Group Digipak-Miss Miller (Complete)

Group DIGI
18/12/14
Vasil Nikolov

Once we completed our individual digipaks, we held a meeting in which we portrayed each other`s digipak and decided on how how our overall house will look. This was a good idea as this way, we can make our group digipak more professional due to each other`s strengths in the different areas that a production of a digipak possesses. Following the meeting, we agreed to mainly use Lily`s digipak and include several segments from Ayesha`s such as the front cover as it fitted better the theme that was given off by lilly`s front cover. Our group worked together to implement the different segments by each being responsible for the different segment that we thought should be changed. I will give a quick glimpse over what the group liked/disliked in each other`s suggestions. 

Firstly, my one:

In the meeting my group did approve the use of my font and the artist's signature. The group commented that the text that was used would allow the audience to bond with the artist as the font would provide them with a more personalised and authentic copy. This would be conventional for the indie genre, as it links with the added signature on the quote page that Lily has which, would result in the the digipak to posses a more personal touch for the audience. The image was also approved, however, we all used it in our digipak proposals so we dud not use it personally from my digipak. The picture was liked by all three of us as it creates a bond for the artist with the audience (due to her looking straight down the camera lense, causing the audience to look up to their idol). The image is also conventional for the indie genre as the costume (which falls under the Mise-en-scene category) is naturalistic and does not fall under the mainstream attire that modern society is used to see. Following these positive notes, the group did give several adequate reasons for not using my overall digipak. They had decided that the background for the digipak is too unrealistic. The use of the bright blue had neutralised the dark effect of the golden grass which made the overall background clash in a very weird and unnatural way.  This is due to the mismatching images seen in the cover itself. The other comment was that the rest of the design was too bland as it was mainly white. This would bore the audience as there is mainly one colour. Also the use of random objects would be too confusing for the new listeners as they will not be able to make a connection between the props and the lyrics of the artist`s main best-seller (blue jeans).  This is why, we only implemented the font from my digipak. 

Then Ayesha's digipak.

From Ayesha`s digipak, the group fell in love with the front cover as it contained the correct elements within the cover. The digipiak included several positive elements that contain the wanted conventions of the indie genre. For example, the image of the front cover created a very similar bond with the audience. However, unlike my one, Ayesha`s looked far more professional which would gain the trust of the audience to our artist. Clothing, is also conventional to the indie genre and would appeal to the female members of the audience due to their admiration towards the artist. Meanwhile, the male segment of the audience would also appreciate the artist`s appearance as it contains flirtatious elements in the pictures. For example the use of  bigger looking lips, feline make-up and flirtatious clothing that purveys the shoulders of the artist. Overall, the layout of the front cover is conventional to the indie genre as it  uses the romantic theme that we wished to incorporate in the digipak. In this case, the use of flowers for the background contained naturalistic features which are conventional for the indie genre as indie artist like to look like they have connected to nature. The font that Lilly used is also in a hand written style, that results in the digipak to become more unique for the artist, resulting in the creation of a bond between the audience. Also the layout is eye-catching as the colours used in the digipak link successfully together. Nevertheless, the group decided to use some of them (Similarly to my one) in the general digipak, as her digipak had a slight problem with the same colours. As they were the same, trhe group believed that male audience might be put-off due to the overly-feminised layout.
 
                                                          Lilly`s digipak + End product

Finally comes in Lilly`s digipak, which we found perfect as according to the group it contained the perfect layout for a personalised-style digipak. The elements that Lilly used used within the digipak had several designs that conformed to the indie genre. It should be added that they have represented the artist as well. The mentioned segements sometimes fall in the range of themes that have been introduced in the music video. For example, the colour choice such as: red connotate the theme of love/passion. This is conventional for the indie genre, as indie artists like to have themes that either collide with their feelings or highlight the main message of the artist's songs which causes the target audience to bond with the artist and relate to the artist.

The text that Lilly used within the fan acknowledgement page and the song list will be used in the group digipak as they form a bond with the audience under the view that the digipak would become more personal for the audience. These two slides were chosen as the written text was far more detailed and personalised than either my quick famous quote or Ayesha`s short message. Both pages conform to the indie genre as the personalised segments make the audience bond with the artist due to the style of the digipak would be more personalised and original.

The extra immages that were accepted to be included in the general digipak from Lilly`s appealed to the target audience as they would make females to admire the Artist`s effortless yet stylish look. Meanwhile, the male target audience would find certain clothes attractive. Thus the group chose this digipak as our main layout for the genreal digipak as it was mainly conventional to the indie genre rather than confused of which genre it represents (Like my one sadly did). Furthermore, the layout is involving for the audience as it supplies them with romantic inclusions as well as the artist`s thoughts. Although this digipak featured most of the elements we will be using, the front page was not accepted by the group as it did not blend like Ayesha`s could with this digipak. Furthermore, the black font did colide with the darker segments of the background which, resulted in the text being less readable. 

We the edited the front cover, colours and font blends well with the other pages in the digipak. However, we kept the other elements the same as we believed that they promoted the artist well enough to the audience while still conforming to the indie genre. This final digipak would appeal to our target audience as it contains romantic themes as well as represent the indie genre and our niche audience would appreciate.

The artist is placed in the centre with the use of a mid shot, which promotes the artist further. This highlights the artist's importance as she is looks straight into the camera lense which causes the audience to look at her, which is inviting and causes a relationship to build. This also causes her to look confident as she smokes and looks into the camera, showing evidence of Dyer's theory as she shows her rebellious side, which is conventional of the indie genre as dynamics are changed. The artist also wears natural make up in each picture, reflecting an old hollywood look which is both unachievable and achievable as the look is simple to re-create. The artist also had back combed hair, linking to this and with a flower crown which is conventional of the indie genre as naturalistic features are included caused that artist to look unartificial. The artist also holds a cigarette in the extreme close up of an extra picture. This exposes and promotes the audience as she takes up the whole back page, following Goodwin's theory and also conforms to indie genre as habits such as this link to depressed emotions which link to the sound of the music and the messages within, this can link to older members of the artist that also possess the habits. The other extra image is a mid shot of the artist standing and smirking at the camera as she's placed in the centre of the shot. 
Another extra image is used as the artist is placed in the middle of the shot as mid shot is being used to show this. This promotes the artist further as she becomes more recognisable.  The artist wears traditions 60s/vintage clothes reflecting that of an earlier time which is conventional of the indie genre and causes the audience to look up to her new/revolutionary image. Autumn also wears natural makeup, with an element of the 1960s for example nude, big lips and winged eyeliner. This causes her to look more natural and not over done, which causes women to look up to her and also appeals to male audience members as she looks flirtatious and intriguing therefore, her image can appeal to a wider audience.

Next, the design and layout of the images within the digipak include scenaries that are not overly attention grabbing, the background is naturalistic which links to indie genre and also does not take attention away from the artist, promoting her further to the audience and highlights the idea that she is the most important element of the album. The background elements make the pictures more interesting to look at especially the black roses on the front cover however, are still natural and the artist is still in the centre of the images therefore, the audience focus on the artist mostly building a larger bond with her especially as she looks straight at them through the camera angles. The creation of a relationship with the audience conveys love messages within the songs and the roses on the front cover and CD disk as she shows care for her audience and the appreciate this, as her songs and music videos become more personal from the artist. This again links to the front cover as roses are used behind the artist. 

The name of the artist is written in bold style using a 'snell hound' font from Photoshop that adds a more personalised element for the audience, on the digipak cover. This causes the name to stand out against the background and as it is located in the centre, it would cause her to become the main point and be recognisable in stores. This highlights Goodwin's theory as the artist is intriguing, exciting and at the same time promoting himself to the fans. The album name on the front is written in the same colour, adding a personal touch as well as being extremely vintage. This links to her look and themes within the romantic elements in her music. The song titles are written in black/crimson red in order to stand out and look more diverse, linking to the indie genre and macking the back cover look more authentic. The note is written in the same style, as the front cover which adds to the personality of the artist and creates a positive bond between one  another while showing that she is caring about them. A signature of the artist is added at the bottom, which makes the digipak even more important to the fans as it makes the digipak more unique.

The language used is colloquial and features lexicon style that is easily understatable by the audience. This is evident through the fannote as it shows an informal writing style and the describtion of her life is in a down to earth style. The use of this language makes the audience more engaged as they would respect her easily.Also the use of a shorter-structured sentence makes the digipak more memorable, which is a positive element for promoting and selling. The digipak is conventional of the indie genre as the audience are appreciated due to the idea that the album is for them.

Overall, the devices that have been used connote various messages in the digipak. For example, the black and white colours that have been used within the front cover portray to the audience to the theme of good vs evil. Such an ideology appears in her lyrics and shows that she has encountered both good and poor moments in her life. This is conventional to the indie genre as the artists usually adds elements that has experrienced and wishes to use ans an ideology. The use of the notebook alongside type written text is used to create a bond between the artist and the audience as it makes it more personal from the artist and shows her care for her fans. This also creates a uniqueness effect that is conventional for the indie genre as it looks more diverse compared to other genres. We have used each others digipaks to think of new elements for some of the pages. The use of old filters creates the unique style that we wanted to have. 

In Conclusion, by applying each other's elements that were approved from their initial digipak, we have finalised as successful digipak that conforms to the indie genre. Through the use of these conventions, the digipak would appeals to our audience. For example, the use roses and the colour red would look more appealing to females as they  did wish to see from the target audience results, the use of romantic arthefacts. In all, one believes that creating a group digipak proves to be much easier than creating an individual version as each member possessed good ideas that would contribute to the general which would make the development more efficient. Furthermore, as some of our group`s memebrs were better at Photoshop, the quality of the product would be much more different. Overall, I believe that we produced an excellent digipak as we did split our jobs in the places where we were good at.