Individual digipak analysis - Miss Miller

A digipak is a type of packaging for CDs or DVDs, typically made from cardboard with an internal plastic holder for one or more discs, and we created an individual digipak in order to plan for what our group digipak would look like. Having created them individually we are able to combine ideas in order to create the most conventionally and effective digipak that will attract our target audience, as each of us had different and creative ideas.

Within my digipak I had decided to use an image of the artist looking into a mirror to represent the album title 'A True Reflection', as her reflection is also in the image. Lipstick was used to spell the album name out and this is relevant because throughout the music video we recreated numerous amounts of clips are used to show her applying lipstick. The artists name 'Sophie Mae' is placed underneath in large font so that it stands out against the background, however I used a white colour so that it did not take too much attention away from the image. The colour of the lipstick is red to represent the love and passion that is portrayed within her music, which is inspired by her break up experience with her ex boyfriend. This appeals to the target audience as within the soul genre a lot of past events are sung about and the fans enjoy listening and experiencing them through the songs.

For the CD I decided not to use an image of the artist and keep it plain, as within the soul genre there is a theme of simplicity. The kiss mark is used to link back to the reoccurring appearance of red lipstick and lips within the music video as well on the cover of the digipak, the repetitiveness of the lips concept is to allow the audience to connect to the artist as they have a sense of familiarity. The black colour of the actual CD was to encourage the kiss mark to stand out and also represents the deep and emotional side of the music. This represents the artist as very relatable to the audience as it shows how she experiences relevant situations that ordinary people do as well, the simple layout also conveys how her successful career has kept her grounded as she choses not to promote her money and fame.

The song list side of the digipak has the background of an image of our artist standing in front of a graffiti wall, I chose this image as it represents our artist as quirky, vintage and bold, which will attract the target audience. The graffiti wall conveys how our artist has a very creative and free spirited personality, which allows the audience to connect with the artist as they can see an insight into her on a personal level as well as her sticking to the conventions of the soul genre. The font used is the same as used on the front of the digipak, to match the colour and style themes, it also stands out the most against a colourful background. The song list is placed within the centre of the page so that it is the main focus and it is the most professional style used within CDs/Digipaks.

The two images used within the back are both still images from the music video we produced, I used these images so that the audience would feel familiarised to work that the artist has already broadcasted. The image of the flowers dying on the floor represent the concept that love can come to an unhappy, unexpected end which you cannot control and the perfume and lipstick image represents how females turn to beauty to help cheer themselves up and move on. I used a negative effect on both images to make them look more unique and quirky like the style of our artist, I believe this also follows the conventions of the genre as it persuades the audience to see the image through a different view.
For the personal message page I decided to use an image of the artist that I edited to represent the album, 'A True Reflection' as I reflected an image of the artist of her leaning against a brick wall. This image was chosen because I believe it offers the audience an image that they have not previously seen and digipaks are meant to give the audience a deeper insight into the artist. The font is once again in white to follow the colour theme, however the font is different as I decided to chose a font that was easier to read.

While using photoshop I struggled adjusting the colours of images in order for them to all look similar and fit the theme I had arranged, however after many attempts at tweaking the contrast and brightness I decided to let each image have its own purpose and effect. Therefore I used subtle changes that were easy to undo and replicate on other images I was using.
I found adding new layers into the images such as; wrtiting, easy to apply as it mainly required organisation, I believe this helped my overall digipak as it meant I could align the messages and titles in an effective way to attract the target audience.

I believe my digipak conforms to the conventions of the soul genre as the images represent similar emotions that the artist is portraying through her lyrics and music, which are pain and despair as they represent heartbreak. The colour scheme diverts slightly from the conventional colours used within the soul genre however they represent our artists personality, which is quirky and vintage. My digipak appeals to my target audience as it uses bright colours to attract their attention and offers an extension of personal knowledge about my artist which is what they will find intuitively appealing, such as the personal message and extra images. Creating an individual digipak will help ensure my group will produce a successful final digipak as it means we can combine ideas that will result in our digipak being most effective and conventional.