Research and Planning - Digipak - Creative Brief

Creative brief for digipak 

Oasis Academy Hadley 

5 South Street

EN3 4PX

Fatma.Mustafa@oasishadley.org

Date: 11/12/2015  
Album Title/artist: ‘Reaction’ by NYX
Project Manager: Fatma Mustafa, Marlyn Ukah and Carlie Cokell-Smith
Release Date: 30th January 2016

Me and my group discussed a brief together for the overall product and artist. We discussed the product overview, the album concept, comparable products, what reaction we want from the audience, launch dates and how we will know it worked.

Product Overview:

NYX is a British songwriter and singer who began her career signing and performing three nights s week in Central London’s most prestigious and popular clubs and bars including GAY bar, ROADHOUSE and SCALA. As she become more recognized and her reputation grew, there was a higher demand from customers attending these venues for NYX to perform more frequently, therefore, she began performing six nights a week until one day her unique talent was identified by the studio director for Warner Bro’s Records, who decided to sign NYX to their record label. As a result, NYX started to perform in more well-known locations in London and outside London including the O2 Indigo arena, Barclaycard arena and Sheffield arena, as well as performing in other countries, including New Zealand, Switzerland and Spain. This increased NYX’S popularity immediately and within 2 years, she become globally identified by a mass audience, ages 18-28 from different ethnic and social background and developed a strong, international fan base. Due to this fame, there has been an increasing demand for her new album release.

The Album concept:

What is it?

We want to create an album cover that best represents NYX’s star image in order to pull in a variety of different audiences, from ages 18-28, from different ethnic groups and social backgrounds, particularly those from working class and skilled working class backgrounds, who will be more likely to relate to particular ideas and the Alternative R&B genre. We want our album to look unique reinforcing NXY’s ideologies and beliefs, therefore, it will reflect the Alternative genre, appealing more to subcultures and a niche audience, who have different expectations that differ from the norm. However, we will also ensure we make our cover appealing to a larger, mass audience, by including our artist on it making the album conventional. We are creating the album to increase NYX’s popularity within the music industry making her more internationally and globally well known like other successful artists and boosting her star image. Moreover, this album will increase her chances of reaching top 10 in the music charts.

Why are we doing it?

NYX’s debut album will need to bring success to an international and possibly a global audience, and the creation of the digipak will support her in doing so. Therefore, the design of the digipak is crucial in determining its success. We must ensure the pictures, colours and typography used will be visually appealing to our audience and will establish NYX’s values and ideologies as well as promoting the themes and mood evident in her music to the consumers. The themes within the album will include, love, relationships and fulfilling your desires, with the mood reflecting this. Therefore, the consumers will be able to understand the Alternative R&B genre through the album, encouraging them to listen to her music.

Comparable products

 

We believe Lady Gaga’s, Rihanna’s and Owl Eyes’s album covers are unique and evoke interest through their darkness and simplicity which is what we want from our album. Therefore, we will use these albums to guide us when creating ours, as it is important that we make our album as professional and engaging as possible. 

What is the reaction we want?

We expect the audience and consumers to feel they have a clearer understanding about the artist what she is about, enjoying her music and being able to relate to the certain themes and ideologies she portrays throughout. In a way we want our audience to listen to NYX as a method of escapism, allowing them to escape from their problems. We are also hoping the target audience can build a different relationship with NYX, one that differs from other mainstream artists, as NYX is original and should be recognised for maintaining this quality.

How will we know it worked?

The number of sales, and the sale figures the album receives will determine the success of the album, allowing us to decide if the album is popular and appealing to a mass audience. We will also host a focus group allowing a group of consumers that reflect our target audience (aged 18-28, different ethnic groups, working class/ skilled working class) to look at our first drafts of our album designs and provide us with feedback, which will allow us to make the required changes and develop on the criticisms, making the final draft appealing and suitable to our target audience meeting their expectations and interests. Making the album appealing to the target audience is crucial, as this factor determines the ultimate success of the album, therefore, we will ensure we are fully aware of the information revolving around our audience, including similar products they like and what they like about it, their average earnings, their hobbies/ interests etc. Understanding these factors will help us to make an album that the audience will like and will be able to afford.

Launch dates

NYX’s campaign dates:

Press campaign: 6th January 2016
TV Launch: 10th January 2016
Album Release: 30^th January 2016

Research and Planning - Digipak - Generic conventions and analysing digipaks

Generic conventions and analysing digipaks

My group came together and discussed the generic convention and the analysis of our digipak. We also discussed examples and discussed the image, overall layout, typography, artist, album title, star motifs, sub images, colour, hebdige's subculture, information and lighting.

Purpose 

• Marketing tool that sells/promotes the album
• Displays indirect information such as the ideologies of the artist
• Creates, adapts or feeds into the representation of the 'star image'
• A product to keep hold of, can be a collectors item
• Attract a particular target audience
• Buy into artist lifestyle and ideas
• An everlasting product that will symbolise the artist and the album. 
• Form of synergy- advertising and promotion
• Creates a relationship between the artist and audience

What are the generic conventions? 

The generic conventions of a digipak includes: 

• Artist image
• Tracklist 
• Parental advisory label
• Record label
• Barcode 
• Album title 
• Company details
• Critical sticker

Analyse two examples that are similar to your genre/artist

How has this research given your group ideas on what to include in your digipak? 

This research has been extremely beneficial to our planning process as we now have a clearer understanding regarding digipaks as we are able to identify their purpose which is that they are a marketing tool used to sell and promote the album to the audience and are what determines the successful of the album as the audience use this as an indication when deciding whether to purchase the album or not. We have also dissevered what the generic conventions of digipaks are. As a result, we will be following the generic conventions in order to secure the success of our digipak, ensuring that it looks professional and can be portrayed in this way by the audience, encouraging them to buy the product. After analysing the existing products from similar artists to ours, we have identified that these digipaks consistently use dark colours and simple yet important information that the audience should be aware of. It is also important to ensure that the four images used are similar, to maintain consistence throughout. Similarly, when creating our digipak we will also use dark colours to promote the dark mood and unique persona of the artist, and only include relevant information to prevent boring the audience. By following generic conventions and being influenced by digipaks from similar artists/genres we are hoping the digipak we create is relevant and successful drawing the audience in to buy the album. 

In conclusion, i believe that our digipak will be influenced massively on our research as we will use quirky characteristics to match the star image of our artist. Also, our digpak will follow all generic conventions and will have a specific style which it will follow through with.

Research and Planning - Digipak - Drafts of Digipaks

During these few lessons, as a group we have been designing drafts for a potential final digipak. We done this to ensure that we gained positive and negative feedback from our teacher to eventually create a successful final digipak.

Draft 1:

Analyse your use of conventions using PEER

• I have included an image of the main artist on each cover who is looking away from the camera, she is wearing all black which is captured through a medium close up shots and medium shots. This is conventional as it makes the artist look mysterious and unknown to the audience. 

• The title of the album is 'Reaction' which highlights the differing nature of the album and artist which will evoke a reaction from the audience.

• Low key lighting and dark colours including reds, purples  and blacks have been used on the each cover to reflect the dark and mysterious atmosphere and mood. This is conventional as it encourages the audience to want to find our more, making them want to buy the album. 

• The mysterious nature is further reinforced through the typography which differs and contrasts with the dark colours as it is white promoting the artists innocence and vulnerability. This is also conventional as it is expected for the typography to reflect the mood and the artists persona through the colours and shapes. 

• The overall layout is neat and consistent as the information is spaced out revolving the main image. This is conventional as it draws in the audience to the digipak. The layout is also simple as it only includes simple information. 

• The information I have included on the digipak includes the title of the album on each cover expect the inside cover which is simply of the artist, in order to reinforce the name allowing the audience to memorise it. On the back cover however, there is a list of singles that will be on the album, a barcode and a parental advisory lyrics label. 
• The language I have used is simple and lacks formality as I want the audience to be  able to relate to the album and artist and be able to understand that it is aimed at them which is conventional as the information should reflect the audience and their social class. 

• The sub images I have included on the covers also promote the artists unique nature as she is looking away from the camera and is intrigued in her activity. 

• Adorno and popular culture- The digipak goes against hegemony as it goes against conventions appealing more to a niche audience. The images of the artist also resits conventions as the female artist is dressed as a character and does not look relatable to the target audience or like a role model. According to Adorno's popular culture theory, the digipak is targeted at 'The masses' as the genres within the album include alternative R&B, hip hop and electronic which is not appealing to the 'bourgeoise', also, the digpak reflects this through its modern and urban look. 

• Through this digipak, NYX is promoting her differing ideologies and values as she is dressed against conventions which is supported by her body language. 

• Hebdige's subcultres : The digipak goes against hegemony suggesting that it may not appeal to a mainstream audience due to the dark mood created through the dark colours. 

Audience Feedback: Katie- 19

What do you like about it?

• Front cover

- The title is clear 
- Looks consistent to the rest of the campaign 
- Artist image is relatively clear 

• Back cover

- The image is complementary of the front cover 

- Most of the conventions are evident 

• Inside cover

- Edited well, enhancing the star image. Consider using the same editing technique on all the covers

• CD insert

- Good image, all images work well with eachother

What did you not like about it?

• Front cover

- The artist looks lost within the image
- The lighting is to dark 

• Back cover

- The artist looks lost in the image and therefore the star image needs to be enhanced

• CD insert

- The artist looks upset in the image, so consider changing the image.
- The editing technique looks different to the one used on the inside cover and the one used on the inside cover should be the one you go with. 

How can it be improved?

• Front cover

- The artists name needs to be put onto the front cover
- The layout of the title and spacing needs to be reconsidered 
- Parental advisory logo should be put onto the front 

Back cover

- The title does not need to be repeated onto the back cover 
- Typography of the songs should be consistent with the tile 
- One more song should be added to the track list 
- Production details need to be added onto the back cover

CD insert

- The title does not need to be included on the CD cover


Draft 2:

Analyse your use of conventions using PEER

• I have included an image of the main artist on each cover wearing all black which is captured through a medium close up shots, medium shots and medium long shots. This is conventional as it makes the artist look 

• The title of the album is 'Reaction' which highlights the differing nature of the album and artist which will evoke a reaction from the audience.

• Dark colours including purples and blacks have been used on the each cover to reflect the dark and mysterious atmosphere and mood. This is conventional as it encourages the audience to want to find our more, making them want to buy the album. 

• The mysterious nature is further reinforced through the white, bold typography which differs and contrasts with the dark colours as it promotes the artists innocence and vulnerability. This is also conventional as it is expected for the typography to reflect the mood and the artists persona through the colours and shapes. 

• The overall layout is neat and consistent as the information is spaced out revolving the main image. This is conventional as it draws in the audience to the digipak. The layout is also simple as it only includes the vital information that is necessary. 

• The information I have included on the digipak includes the title of the album on each cover expect the inside cover which is simply of the artist, in order to reinforce the name allowing the audience to memorise it. On the back cover however, there is a list of singles that will be on the album, a barcode and a parental advisory lyrics label. 
• The language I have used is simple and lacks formality as I want the audience to be  able to relate to the album and artist and be able to understand that it is aimed at them which is conventional as the information should reflect the audience and their social class. 

• The sub images I have included on the covers also promote the artists unique nature as she is looking away from the camera and is intrigued in her activity. 

• Adorno and popular culture- The digipak goes against hegemony as it goes against conventions appealing more to a niche audience. The images of the artist also resits conventions as the female artist is dressed as a character and does not look relatable to the target audience or like a role model. According to Adorno's popular culture theory, the digipak is targeted at 'The masses' as the genres within the album include alternative R&B, hip hop and electronic which is not appealing to the 'bourgeoise', also, the digpak reflects this through its modern and urban look. 

• Through this digipak, NYX is promoting her differing ideologies and values as she is dressed against conventions which is supported by her body language. 

• Hebdige's subcultres : The digipak goes against hegemony suggesting that it may not appeal to a mainstream audience due to the dark mood created through the dark colours. 

Audience Feedback: Amy- 20

Strengths:

- Front cover: 

• They liked that the title is clear , looks consistent to the rest of the campaign and the artist image is relatively clear 

-Back cover: 

• The image is complementary of the front cover and most of the conventions are evident 

- Inside cover:  

• Edited well, enhancing the star image. Consider using the same editing technique on all the covers

- CD insert: 

• Good image, all images work well with each other.

Weaknesses: 

• Front cover

- The artist looks lost within the image and the lighting is to dark 

• Back cover

- The artist looks lost in the image and therefore the star image needs to be enhanced

• CD insert

- The artist looks upset in the image, so consider changing the image.

- The editing technique looks different to the one used on the inside cover and the one used on the inside cover should be the one you go with. 

Draft 3:

Audience feedback: Sam: 21

Strengths: 

- All panels are consistent and reflective of one another

- Good use of image manipulation

- The artist has been represented in a clever way as she poses differerently. 

- I like the way the inside image is portrayed in an effective way as the artist name is made up of a collage of images of the artist. 

Weaknesses: 

- Inside panel should outline name with more images of artist

- Consider removing name from the back cover and CD insert cover.

- The skeleton should be changed, with a different colour of effect placed on it. 

Conclusion:

The drafting process has allowed us to create our final digipak which has been due to us receiving numerous feedback on each draft, and applying the changes to each cover in order to make it as effective and conventional as possible. Some of the main changes we made included the images we took of the artist, as we realised that the images we took were too dark and did not enhance the star image to the standard that was necessary. We also changed the background of each panel to make it more mysterious and effective.  Without the drafting process, we may not have been able to make our product as effective due to not understanding or identifying small things that has an impact on the quality of the digipak. 

Research and Planning - Advert - Drafts of Adverts

During these few lessons, as a group we have been designing adverts for a potential final adverts. We done this to ensure that we gained positive and negative feedback from our teacher to eventually create a successful final advert.

Draft 1: 

Analyse your use of conventions using PEER

• I have included an image of the main artist who is not facing the camera, instead she is looking away wearing all black which is captured through a medium close up shot. This is conventional as it makes the artist look mysterious and unknown to the audience. 
• Low key lighting and dark colours including reds and blacks have been used on the advert to reflect the dark and mysterious atmosphere and mood. This is conventional as it encourages the audience to want to find our more, making them want to buy the album. 
• The mysterious nature is further reinforced through the typography which differs and contrasts with the dark colours as it is white promoting the artists innocence and vulnerability. This is also conventional as it is expected for the typography to reflect the mood and the artists persona through the colours and shapes. 
• The overall layout is neat and consistent as the information is spaced out revolving the main image. This is conventional as it draws in the audience to the advert. The layout is also simple as it only includes simple information. 
• The information I have included on the advert includes the name of the artist in the top left corner, key singles, the album name, the release date, the artist name, parental advisory lyrics label and the barcode. I have included little information to ensure I do not confuse the audience, and to promote the most important information to them. 
• The language I have used is simple and lacks formality as I want the audience to be  able to relate to the album and artist and be able to understand that it is aimed at them which is conventional as the information should reflect the audience and their social class. 
• There are no sub images added to avoid confusion from the audience.
• Adorno and popular culture- The advert follows hegemony, as the advert generally follows conventions to appeal to a mass audience, however, the image of the artist resits conventions as the female artist is dresses as a character and does not look relatable to the target audience. According to Adorno's popular culture theory, the advert is targeted at 'The masses' as the genres within the album include alternative R&B, hip hop and electronic which is not appealing to the 'bourgeoise', also, the advert reflects this through its modern and urban look. 
• Through this advert, NYX is promoting her differing ideologies and values as she is dressed against conventions which is supported by her body language. 

Draft  2 

Analyse your use of conventions using PEER

• I have included an image of the main artist who is not facing the camera, instead she is looking away wearing all black which is captured through a medium shot. This is conventional as it makes the artist look mysterious and  unknown to the audience. 
• Low key lighting and dark colours including black and purple have been used on the advert with a blurry effect overpowering it, to reflect the dark and mysterious atmosphere and mood. This is conventional as it encourages the audience to want to find our more, making them want to buy the album. 
• The mysterious nature is further reinforced through the typography which is  in black font. This is also conventional as it is expected for the typography to reflect the mood and the artists persona through the colours and shapes. 
• The overall layout is neat and consistent as the information is spaced out revolving the main image. This is conventional as it draws in the audience to the advert. The layout is also simple as it only includes simple information. 
• The information I have included on the advert includes the name of the artist in the top right corner under the main title, key singles, the album name, the release date, the artist name, and download availabilities. I have included little information to ensure I do not confuse the audience, and to promote the most important information to them. 
• The language I have used is simple and lacks formality as I want the audience to be  able to relate to the album and artist and be able to understand that it is aimed at them which is conventional as the information should reflect the audience and their social class. 
• There are no sub images added to avoid confusion. 
• Adorno and popular culture- The advert follows hegemony through the information, as the advert generally follows conventions to appeal to a mass audience, however, the image of the artist resits conventions as the female artist is dresses as a character and does not look relatable to the target audience or like a role model. According to Adorno's popular culture theory, the advert is targeted at 'The masses' as the genres within the album include alternative R&B, hip hop and electronic which is not appealing to the 'bourgeoisie', also, the advert reflects this through its modern and urban look. 
• Through this advert, NYX is promoting her differing ideologies and values as she is dressed against conventions which is supported by her body language. 

Audience feedback- Gemma: 21 

• What do you like about it?

- Includes most the relevant information 
- Like the typography 
- Like the colour scheme 

• What did you not like about it? 

- The artist looks lost in the image
- The The filter used on the artist distorts star status

• How can it be improved?

- Clearer image of the artist 
- Name of the artist should be clearer 
- The layout  should be organised better







Draft 2:

Analyse your use of conventions using PEER

• I have included an image of the main artist who is not facing the camera, instead she is looking away wearing all black which is captured through a medium shot. This is conventional as it makes the artist look mysterious and  unknown to the audience. 
• Low key lighting and dark colours including black and purple have been used on the advert with a blurry effect overpowering it, to reflect the dark and mysterious atmosphere and mood. This is conventional as it encourages the audience to want to find our more, making them want to buy the album. 
• The mysterious nature is further reinforced through the typography which is  in black font. This is also conventional as it is expected for the typography to reflect the mood and the artists persona through the colours and shapes. 
• The overall layout is neat and consistent as the information is spaced out revolving the main image. This is conventional as it draws in the audience to the advert. The layout is also simple as it only includes simple information. 
• The information I have included on the advert includes the name of the artist in the top right corner under the main title, key singles, the album name, the release date, the artist name, and download availabilities. I have included little information to ensure I do not confuse the audience, and to promote the most important information to them. 
• The language I have used is simple and lacks formality as I want the audience to be  able to relate to the album and artist and be able to understand that it is aimed at them which is conventional as the information should reflect the audience and their social class. 
• There are no sub images added to avoid confusion. 
• Adorno and popular culture- The advert follows hegemony through the information, as the advert generally follows conventions to appeal to a mass audience, however, the image of the artist resits conventions as the female artist is dresses as a character and does not look relatable to the target audience or like a role model. According to Adorno's popular culture theory, the advert is targeted at 'The masses' as the genres within the album include alternative R&B, hip hop and electronic which is not appealing to the 'bourgeoisie', also, the advert reflects this through its modern and urban look. 
• Through this advert, NYX is promoting her differing ideologies and values as she is dressed against conventions which is supported by her body language.

Audience feedback- James: 20

Strengths:

- Image is photo shopped well
- All the key information has been included and clearly laid out 
- Looks consistent with the digipak 

Weaknesses:

- Add (") around the key singles

- The typography other than the title and artist name needs work 

- The background should have more effects. 


Draft 3:

Strengths:

- Image is photo shopped well
- All the key information has been included
- The layout is neat and works well 
- Looks consistent with the digipak 

Weaknesses:

- The typography other than the title and artist name needs more work 

- The background should be darker. 

Conclusion: 

Overall, the drafting process has been extremely beneficial for my group and I as we have managed to create our final advert as a result of the feedback we have received along the way. This feedback has motivated us to make the key changes needed in order to make our final advert conventional to the genre and in a state where it matches our music video and digipak. Some of the main changes we made were changing the main image in order to make it as effective as possible and promote the star image of the artist in an efficient way. Without drafting it would have put us at a disadvantage as we would not have any feedback to work from, resulting in us creating an advert that could potentially lack reflecting it's genre and potential target audience.