Evaluation: Question 2

  • 2.
    I think thecombination of my products (video,website,digi-pak) is effective in terms of creating a star image and promoting my artist. It was important for me to create the video, website and digi-pak so that they created a recognisable image and style for that artist.
  • 3.
    From research intoalbum artwork of my genre I found that solo artists had covers that were minimalistic, focusing on the artist. I wanted to make my cover very stripped back with just the outline of the artist, and the same with the inside of the booklet. Throughout my digi-pak I wanted to keep this because it showed consistency and created a star image of a sleek and to the point artist. By following these conventions I would be fulfilling the needs of my target audience. Audiences of this genre are more concerned I feel with the representation of the artist rather than focusing heavily on the music they make, like an audience of the indie genre would, which influenced the way I presented my artist in my video, website and digipak.
  • 4.
    Throughout my digi-pak(and website) I kept to the colour scheme of black/white/red. I did this because I wanted to keep to a constant them to make the artist recognisable and I wanted to convey a stripped back minimalistic theme. The star image we wanted to portray was a relatable, confident and slick artist. This was demonstrated in the video through the costume changes i.e from a suit to his own clothing, showing that when he is putting on a performance he take it seriously. Although we had a naturalistic and laid back aspect in our video, I wanted to focus on the smart more artist aspect, as I thought this would appeal more to the audience.
  • 5.
    The front andback cover meet the artist’s fans expectations as it is just the artist on the cover and there is a plain back ground with simple writing around him. I chose to make the front black and white as I thought it emphasised the minimalistic theme. The font is also simple. I positioned the writing purposely in this way to add a bit of obscurity, and I thought it made the cover more appealing for the audience. The writing is in black and the bits that overlap onto the picture are white, this was to keep the black and white motif and also the double exposure of the image. The double exposure could be seen as the two sides of the artist that are conveyed in the video. On the back over I wanted to the writing to be in red so that the front and back covers straight away demonstrate that red is consistent colour of the artist. I chose to use font that looked like handwriting, so it suggested that it was the writing of the artist making the album more personal and creating a connection between the fans and the artist. I added an old style microphone so that there was motif of old style stars, the intertextuality of jazz performers. Also it went well with the black and white on the front, again emphasising the intertextuality. Allows audience to access products and gain further info about artist.
  • 6.
    Justin Timberlake wasan artist I analysed and researched closely as I wanted to create a similar star image to his. Justin Timberlake is well known and is presented as a talented relatable figure. I really like this idea which he included in his album booklet, this gave me inspiration for the front cover. In his booklet he kept a coloured theme, which made his star image stronger, this is something I incorporated into my digipak as it gives it a more serious and appealing look.
  • 7.
    Here the colourred is obvious, this maintains a star image as it is used in the video and website as well. Another intextuality reference is included in my booklet, showing a recurring motif and highlighting the star image we created. I used the idea of pop art again to illustrate the genre, so included the post production digital effects in this. I used the same font on the disc cover as I did on the back cover, create that personal feel. I created a target/bulls eye on the disc to show the fun side of the artist, as pop likes to show performance and energy. This energy is also shown in the images on the other side, where there are images captured midst movement of the artist.
  • 8.
    Originally the fontfor the lyrics were different but then from feedback I then decided to change it match the other writing. And it made more sense for lyrics to be in handwriting, as it looks as if the artist has just written it. Normally, artists include behind the scenes in the booklet so that their fans get a close look. I did not want to do this as it did not go with the star image I was trying to create, which is performer. I did want to develop this so I included a still from the music video, so that was incorporated into the booklet. I included this particular image because I thought the dramatic lighting worked well and also highlighted the performer side of the artist. I made a 3d effect for the title so that it stood out against the other writing and it also added to the red/black colour theme.
  • 9.
    These were previous designsI made before I made my final digipak. I liked the front covers of these but I didn’t think they were good enough for the front cover which is why I went for the one I did as I think it is more powerful and effective than these. Also the image quality of these were not of good quality. Looking back I would of included Aaron wearing his own clothing in the booklet, like in the video to show both his sides as performer and someone relatable.
  • 10.
    A mistake Imade was not keeping the same font across my main products and ancillary texts, which is limitation because it does not maintain the star image. I do not like the font we used in our video as I don’t think it maintains or represents out star image, as it looks very ordinary I think maybe it needed to bold. I originally in the website had the same font as I had on the digipak but I didn’t like the way it looked. I changed it to an old 1920s style writing which went more with the idea of intertexuality and in a way it goes with the digipak as this was represented (e.g. microphone).
  • 11.
    Website I think thewebsite is key and the most effective way to target you specific audience, as it holds all the social platforms, the main product and the digipak, making it important that all the products work together and create/maintain a ‘brand’. It is where fans learn about the artist through their bio, gallery etc. This helps build a fan base.
  • 12.
    I researched manywebsites, including ones that were not in my genre, I did this as I wanted to understand what made websites effective in promotion of artists. From my research I found that there was consistency, through colour and fonts. Therefore, I made sure I maintained the colour scheme of red and black throughout my website and also the same font. The font I used was old style Hollywood which went with the idea of a performer and the intertextuality in the video. In maintaining the star image for the background I used the same image that was in the booklet. From research I learnt that all the recent and important information was on the first page of the website. On the front page I included the album, video, tour dates and new music. This was to make everything easily accessible to the fans and also so that everything was in their face. I added as many social media links as I could to show that the artist is across many platforms. Many websites I looked at had the album and where you could buy it, I did this and also made a playlist of the album so fans could sample it before buying it. By it being on the first page and a link to buying it is a way of manipulation with out them knowing it.
  • 13.
    Social media iskey to promoting and building a fan base. On my website I made the links to the different social networks easy to find and direct to the eye. On every page you go to all these are on the page making it easy for the fans to look around and find out more about the artist. As there is constant access to being able to follow the artist it creates a bigger fan base which would mainly consist of a younger audience as they often have more than one social network that they use (e.g tumblr/twitter/facebook). The format of my website is clear, so the audience have easy access to what they want. Also including links everywhere was effective as again it meant all the important information was right infont of the audiences eyes.
  • 14.
    I added details thatwould be in a real website, for example a poster with tour dates and also an image saying the artist won an award. The ‘Brit Award’ promotes the artist more as it suggests that he is talented and is being recognised for it. I wrote in first person to again make it more personal, and as though the artist was connecting with the fans. Gallery included behind the scenes and personal artist photos, letting the fans get to know the artist.
  • 15.
    The combination ofmy main product and ancillary texts all work together effectively. They are linked with similar motifs, such as the colour scheme and images. This makes the ‘brand’ I am trying to create a recognisable one and creates a certain representation of the artist to the desires audience. I worked carefully always considering that I am working towards a product that will construct an image of the star.