Ancillary Tasks

For the next few weeks i will begin to design and create my ancillary tasks. I will be creating a digipak for my artist, james christie's, album and an advert to promote it. These ancillary tasks will follow the video i have created. I will create them using Serif Page Plus, a creative design programme. I will have to create a brand identity for my artist and this will run consistantly throughout the promotional material i will design.

Photography for My Ancillary Tasks

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What is a Digipak?

A Digipak is a type of CD packaging. Digipaks are the alternative to a jewel case the common known CD packaging. Digipaks became more predominately used by artists in the early 2000s. It is a book-style paperboard or cardboard design with one or more plastic trays which hold the CD's in place.Digipaks are not used as widely as the jewel case as they are less hard-wearing and more expensive. They are often used for special editions of CD's or albums.

I will be creating a digipak as one of my ancillary tasks. I will be making a digipak rather than a jewel case to market our artist as it enables the audience access to a large quantity of information from song lyrics to artist history. By creating a digipak I am using modern forms of packaging to help create our brand identity. It will share features with other promotional material and the music video I am creating.

My Digipak

My digipak will be packaging for my artists album CD but will also help create a brand identity for him. It will share features from the video, my artist's music and the advert I plan to make.

My digipak will link to my video through its theme. The video will be shot on the beach and the digipak will have photography of the location inside it. The ocean and beach is the inspiration for my artist's music.

Through my digipak I am going to develop a brand identity for my artist. I am going to use house colours of a deep red and white. My typography is going to be a serif font. These colours and font will run consistently through out my promotional material. My Album will be self named. The title will appear in a serif font adding a personalised touch. This will become the logo for my artist and will be recognisable as his star motif. For the front cover I have the image of my artist at a cross roads. This image is predominate in my video too. It gives the ideology of a new beginning. This is my artists first album and from here his career can take any turn.

I will make the pack appealing through clever photography and design. The digipak will include information such as; album name, artist name, track names and the name of the record label. This is industry information that forms a convention of a digipak. These aspects of information appear on all CD packaging.

I plan to make my digipak using IT software such as; Paint and Serif Page Plus.

Changes Made To My Digipak

Changes to Digipak

Digipak Analysis

Magazine Adverts

Magazine adverts are a piece of promotional material that artists use to create awareness of their new albums. They use adverts to promote there album in hope that it will increase sales. They help an artist create a brand identity by following a house style that also is used for the album itself and other promotional material.

An advert that promotes albums would appear on the internet, in music magazines such as NME and also popular magazines such as Heat. They all use the same conventions. They would present;

• The artist's name
• The title of the album
• Pull Quotes
• Track listings
• Tour Dates
• Industry information such as; web addresses, record labels, logos
• Date of release
• Where to buy or download the album

Below are a couple examples of magazine adverts. I have analysed them and they show these common conventions.

The Verve

This advert promotes The Verve's single 'Love Is Noise'. This advert is quite simple. The background is a picture taken above the clouds. I think it has been slightly colourised using golds, greens and darker shades. There is little text on the page. It presents

• The artists name; The Verve
• The track title; Love Is Noise
• When the track is available
• The name of the album the track is from
• A web address
• Record label logo

This advert does not promote a tour and does not include any pull quotes. The sky is the theme for this advert, it is photographed in the background. This theme is also on the album cover and the website for the artist. This creates a strong brand identity and them for this artist and their album. It creates a unique selling point.

The Noisettes

This magazine advert is also quite simple. It advertises the new single for The Noisettes. The top two thirds is the single cover. Is it exactly the same. The bottom third carries on the black ground and presents;

• A tag line
• When its available
• A Website

The artist creates a brand identity by using a black background and gold font. This font appears on the website, her album covers and this advert. The image used appears on the single cover and this advert, however the website uses the image from the album cover. This advert has little one it, however I think by designing it like that actually makes the most important information such as title and date release stand out. It creates an impact.

My Magazine Advert - Plan

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Analysis of my magazine advert

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My Magazine advert has changed my my original plan after creating a design, this copy is more detailed and more appealing. See analysis above.