Magazine Advert - Ideas

Based on my research into the codes and conventions of magazine ads for albums, I know that the magazine ad is essentially a variation on the album/DigiPak cover.
As I intend for my advert to follow these conventions, I will be basing my magazine advert off of whatever my final DigiPak cover looks like.

In all likelihood, I will be using my own design of the Capricorn icon - as it appears on the front of the DigiPak.

Keeping in form with the DigiPak, I plan to also use the same parchment paper background (of course I will need to see how it looks in actuality before I finalise any decisions.) 

I reckon that I'll probably stick with the layout of my draft magazine advert (pictured below), as it contains all the necessary information and clearly identifies what the advert is about, without losing the striking simplicity.

As I've already considered with the DigiPak, I plan to explore using one of the fonts below for all the typography featured in the advert (with the exclusion of the record label logo, the artists website address, and the iTunes logo/website.) The font I ultimately choose will of course be the same font that I use for the final DigiPak.

This font is the most similar to the brush with which I created the Capricorn drawing. I'm inclined to use it, save for the possibly juvenile feeling it creates. I will be showing three edits - one with each font - to members of my target audience to gain feedback and opinions to help me make a final decision.  

This font has the same uneven edges, but in a slightly more toned down version making it less juvenile looking. However, I'm not sure if the thinness makes it feels too clean/simple. 

  

I think this one is my personal favourite. It's style makes it feel as if it's been carefully handwritten, and it looks good in lower-case and upper-case letters.

At this stage I can't decide anything else, but I am now ready to begin bringing my ideas to life with Photoshop and Illustrator.

DigiPak - Ideas

During my initial exploration of creating a Digipak I managed to create a rough draft for a DigiPak that I intend to use as a starting point to work with as I develop my ideas further.

I'm very fond of having the Capricorn image on the front of the album, especially as it's the key piece of iconography I've decided to associate with my artist. The simplicity is also bold and eye-catching, which is useful in making sure it's memorable and distinctive to fans. 

However, the extreme simplicity of it doesn't link to the style of the music video I have created, nor does it feel appropriate to Briggs' alternative genre music. 

Given this, one idea that i've had to make it more appropriate is to use photoshop to create some sort of combination of the Capricorn logo mixed with a photograph - possibly one of the river - to have the effect of the Capricorn being filled in by this 'memory' (as this video does.) 

Another idea that I toyed with was drawing my own original Capricorn logo. 

To create this image I used the Sketches app on my iPad. I googled images of the Capricorn symbol and had a go sketching it out, experimenting with the different tools on offer. The above drawing was the most pleasing result. 

The softness of the design - an effect created through the uneven looking edges of the drawing - is more appropriate to the genre than the vector Capricorn I originally used. The soft curves of the lines and the slightly heart shaped tail also connote a femininity to the design, which fits with the fact that the singer is female and the video is supposed to be from her point of view. 

I also had the idea of incorporating polaroid shots into the DigiPak.

One way of formatting this could be to have a picture of a range of polaroids spread over a plain background (e.g. a wooden desk), possibly lit with candle light, maybe spread around a diary featuring the above sketch. 

I'm considering using this idea as the image for the inside covers of the Digipak.

An example of a polaroid I'd use. I think I'd play with the focus so that the polaroid's were out of focus, with the drawing of the Capricorn perhaps out of focus as well. I quite like the idea of handwriting some of the lyrics of the song on the open page, next to the drawing, and having the focus on them.

I think I'd still leave the back panel of the DigiPak to be a plain, solid colour, featuring only track listings and legal info, but obviously with the colour matching that of what's on the front.

I think I may go for a light coloured background instead, as this brings a softer feel to the product as a whole. I'm going to explore have a pale background that looks like fancy, cream-coloured paper, as this can be linked to the idea of memories. 

In regards to font, given the my ideas about drawing the Capricorn icon and handwriting the lyrics, I intend to use a font that looks (maybe even is) handwritten, in a dark colour so as to stand out against the pale background. 

Using the iMac app font book, I discovered the above three fonts - all of which I will experiment with during the creation of the DigPak.
The style of all these fonts feels congruous with my Capricorn icon drawing, so it will simply be a matter of deciding which one looks best.

I'm hoping that the overall effect of these ideas will be that I am able to produce a DigiPak that is much more fitting to the music and the music video, and that conveys a very personal feeling to the audience - like looking at a scrap book.

My Music Video - Masks and Iconography

Since the conceptualisation of my music video, I wanted to use a mask to obscure the identity of my singer, primarily as it means I can use audience address and looking without having to include performance, but also as I like the enigma that this creates in association with my artist.

Before my pitch I'd already done a quick google for potential mask options, and found myself favouring some curious, plain, geometric animal masks - their simplicity was soothing, and I liked the connotations that presenting my singer as semi-animal can create.
I returned to searching for those masks tonight, and quickly discovered their source. They're available for purchase from https://wintercroft.com/ and come in the form of a PDF file, allowing customers to download and assemble their chosen mask for themselves. With fantastic customer reviews and a website as smooth and sharp as the masks, i bought one straight away.
The only difficulty I had with the process was choosing which one of their many beautiful designs I wanted most.

Firstly, the fox. This half mask is delicate in design, and presenting my artist in connection with a fox has potential to link her to the associations of foxes as being quiet and mysterious animals. However, foxes are also associated with being sneakily clever and pests. My main reason for not choosing this mask (despite my love for it, irregardless of the negatives about foxes) was that it wouldn't cover my artists mouth, and I intend to totally obscure her face/identity, (with the exception of her eyes.)

I also considered the wolf mask. I liked the idea of the 'lone wolf' character type, which could metaphorically represent the isolation of my music video's subject. However, I was uncertain about the open mouth and eye slant of this mask - while I personally really like it, I'm aware that it looks slightly aggressive and predatory, and I don't want to present my artist in this way as it may turn potential fans away.

And so I chose the Jaguar. I felt this mask still has enough animal wildness to it, but that the backwards slanted ears and high brow made it seem softer and more timid somehow. Jaguars are also generally more mysterious animals, and are associated with a sense of simultaneous grace and power. 

My downloadable PDF template for the jaguar mask was sent to me immediately upon purchase (a mere £4.50 - (which i guess could be seen as steep considering it's only a template, but there you go, I have a poor concept of money)), so as soon as I get my hands on some cardboard and a printer I'll begin my attempts to assemble this.

Fingers crossed all goes well!