The document discusses conventions used in the design of various media products for an indie folk artist named Natasha North. Key conventions discussed include: - Using a 4 panel layout for the digipak, as seen in other artists' works. - Incorporating natural, handwritten fonts and imagery of nature/landscapes, popular within the indie folk genre. - Spanning a single image across the CD case, as done by other indie folk artists. - Including the track list on the back panel, following convention. - Featuring the artist's name prominently in magazine ads to catch readers' attention. The document also discusses ways some conventions were developed or challenged

1. Q1
In what ways does your media product
use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?

2. Section 2:
Print Production

3. I used a 4 panel layout for my digipak as this is a convention of the
medium, for example it can be found in digipak’s such as Katie Melua
and The Northerlies. It is an especially effective way to present the
imagery in a minimalistic yet strong layout.
The Layout

4. Panel 1

5. Panel 1
I decided to use the convention of the natural and handwritten font to enhance the rustic
handmade style and atmosphere.
This convention can be seen every music video within the genre of Indie-Folk such as,
‘Tired Pony’, ‘Troye Sivan’, and ‘The Native Sibling’. This generic convention of the
typography is popular within the genre because it ties into the naturalistic and minimalistic
conventions of the genre which was therefore perfect for my prints.
Another convention I used in my panel 1 design was the convention of using natural,
outside imagery. The imagery of the natural landscape is used in many indie folk bands
such as Daughter and Sufjan Stevens. This is, however, developed in my production by
using the Beach/sea-side landscape instead of green fields and muted brown forests, the
beach is a cold muted blue that is vast and bleak. This development of the convention
aids the conveyance of themes and story in my production. I do also go against the
convention in the images that I used, it is an image from my video production compared to
other Digipaks that use photoshoots.
A convention of the medium of Digipaks is to use the Artists name in large writing to fulfil
the purpose of the Digipak - as advertisement of the artist and the song itself. This
convention id used in our Digipak to draw attention to the artist, for example when
consumers are searching for an album in a store, like HMV, the artists name needs to be
easy to spot so they can find the album and remember it which fulfils Goodwins theory.

6. Panel 2 & 3

7. Panel 2 & 3
Inside my CD case, I chose to use a single image that spanned
across the whole case, this joint image idea has been used in
Album/CDs like The Northerlies and Bill Callahan. This convention is
popular however within the indie-folk genre. I use this convention in
my design to create an empty atmosphere, there is a lot of negative
space in the image showing here as lonely in the 1st third of the
image.
The convention of nature imagery continues through this design by
using the forest location in my image. This convention of the album
design is immensely popular within the genre and is also used in the
designs for Artists like ‘Subzar' and ‘Bill Callahan’.
The lens flare is also a convention of the genre that is used in this
design. The lens flare is a sign of the natural ambient light from the
sun which goes hand in hand with the organic atmosphere and
conventions. The convention is also used in the artwork for albums by
Elli Goulding and One Direction.

8. CD Print

9. CD Print
I chose to develop the convention of printing an image
onto the CD by blending it into the imagery behind the
CD. The decision of using this image was made to
highlight Olivia's loneliness without Meg. This
development of the convention developed the themes
of my production.
The use of the lens flare in this is also symbolic of
natural ambient light and the organic atmosphere of
the genre. Examples of this convention being used in
other productions is Ellie Goulding and Adoleo.

10. Panel 4

11. Panel 2 & 3
The main convention of a 4 panel design is the track list displayed on the
back or panel 4. I decided that I would follow this convention early on to suit
the style of the 4 panel design. However, I did debate whether I should use
an insert with the track list and other add-ons on it, however I came to the
conclusion that the convention of the track list is a more suited decision for
my project
I decided to use the convention of creating a natural handmade
atmosphere, and develop it to include how the shots look. This meant I
colour graded the image to give the photo a celluloid film look with film grain
and grunge. This decision to develop the convention largely changed the
look of the image and developed the emotion.
The font was also a significant aspect of this design and at first I decided I
would challenge the convention of a rustic handwritten font and instead use
‘Porter’ a modern minimalistic font, however this did not fit at all with the
overall organic atmosphere and therefore I changed it to Canter

12. Magazine
Advert

13. Magazine advert
One of the main conventions of the medium of an advert in a magazine is to have the name of the artist in
large bold letters at the top of the image, in order to catch the attention of the consumer reading this
magazine. Promoting the artist (Natasha North) is the key aim here and using her name in large
encourages the audience to buy the album or the single. This convention is one I have specifically chose
to use, this is because the name 'Natasha North' dominates the advert, making it impossible not to see
when browsing through this magazine. The large typography I have used connotes that there is
importance in her name and that it should be read and remembered. This is effective in not only securing
the name in their mind but it also makes the artist seem exciting and relevant which creates a need for the
consumers to have what the artist is offering, further promoting them.
The way I have incorporated the text into the image is another key aspect here, I have included the most
important information that is vital for an advert, such as the date of release and the name of the product
and brand (Natasha North), but the design of the ad also needs to be bold and memorable to catch the
readers attention as they browse through the magazine. That is why I used vibrant colours such as the
reds and oranges of autumn. These colours are vibrant and a convention of the medium because it draws
the eye and alerts the reader.
The main convention of the genre and the medium is the use of the imagery of the artist. This creates a
face for the consumer to identify the artists 'brand' as. This is an effective way of creating the image of the
brand for the artist, however, I challenged this in my ad; largely due to my artist, Natasha North, being not
well known to the public artist, this meant that her image would not have an impact on how the readers
viewed this as it would be as recognisable as our performers. Therefore, I decided to use the
performers/actors from my music video instead.