Digipak Designs and Development

1. Final Artwork Product
For my first initial cover design, I took a photo which I had
taken on location in Cromer – the beach where we shot part of
our music video – and imposed it on top of some driftwood to
create a wooden, earthy tone to the picture. I then added some
text for the track title and the artist; I made sure the artists
name was larger than the track title as I wanted to ensure I was
clearly promoting the artist (it would be the first thing that the
audience’s eye would be drawn to).
(Cover Design) Idea One:
However, some initial feedback I gathered suggested that my
design was too simplistic, with nothing to grab the audience’s
attention. I wanted to create a cover design which was more
exciting and dynamic, so I developed some more designs.

2. For this design, I took a screenshot from my music video of Liv
and I holding hands, which I cut out and imposed onto a
textured background (a photo of some driftwood I had taken at
Cromer, where art of our video is set). I enlarged the image so it
became the focus of the cover, but thought I could add more
interest through adding myself and Liv’s faces imposed on the
picture too. I blended the images together to create a faded,
vintage look before adding the title of the track in a script font.
Final Artwork Product
(Cover Design) Idea Two:

3. Design One
Design Two
For these designs, the choice of font was an issue. While my feedback
suggested that the font choice in design one (inspired by artists of a
similar genre, such as Bon Iver) matched the natural, earthy tone of the
artwork, some suggested that it was difficult to read unless you knew
beforehand what the text said. This lead to me changing my font choice to
the typeface in design two; however, I felt that having the title in block
capitals was a bit messy, so I considered yet another option. The final font
choice (as seen in design three) I think is the most effective; it is simple
but easy to read and stands out against the rest of the cover.
FeedbackandFontDevelopment
Final Artwork Product

4. This was a rough design for a six panel digipak, incorporating the front cover panel I had already
designed. However, there are some issues with the design. The back panel is too simplistic for a back
panel; while I had designed a minimalist look on purpose (I would have added text later) feedback
suggested the design was too plain and boring. The panorama inside panels I found to be dull; the grey
front and back panels miserable. I needed to add some interest to create a more dynamic design.
Cover PanelBack PanelMiddle Panel
Inside Panels
SixPanelDigipak(RoughDesign)

5. (BackPanel)Construction:
I took a photo of Liv and I in the forest to use as my back panel image. I
decided that Liv’s arm looked a bit clumsy in the shot, so using the
quick selection tool I cut out her arm, and using parts of the forest, tree
trunk and Liv’s coat, I edited the image so that it looked as though her
arm was simply placed by her side. I overlaid a texture over the photo to
create a warm, earthy tone. It was the same one I used on my front
panel, so a consistent theme was kept to link the two images together.

6. Back Panel Feedback & Development
My back panel was based on an initial idea I had of having a picture of the
girls silhouettes cast by the sun. We took a variety of photos to achieve this
(see the rough photos) but the ones which I liked the most were the ones
taken in the forest itself, as they had depth and warmth through the deep
greens and yellows. The eroded texture of the cover helped add to this
depth. However, feedback from my first design suggested that the text
should be moved from over the girls as it removed from the dynamic
impact of the image. I also adjusted the positing on the barcode and
album details, (the second design was far better received), as well as
adjusting the size of the cover so it would fit the CD case dimensions.
Version One Version Two
Rough Photos

7. Other Back Panels (Rejected)
Design One Design Two
These were two rough ideas I had for my back cover, but I decided against both of them.
(NOTE: I rejected the images before I put the track listing and album details onto them.
Design one in a screenshot from my music video, cut out and imposed onto an image of
the ocean. However, I felt the image was missed emotional impact – the faded image felt
a bit mellow-dramatic and slightly soppy, which I did not want to achieve. Therefore, I
disregarded the image. The second design was an image of our silhouettes with sun
flares. However, when I showed this image for feedback, some people found that the light
was too strong, so they couldn’t make out the image of Liv beneath it. Even when I
softened the colour scheme, the flares were still too strong, which lessened the impact of
the image. Therefore, I also rejected this design, as I also felt the design was too boring
(it didn’t have the impact of some of the other photographs I used for my final designs).
Rough Photos

8. Design TwoDesign One
Final Artwork Product
The main problem with my cover design was that, when
I compared it to my back panel designs, it no looked
dull and miserable. I decided I would have to make the
design more eye-catching and warm in tone. Therefore,
I used the background image of the river and its
foliage, matching the green Autumn tones also seen in
my pack panel (set in the forest). The overlay of the
hands were no longer set as colour burn but soft light,
making the image less harsh and instead more earthy.
People commented that the front and back panels now felt like a
continuation of one another, which was positive. But the choice of font
was now a problem. Some found it difficult to read the title in design
one, so I changed the font choices in design two. The two fonts
complemented each other, but again the script font was difficult to read.
So, I changed the font completely to Timeless, added a border to the
title (design three), but I shortened the lines for the final design.
Design Three
Further Development (+ Font)

9. As I had now changed the front panel, I would have to change the font on the back
panel so to keep the design consistent. Therefore, I changed the Baby Fox font to
the Timeless font. Some other feedback I received was that the listing of the tracks
were difficult to read with the bullet symbol separating each song. Therefore, I
listed the songs along the right-hand of the back panel, the numbers in bold to
make it easier to distinguish between each track. In order to make the track titles
easy to read, I had to make the background lighter to the font would stand out
Further Development (+ Font)
Font Choices
against the trees and forests behind it; to do this, I used a crop shadow shape, using the colour picker to find a similar
shade on the rest of my cover. Then, I blended it over the text so it was more subtle and didn’t overshadow the rest of the
design. The feedback was now a lot better: the text was easier to read and was more consistent with the cover panel.
Initial Design Improved Final Design

10. Next, I had to create the panels 2 and 3 for my digipak. I decided early on
that I wanted to have the two faces of the characters from my music video on
the panels. I took screenshots from my music video and used the magnetic
lasso tool to cut out the images; I then turned down the saturation on the
images so they would look grey and faded. For the image of Liv, I had to flip
the image so it looked like she was looking at my character. I also layered a
wooden texture over the images to make them look more earthy and worn.
Inside Panels Development and Feedback
Panel 2 Final Product
Panel 3 Final Product
Rough Photos
Feedback for the panels were positive. Some noted that the grey tones of the
beach link to the music video where the scenes were in low saturation,
reflecting the melancholy tone. This also contrasts the highly saturated,
brightly coloured front and back panel in the forest, which reflects the music
video that had more upbeat and happy scenes. Also,
people liked having the two girl’s faces as it added
more interest than simply having the beach huts.
Photoshop LayersHappy/Sad Music Video Screenshots

11. I decided I wanted to develop a cover to go onto the CD disc so it would be more
interesting for the consumer. Firstly, I took a picture of the beach huts (so it
would correspond with the images in the inner panels ) and faded the photo so it
looked like the colour had been drained, connoting something old and sad.
However, I didn’t want the design from the inner panels to be ruined, so I took
the image of panel 3 (the panel where the CD would be kept – see image below)
and inserted it onto the CD cover. However, in my research, disc covers promote
the artist and album name, so I put the title of the album and the name of the
artist on the CD for my final design in order to promote Natasha North.
CD Cover Design Development
Final Artwork Product CD Layout

12. Final Digipak
Packaging
The panels (clockwise,
top left to bottom right):
front panel, back panel,
panel 3 and panel 4. The
design is for a jewel case
CD (see image below).
The disc will correspond
with the image beneath
it. So, when the disc is
removed, the image still
remains intact under it.

13. Poster Construction
Final Artwork Product
I began by taking a screenshot of Liv
and I on Cromer pier. Then, using the
marque tool, I took a portion of the
sky and copied it onto the poster,
using the smudge tool to blend the
images seamlessly together to create
the entire sky. Next, I used the smart
brush to identify my coat; increasing
the brightness and saturation I made
my coat a vivid red against the black
and white backdrop. Finally, I added
the text, using the colour picker tool
to create red highlights in the text.