First Draft Of My Digipak

As I have mentioned in my previous "Digipak Research" post, Mayday Parade's existing albums go against particular conventions you would expect from "normal" digipaks. For instance, the most common feature that you would usually see on a digipak is the artists face, however  with all of my band's existing covers this isn't the case. Although I may be going against typical conventions from other artists, I am sticking to Mayday Parade's conventions for their albums.

The layout I have chosen for my digipak is to have six panels, where you have the front cover on the right, the back side in the middle and the right outside cover is on the left (so it's a backwards design really!) This was the only way I could visualise the digipak working and I believe it looks best like this.

Now that I have collected my ideas of my digipak from my drawings, I decided to bring them to life by taking pictures of each shots that I scribbled down. I am trying to ensure that I link all of ancillary tasks together with my music video. As my song is called the memory, I believe the pictures I have taken and shots I have edited work well with the theme. Here are my of examples that I have been working on:

Outside Cover:
I ended up creating rather a lot of drafts as I was undecided on which ones I preferred, so I thought I'd make as many as I could (by looking back at my drawings) and ask my peers which ones they like to help my come to a conclusion.

Outside cover (left), Back cover (middle), Front Cover (right)

Outside cover (left), Back cover (middle), Front Cover (right)

I personally like the rose combinations, as for me they tell a story. Although by looking at them you would just see them as having a rose in someones hands or petals blowing away in the wind. However, the message I am trying to convey (represented by the rose in their hands -front cover), how the couple were in control of their relationship at first as well as implying their future is in their hands. Therefore, one decision or wrong move can change everything, which I believe it represented in my music video. The use of the rose petals blowing in the winds, suggests that the memories they once had are disappearing before their eyes and that they are no longer in control of the situation. This again links to to my music video to the part when she gets run over, as there is nothing he can do to bring her back and create anymore memories with her.

Outside cover (left), Back cover (middle), Front Cover (right)

Outside cover (left), Back cover (middle), Front Cover (right)

 Although these drafts look rather similar, I did try to differentiate them by using different images of the dandelions. This was mainly down to the fact I was undecided which looked best. In a way these two drafts represent the same ideas as the rose ones, because it displays their love losing to the hardships of life. In this case the dandelion seeds are losing to nature (the wind) which can occur on any random day. This I believe is represented in my music video as the one argument the couple have, forces her to leave the house out of frustration. This causes her to make a split second decision of whether she should turn back and apologise or go and by her choosing that path she lost her life to the unexpected evident that sometimes occur randomly in life (just like the wind/weather in a way).

Outside cover (left), Back cover (middle), Front Cover (right)

Outside cover (left), Back cover (middle), Front Cover (right)

These two drafts are my memory combinations. As I am aiming to ensure my products link together, I thought it would be a good idea to use some of the props that I used in my music video to feature on my digipak e.g. bubbles and their memories. The use of the pictures being torn up convey how that not all love stories are like fairy tales and have a happy endings; break ups can occur and love is lost. Although my music video takes the losing love to the next extreme, it proves the point that unexpected occurrences can happen and that one decision can change both of their lives. I'm not totally convinced that the combinations still work together and achieve the message I am hoping for, however, I can ask my peers what they think as well as keep experimenting with options if I wish. 

Outside cover (left), Back cover (middle), Front Cover (right)

Outside cover (left), Back cover (middle), Front Cover (right)

These two drafts are yet again rather similar, as I have kept some of the pictures the same. I decided to do this as I was unsure which combination worked the best. The main reason I used these pictures in these drafts is mainly because of the fact the puddle scene is included in my video and I have to keep continuity throughout my products. Linking back to Mayday Parade's existing albums too, they all seem to feature the "umbrella man" or the red umbrella, so I found myself a red umbrella and use my talent to star and recreate the image. By keeping to these conventions, I believe they not only look similar to ones you would find from the band, but also links you to the music video, causing the link, which could enable a bigger promotion of sales. 

Inside Covers:

I only created 2 drafts of my inside cover, as I was more decisive in what I wanted to produce. The main idea I had was to have one picture that I could split into three sections to keep continuity. Like I mentioned in my "Digipak Research" I particularly liked Rihanna's digipak that has a picture of her spread out on the three panels, which I would like to recreate. So this is why I choose these two photos.

Inside left cover (left), Inside middle cover (middle), Inside right Cover (right)

Although dandelions don't feature in my music video, this does convey the messages of their memories fading away which is portrayed in the song. Also the album I am recreating "anywhere but here", which features "the memory" in, has a common theme of losing to love or an end to something. So I thought by having a dandelion full of seeds, shows the start of love and by it being bare at the end, leaves the idea that the characters are left with nothing and their love is now gone. 

Inside left cover (left), Inside middle cover (middle), Inside right Cover (right)

I decided to create this draft, as this picture happened to be one of the images that I put in my scrapbook and also them departing from each other is included in my music video as well. I also believe this is the clear picture that displays the aim I am trying to convey. As they are literally separating from each other, shows they are walking away from their chances of love to continue. Additionally, this is a perfect example of a image I could use and split into three sections to encapsulate my idea with.

Conclusion:

I would say that the drafts that I have produced, link well with my music video as puddles, rain, pictures, memories, bubbles etc do feature in my final product. Although I do believe that all of my drafts are able to convey the message I am hoping for, so are more effective than others. At the end of the day, I need to think about my target audience, as they would be the ones who initially buy my end product, so I need my ideas to appeal to my peers. Therefore, I think my next steps will be to ask people to look at my blog and say which ones appeal to them most so I can add text onto my next drafts.