creating individual digipak

The purpose of a digipak is to give the audience something more than just the CD itself. A digipak is a lot more personal as it contains a letter or a note from the artist, addressed directly to the fans. This is not something you conventionally find when buying an artist's music and therefore it is almost like the artist is giving something back to the fans. The high quality of the images and artwork used is a lot more appealing for the audience as it gives the digipak more meaning than just a product to sale. The addition of bonus tracks is sometimes contained in a digipak which is another way of giving something more to the artist's fans. A digipak has a more efficient purpose than a normal jewel CD case as it features six sides as opposed to the latter's mere four sides. This means that there is more visible artwork which is a good way to attract buyers as it makes the album more interesting and stands out against other albums as the artist has the opportunity to be a lot more creative. The easy accessibility to information is again another appealing aspect to a digipak and as it is more long-lasting it is better than a jewel CD case. All these factors contribute to promoting a better artist-to-audience relationship as it demonstrates that more care has been taken into considering the audience's needs and making them feel like the artist truly appreciates their support.  The software I used to create the digipak was Photoshop CS6; the reason for using it was simply as it is the easiest software to use as it has a range of tools to use to help with various editing techniques. For example, there are tools to cut out a specific part of an image to use to edit in depth; there are numerous tools, such as the blur, sharpen or smudge tool which allow you to make an image look as professional as possible. The actual ideas for the digipak derived from a range of research and planning; I gained inspiration from indie artists such as Gabrielle Aplin and Bastille and developed these ideas to make them unique and personal. In addition, from looking at indie music videos for the production of my own, I noticed specific styles that the indie genre used that I could adopt in my own work.

Above is the finished version of my digipak. As you can see, there are six different sides that I have made: the front and back cover, the CD, a personal note, and two images to go alongside everything else. For my digipak I actually chose to have three images with a dark color scheme and three with a light color scheme, just to make it more interesting.

The first side of my digipak is the front cover which I made by actually combining two different images together; one being an image of Amy I cut out of another image and the other of a roadside location. The reason I did not use one image is simply as firstly, I did not have an image of Amy within this location, I merely found this image amongst others and used it as it was appropriate. However, using two separate images allowed me to experiment with different tools in Photoshop more. As I previously used an image of Amy on a road for my magazine advert, I wanted to include similar aspects in the front cover of my digipak. The image I used for the location was actually shot during the day and as planned to have it during the night, I had to edit it to make this occur. Having been through the process of changing an image from day-time to night-time previously in my magazine advert, it was a quick task to do as I simply duplicated the layers in from my magazine advert Photoshop file over to the front cover file I was working on. This way, the shade of darkness from my magazine advert would match my front cover and allow me to then duplicate the layers again for my back cover, so it looks exactly the same color; if the front and back cover were of different shades of darkness the digipak would not look as professionally finished. For the background image, I kept the editing fairly minimal after altering the time of day it appeared to be set in: the brightness and contrast was played around with and I also very slightly blurred the tree Amy is standing directly in front of, just so that it was not so distinctly focused. The picture of Amy was not edited a particular amount either, I simply adjusted the brightness and contrast as I did not actually place the cut-out image of her behind the solid blue fill and black and white filter layers which created the night-time effect; otherwise Amy's appearance would be darker and she would have blended in with the background. The reason for doing so is because I wanted Amy's face to be noticeable, as the entire image is quite dark and therefore she would not have stood out. The image of Amy itself is a long shot; I chose this position as it is not conventional of the indie genre to show close up images of the artist, and this image also worked well with the ideas I had come up with. Having taken inspiration from other indie digipaks, I came up with more ideas for the six sides; for example, Bastille's front cover consisted of the artist on a road at night. I used this idea and manipulated it to make it more unique and personal. Although it is not primarily conventional of the indie genre to use a night-time location, I thought it would be more appealing for the audience as it would make my digipak more unique. Furthermore, having the front and back cover of my digipak set in the dark allowed me to play around with various editing tools a lot more, making the final product a lot more interesting. However, the prime reason for having the night time setting is simply as the title of the album is "desolation"; therefore ensuring the color scheme matches connotations of the word was extremely crucial as it maintained continuity and professionalism throughout. If the image was set during the day, the audience would not find it as appealing as the emotional response they would receive from it would be confusing; it is vital that the album title matches the image. Furthermore, the darkness of the image connotes deeper meanings behind the music of the album, appealing to the audience who look for such aspects in an indie album. Indie songs are derived from occurrences in real life situations; realistically, you cannot be happy all of the time and therefore despite the convention of indie songs being about happier times, it still fits with the convention of being relatable to everyday life.

As this side of the digipak is simply the front, not a lot of information was needed to go on it. I simply put on the name of the album and the artists' name as these are the two key pieces of information needed. This way the image of the front cover is the most dominating aspect of it. From looking at various artists' album front covers, I noted different alignment styles for the text and decided that the best layout to go for is having all the text on one side and putting it together. This is due to the contents of the image; the tree on the left hand side meant that I could not place any text there as it would not look particularly professional. Instead, I simply aligned the background image as far left as I could in order to make more room for empty space of the sky on the top right corner: this is where the text would go. This way the entire front cover appears to be more professional and thought-out. The font I opted for was the same one I used for my magazine cover and as it was a suitable choice, I kept it the same for my digipak. Through research of other digipaks, I noticed how some indie artists used two separate fonts for their album title and their own name, whereas others used the same font for both. I did initially plan to use different separate fonts as I looked at Gabrielle Aplin's own digipak and I appealed to her use of typography. During the process of using Photoshop I experimented with fonts, and tried out using the same font; however, there was not as an engaging effect from doing so than using two different fonts. Having previously looked at "English Rain", Gabrielle Aplin's CD, I had a general gist of the style I was going for; when I looked on dafont.com for the appropriate fonts, I chose two that were from the "handwriting" style section as I thought these would best suit and reflect the indie genre. I was actually quite picky when it came to choosing the two fonts as I wanted to ensure that they matched well; the reason I wanted two separate fonts is because they each say something distinct about the artist and the album. I wanted to have an established font for the artist that I could use throughout the album to act as a signature for the artist all the way through the album. When looking at both fonts, I think they each connote something about the album and how the artist reflects the genre; the font I used for the artist's name connotes that they are established but not for an elder-aged audience. The almost block style of the font is what brings about this connotation as it is a clean and easy to read font. On the other hand, the font I chose for the album title is more fun and girly, almost as if the artist themselves hand-wrote it; this is essential for creating an artist-to-audience relationship as if the audience feel the artist had input into it, they will feel as if the album is not just a product to generate profit from, but something to actually give back to the audience. The handwriting style of the font ensures to represent the artist as being quite fun, carefree and acting her age, as the predominant teenage audience would recognize in themselves and therefore appeal to. Furthermore, it was important to really think about the connotations behind the font; the two fonts I used feel a lot more personal as they are a handwritten style, rather than if I chose something more artificial and computer-generated looking. This helps to engage the audience into the album just by looking at the front cover as they recognize that the digipak has been mediated for their needs and appeal. In addition, the size of the font I chose for the text is important as I have ensured it is large enough so that it stands out so that the audience can clearly and quickly read it. 

After the front cover of the digipak, there will be the first image out of two. The first one I have placed in is an image of the artist taken at one of the locations my group and I used to film for our music video. The reason I chose this image is due to the lighting, facial expression and position of the artist. The use of the same location in our music video will help to create continuity throughout all my products and engage the audience who have seen the music video. The natural lighting on the day was perfect for taking photographs in as in the camera lens it gave Amy that natural rustic and indie look. Using this opportunity, it made taking good photos easier and therefore I managed to get a picture of Amy at a mid-shot position; I did not want a close up as I said previously, it is not conventional of the indie genre. Rather, I wanted a shot where Amy's face can be clearly seen and where she is looking directly at the camera, as it is a tool to attract the audience in as it appears that Amy is actually looking directly at you, rather than a camera. This way the audience will feel more important and more involved in the digipak. However, I also wanted the shot to show the clothes that Amy is wearing as this will hugely contribute to the indie feel of the image. The clothes, in addition to the location of the image, also aid in emphasizing that this is an indie album. The clothes are also important in creating an artist-to-audience relationship as they are a way of the audience connecting to the life of the artist; they will aspire to have what the artist is wearing. The image itself was not actually heavily edited as I did not want it to feel massively Photoshopped, as this would ruin the conventional idea of authenticity when it comes to the indie genre. I merely stuck to increasing the brightness of the image, to emphasis that indie style glow already present. I also decreased the contrast, as well as changing the hue of the image by adding more red hints into the image; this made it look warmer. Choosing the right colors to bring out such warmth in the image was important as they must make the audience feel welcome within the digipak and the artist's life; I think I successfully managed to get these tones right in order to make this happen. The reason for doing so is due to the fact I actually made my CD before this image and I needed to ensure that all my images linked together by putting in something similar - in this case the color of red needed to be somehow evident, even if distinctly so, in the digipak sides. At first I simply left the image as it is without any text on it and then continued with the rest of my digipak. However, when I placed all the images together I realized that the two images that would be placed either side of the CD did not actually match together, nor with the digipak. Therefore, to provide continuity I included text.

The text itself is simply part of the lyrics of "Salvation", the song my group and I used our music video. I deliberately chose specific lyrics that would match each picture but they flowed one after another, to provide concrete continuity. I edited the text, adding an outer glow to it so that they can be read more easily and stand out. I initially wanted to position them at the bottom of the image to match the lyrics "I was buried underneath", however it did not as professionally finished, nor was it as easy to read. Therefore, I kept it in the top right corner to keep the layout even and neat. The font of the text is the font I chose for the album title, called "Jane Austen"; the reason I chose this font instead of the font for the artist's name, "Love Monster", which I used on other parts of the digipak, is because it fitted the mood and feel of the entire image. The font connotes a sense of transcendence and personal feelings, such as those of love. Particularly as the image I chose was a soft image, with warm tones and strong brightness, I wanted the font to reflect this. In addition, the use of a font that strongly resembles a handwriting style is beneficial in creating the feel of the artist's own personal touch; for the audience, it will feel as if the artist themselves designed and put together the digipak. This is both advantageous in appealing to the target audience as well as promoting the artist, as firstly, the audience like to see that the artist gets involved with their work, instead of treating it like a product. Therefore, the artist is consequently promoted positively as it shows interest and passion into their music and is represented as being quite authentic. This is essential within the indie genre as a main convention is for the music to reflect real-life and genuine situations where the artists sings with raw emotion, rather than artificiality.

The next part of my digipak is the CD. This was another one of my images that I decided to have a darker color scheme, as I did not want a picture of the artist on it and therefore having trees would be more interesting. I initially used a day-time image, however it did not have the same bold and interesting look to it. In addition, when I mentally pictured all the sides of the digipak being put together, it made sense that it should be the front cover, CD and the back cover in dark colors to create a professional symmetrical look. The image I used is simply taken from photographing local trees whilst the sun was rising and edited the image. I did not actually edit it too heavily, I simply adjusted the brightness/contrast as well as increasing the saturation. This was due to the fact that the image naturally looked impressive and I did not want to stray away from the conventions of the indie genre of keeping the editing simplistic. From researching other indie digipaks, I noticed a prevalent convention of not using an image of the artist for the CD. usually, the artist likes to keep the design simple to maintain a professional finish; in addition, the CD does not actually need particularly fanciful design as it is what the music is on, whereas the other sides of the digipak stand alone. Using an image of trees is beneficial in creating an appealing CD, whilst simultaneously keeping in tune with the indie conventions of rustic locations: trees connote the countryside which helps to promote the artist as being authentic in their music, as their album reflects the natural tones of indie music. I think using a dark color scheme for the CD connotes that the music the audience will find on it will be full of mysterious and full of deeper meanings. The use of there being a mixture of black and red/orange colors on the CDs help to connote the idea of bad times verses happier, brighter occasions. This fits in line with the use of half the digipak being in a dark color scheme and the other half adopting a light one. It also maintains the idea of the artist going through different emotions throughout the music and illustrates how the artist is not trying to portray a fairytale-like album, but rather give the audience something raw and genuine; otherwise the album would be completely brightly colored and happy. This appeals to the audience as well as promotes the artist as it shows that the latter is conforming to indie conventions, knowing what the audience expect. Furthermore, the use of a sun rising in the image connotes the sense that against the darkness there is light and a hope of a new beginning. This reflects the deep meaning and nature of the lyrics of the indie genre, as well as sending a positive message to the target audience, who at their age (15-25), may be going through a lot of personal struggle in their life. Therefore, the artist sending this message helps to bond with the artist and appeal to them and their music.

Unlike the other sides of the digipak, the CD looks the most jam-packed with information. This is due to the fact that to make my CD look as real and professional as possible, I decided to include the legal text you find around the edge of the CD. To do this, I simply google image search Gabrielle Aplin's own CD for "English Rain" and copied most of the information she had on hers. I then used the "Warp Text" tool to arch the writing so it would curve around the edge of the CD as I saw most artists do on theirs during my research into digipaks. I think using this warp tool has proven to be extremely beneficial to my CD as it gives it that lift of looking like something you would find in a shop. Furthermore, if this were a real CD, it would appeal to the audience as they are so subliminally used to seeing this aspect of a CD that they would unconsciously expect to see it there and be satisfied if they do. It also connotes a sense of established success and fame if the artist has this on their CD as it demonstrates that their music is actually good to have their album design printed professionally. The other text I included was firstly, the Parlophone logo, as this maintains professionalism as it shows how the artist is successfully part of an actual record label. The second piece of writing beneath the logo was information for the audience about going to a specific website to unlock exclusive content from the artist about their album, if they have the CD in their computer. The purpose of this is both a promotional tool for the artist as well as giving something more to the audience to make them feel like they are truly a part of the artist's life. This aspect of the CD shows the audience that the artist wants the audience to get involved and form a relationship. It also promotes the album and means that if fans purchase it and tell their friends about the never-seen-before content, more people will want to view it and therefore buy the album. The last piece of writing is simply the title of the album and the artist's name. Again, as with the front cover of the digipak, these two pieces of information are vital as they act as a constant reminder to the audience of who the music belongs to and what it is called, so they can get an idea of the kind of music on the album. In addition, putting the artist's name, or the album's name in as many places as possible ensures that if any passer-by were to see someone looking at the album, they would see any of the two names and perhaps search up the artist or album for themselves; this is why I placed both names on the top of the CD, so it is easy to quickly read.  The font that I used for all the information, except the album name, was "Love Monster", as the slightly blockier writing style (in comparison to the more swirly-style of the other font I used) is best suited for stating information, rather than to appeal to the audience. This font has a far more professional look to it; if I had used the other font, my CD would not have looked like it belonged to an actual artist. 

For the second image of my digipak, I strayed away from using another image of the artist. Instead, I used an image I took of the sun, not quite setting yet, but low down in the sky, as I wanted the colors of the sky to match the light-colored side of the digipak. However, the reason I chose this image out of the others that I took is due to the fact that the trees on the right side of the picture are black, whereas contrastingly, the left side of the image is lighter due to the rays of sunshine coming through. The opposing sides of color fitted in well through the prevalent theme of happiness and sadness throughout my digipak. It was also useful to have this image as it is the final side of the digipak is the back cover, which is in a dark color scheme. Therefore, as it is the right side of this image that is dark, it is almost as if the digipak is naturally changing color towards being dark; therefore, there is a much more natural and appealing looking flow of colors, rather than a light image going to a dark image looking out of place. The flowing shift in colors helps to reflect the artist's emotions, showing how as the album progresses, the artist's thoughts and feelings so too change. This acts as a way for the audience to actually feel as if they are on this emotional journey along with the artist as they go through the digipak. Although the sun is leaning towards setting in this chosen image, it actually looks like the sun is rising, and breaking through the trees, connoting the idea that out of the darkness comes hope and positivity. Here, the artist is able to send messages to the audience that they should never give up dreaming and hoping as good things always come; many of the target audience may need these support and therefore it builds and strengthens a relationship with the artist. Furthermore, the image helps to promote the artist as despite the fact you cannot see the entire location, the part that is shown has been taken and edited in a way that makes it look from the indie genre. The use of trees and sunlight are a key convention of the genre as it is part of the natural world, which indie artists focus on in their music and videos. The actual editing of the image has been kept low-key, as not a lot was needed. I wanted to keep the picture simple, yet striking. Therefore I merely increased various components such as the brightness and the saturation, whilst slightly decreasing the contrast, just to really give an effective juxtaposition between the brightness of the sun rays and the darkness of the trees. As I mentioned previously, over-editing is not a convention of the indie genre and therefore it was not necessary.

As you can see, as with the first image of the digipak, I included lyrics in this second image as well. The lyrics in this image actually continue from the first, and therefore there is a successful flow through the digipak, where despite the different content of each image, everything fits and relates together. Initially, I did not actually have any writing on either of the two images; however, I found that when I put all the images together, they did not match as well as I hoped, despite the similarity in the colors. Therefore, including the lyrics on both of the images proved to be a useful way of creating continuity. When picking the lyrics to use, I looked at the connotations of the image in order to gain insight into how to best create meaning; the lyrics "glorious we transcend into a psychedelic silhouette" fitted in well. The sun rays in the image move upwards, and therefore link with the idea of transcending; furthermore, the positioning of the text at the top of the image helps to emphasis this idea as it is as if the lyrics are moving upwards. I moved the text around quite a bit to find the perfect place and realized having it at the top in the sky links so fittingly with the concept of heaven, as this is stereotypically where people place heaven to be. This is a key theme for my artist as in the music video of "Salvation", the male protagonist dies and therefore the lyrics successfully link in well, maintaining convention and continuity. To advocate this conception of transcending and heavenly matters, I used the font "Jane Austen" again, as firstly this is the same one I used for the other image of the digipak; secondly, as soon as I picked the lyrics I knew that this style font would fit so perfectly with the image as the personal format of it connotes the sense that someone is actually accounting their own feelings and real life situation. This helps to connect to the audience as if the font matches the images and brings about a certain kind of emotion, it will procure a more relatable image of the artist for the audience and represent them as being quite genuine in their music and personality, as they are opening up to their fans. 

The penultimate side of the digipak is for the personal note from the artist. I came up with the idea to use this image of the artist on a swing from my music video, as at the beginning, Amy is seen on a swing. However, instead of using an image with Amy's face in, I decided to have Amy's back to the camera and this creates a more natural look; otherwise I would have had to ensure her face was mediated according to a more appealing look for the audience. The reason I chose this image is due to the fact that it represents the artist as being carefree and enjoying herself; this appeals to the target audience as this is something they all aspire to be like. In addition, the way that the artist has been positioned, with her head tilting backwards connotes that she is truly happy and feeling completely at ease. Furthermore, as her head is titled upwards, it connotes the sense that she is looking up to the sky, foreshadowing that the album may have aspects of heavenly matters in it, linking with the other parts of the digipak, such as the lyrics I have used on the two images. As this is the personal note, it is important that the audience does feel as if the artist is being portrayed in this particular light, as it illustrates a different side of her to her "celebrity status", and therefore shows that the artist wants the audience to be a part of her life. Therefore, the personal note becomes that little bit more personal for the audience as they can see this is something from the artist's heart, not something for financial benefit. It is also essential that I used an indie location such as this field, as not only it is conventional of the genre, but also shows the artist in her prime comfort zone: the countryside. Hence, consequently the artist is shown to be quite authentic in her rustic roots. I was initially thinking it would be appropriate to have an image of Amy playing a musical instrument; however the instrument my group and I are using in our music video is a piano and therefore having a shot indoors would not have had the same rustic feel to the personal note. In addition, I wanted to capture natural lighting to make the personal note side of the digipak seem as realistic and genuine as I possibly could; as with the other two image I used that are in a light color scheme, having outdoor shots is so advantageous to making the digipak look as indie as I naturally can. Furthermore, the natural warmth of the image, along with the editing I opted for of increasing the brightness and changing the hue, helps with these connotations of happiness and being carefree as they provide a positive aura. 

When deciding the font to use for my personal note, I took into consideration the connotations of the image as this helped to get a feel of the appropriate typography to use. Initially I thought about using the same font as I did for the two images - "Jane Austen" - as this particular font has strong connotations of being quite personal, due to the handwritten style of it. However, as I had already used this font in two sides of the digipak I actually wanted to balance the layout of ancillary out by using the other font "Love Monster" I had previously used on the front cover. I planned out so that half of my digipak sides would be written in the font "Jane Austen", whilst the other half would be written in "Love Monster", which alongside this side of the digipak, and the back cover, this design idea has been followed through. This way, it makes my digipak appear more organized and having had a lot of thought put into it as the font changes every so often. This is a useful way of engaging with the audience as it keeps them interested in the changes made in the digipak and questioning why they have been made. Despite "Love Monster" being a less personal style, I think it is a more fitting font for the personal note as it is a lot clearer to read than the other font; despite it being crucial for the audience to get a feel of the personal touch of the artist, it is also important that the design appeals to the audience, for instance, by them being able to clearly read the artist's message to them. Furthermore, as the image alone has strong connotations, I did not think it was necessary to use "Jane Austen" font. Rather, the boldness and capitalization of the font connotes the sense of the artist's certainty in her words, as though she truly means everything she is saying. In addition, the fact that it immediately stands out when you look at the digipak shows that this is an exceedingly important aspect of the digipak side; on the other hand, the other font does not have the same effect.

For the last side of the digipak I had to create a back cover. This side of the digipak was a little more complicated than the others, with the exception of the front cover of the digipak, where I used similar editing. The image for the back cover actually consists of two different image; one of them is a shot of the city of London, whilst the other is an image of Amy I layered on top. The reason I did this is as I did not have an image of Amy in London and therefore had to make do with what I did have. I evidently had the option of not having Amy shown in the back cover, however as I wanted to represent the artist as having two sides, with the juxtaposition of the calm and ordinary countryside location and the chaotic, celebrity lifestyle-like city life, I wanted to show Amy in both settings. This way, the artist can see that the artist is extraordinary and aspire to have her lifestyle, as many 15-25 year olds would. Similarly to my front cover, this image was originally in a day-time time zone, which I edited by layering a black and white filter on it and a solid blue color fill to make this cool, dark tone, night-time like tone on it. The reason I did this is simply as I wanted my front and back cover to match and also to balance out the design choice of having half my digipak set during the night and the other half set during the day. Instead of changing the brightness and contrast of the image so dramatically as I did with the front cover, as I wanted the writing on it to match more with the image. Amy's face is shown a lot more clearly in the front cover as the glow on the writing needed to match more with the overall darkness of the image. Therefore, in addition to creating a contrast between Amy and the background location, it also allowed the entire back cover to flow more effectively. Furthermore, instead of completely draining the color out of the background image, I wanted to keep tinges of color in, such as the redness of the buses. This is simply as it creates a more effective look, as if more thought went into creating deeper meanings, reflecting the conventions of indie music. The difference in color, the lack of it as well as the redness of the buses, help to connote the sense of the artist going through varying emotions, both positivity and negativity. This helps to appeal to the audience as they can see that the album is not going be simple and stereotypically boring, but rather that it would quite different to what the audience may expect to find in a indie digipak. 

The reason I used this particular image of Amy as firstly, it was different to the one I used on the front cover; I did not want another image of Amy looking directly at the camera, but instead one that would give other connotations. This one in particular was a good choice as I liked the way Amy was looking to the side, as if in deep contemplation. These connotations relate to the back cover as it shows how despite the busy hustle-bustle location of the city and the links to a celebrity lifestyle, the artist still takes time to slow down and think about things, showing how genuine she is. This is extremely appealing for the audience to see as i shows that despite being a "celebrity", the artist does not regard herself like that, but rather prefers her rustic roots. The use of the artist looking into the distance on the right hand side has been purposely chosen as part of the layout; this way, it gives the digipak a more finished look as the to go through the digipak the audience have to turn the pages to the right. Therefore, it seems as if the artist is looking into the distance at the next part of her album. 

The font I used for writing the track-list on the back cover of the digipak was chosen to balance out with the other use of fonts. Using "Love Monster" was an evident better choice as it is a lot clearer than the other font. Furthermore, the font has a much more professional look to it; there is no need for the typography to have any particular connotations as it simply needs to look as if it belongs to the indie genre, which it does. When I initially put the track-list on the back, I decided to have the songs spread out across the back cover, rather than in an orderly format. However, it did have the same high quality finish; instead it looked rather messy. Therefore, having an orderer layout was important in reflecting the success of the artist, showing that they are well-liked and produce good music. It also helps to link with the background image of the city of London, as cities have connotations of business and professionalism, which I wanted to show on the back cover. This helps to represent the artist as being quite extraordinary due to the celebrity side of her and having to create good quality products for her audience. The reason I put an outer glow on the text is because firstly, I simply wanted it to stand out more, giving it a boost and enhancing the overall appearance of it. Secondly, putting the white/yellow glow on actually links to the fact that the image is set during the night, and therefore the glow connotes to stars and a transcendent light; this again helps to connote heavenly matters, linking in with the music in the album.

With regards to actually using Photoshop, there were many tools I found difficult to use whilst making my digipak. For example, having to work with different layers proved to be harder than I anticipated as at times when I was trying to edit one layer separately to the others, all the layers in the Photoshop file would edit. Therefore, I had to find a way around this; instead I would duplicate the layer I specifically wanted to edit in another file, edit it there and then duplicate it back to the original file. This occurred with digipak sides such as the front and back cover where I had two images layered together - an image of the artist cutout of another image and the background image. As I wanted to make Amy’s face stand out against the dark background, I wanted to increase the brightness of the image of her, whilst keeping the other image dark. However, when I selected the layer of the cutout of Amy to increase the brightness, the background also became brighter and therefore the night-time effect was ruined. So to overcome this I had to go the long way round and separately edit the images. Another weakness I found was it was initially difficult to make the front and back cover look realistic so that the artist looks naturally in the shot. As I wanted the image of Amy and the background to be of different brightnesses it was not easy to find the right balance of contrast between the two images to get the look I wanted and also look natural. Therefore, I had to work on this for a while till I got the right look.

However, I also found that I had many strengths when it came to using Photoshop. I was able to use the basic tools such as blurring, sharpening and changing the brightness/contrast/hue/saturation quite effectively. I also managed to use the cut out tool quite well which I had to use a lot. When using this particular tool I think I had a strong point of remembering to ensure keeping the image look as realistic as possible and would therefore remember to use the blur tool around the edge of the image so that it would not look like it was actually from another image.

Overall, I do think that my digipak both conforms and subverts to the indie genre conventions, but conclusively adheres more to them than otherwise. This is because I have taken into account the genre expectations of the audience, whilst finding a way to make it more unique. For example, the inclusion of both a countryside and city location both conforms and subverts genre conventions as countryside locations represent the rustic nature of indie music; on the other hand, the city locations oppose this. However, including both appeals to a wider audience as it is more realistic to have both settings. In addition, having both settings allows you to give a craft a better emotional response from the audience as different locations mean different things to people. Despite the fact that I have made my digipak so half of it is in a dark color scheme, I have adhered to the convention of natural lighting as I recognize it is a beneficial way to make the digipak more indie. I ensured that the sides that I made stay looking set during the day all matched in their warm tones and therefore have managed to both comply and disregard genre conventions. Aspects such as these are what I think has made the digipak more interesting. In addition, I think this is what appeals to the target audience, as people of the ages 15-25 do not want to see the same old things repeated, particularly in an indie genre. It is a lot more appealing to see something familiar, such as the artist wearing indie clothes, or playing a musical instrument or in the countryside, but with a unique twist, as I have done. I have thought about how to best make all the aspects of the digipak relatable to the target audience as they are the main concern. For example, I have considered all the connotations of the costume, the make-up, the facial expressions, etcetera, the artist wears and how it will appeal to the audience. I have also taken into account how the layout/design of the digipak sides individually and as a whole shape the audience's opinion of the artist; for example, the typography I used in a side must link with the image. All these factors combined help to ensure that the artist can build a successful relationship with the audience as they will make the latter feel as though this is not simply a product for financial benefit, but rather something to give back to the audience and something they have put genuine care and effort into. For example, the artist a lot of the time is not portrayed as a celebrity but rather she seems more ordinary and alike to the audience, yet her clothes and ability to sing are still extraordinary and something the audience will aspire to. This balance helps to maintain that personal relationship between the artist and audience, making the digipak overall more successful.