Construction Post 5: Digipak Post-Production

For our digipak, each group was given the same template for Photoshop in which we could edit our designs. The green area was the space we had to use and we had to make sure not to extend beyond the red area.

Photoshop template

Front Panel

The two photos that we used for our front panel are from the promo shots we took up in the studio of just mine and Jack's face.

We had to then edit these photos on Photopshop by using the quick selection tool to delete the background and the refine edge tool to smooth around our skin and hair and make the images look natural. After this, we used the skin smoothing tool to erase any blemishes and the brightness adjuster tool to make our eyes stand out as this is what most people will first look at.

For the front panel we used a background photo form our location promo shots at 'God's Own Junkyard' which then stretched over onto the back panel as well.

Background photo for front and back panels

To edit this photo we mainly used the colour balance tool on Photoshop in order to change the colours and make the photo our own. We also played around with the saturation of the colours to make certain aspects stand out.

Colour balance tool

On the front, we followed the conventions of what an album cover should have and the main ones are to have the artist name in big bold writing at the top, followed by the album name in smaller writing. 

Front panel text

The text has a pink glow around it which is meant to be represent neon lighting, which is major synergistic element throughout or marketing and branding. We chose the album name 'Illuminum' as a play on the word 'illuminate' to further draw attention to the light symbolism. Our audience feedback told us that the reoccurring theme of lights is something that they liked and was an original idea that they hadn't seen another artist use.

When finally editing the two photos of our faces together, we had planned to have two thirds of Mira's face and only a third of Jack's face showing. However, when we received teacher feedback we were told that Jack's face looked squashed and therefore the front panel didn't look right. So we decided to change this and show two thirds of both of their faces with a split screen line between the middle which is synergistic with our music video.

Our final front panel

Back Panel

For the back panel, we were originally going to use the two faces idea again but then realised this looked too repetitive and boring so instead we used a different promo shot that we also took in the studio.

The two that we were deciding between can be seen on the left and right here. We thought the one of Mira had more of her back showing so that we could do a tattoo design for the song titles, but when we looked back the shot we realised there wasn't enough space. Also, we want to promote the Jack as equally important to Mira within the duo and so decided that a photo of both of them was more appropriate. We ended up using the one of them on the sofa, as seen on the right.

We then had to edit out the background and smooth the edges of the photo using the same tools as on the front panel so that when we put over the background image it didn't look like it had obviously been edited. We also used the adjustment tool to make the colours richer and to ensure that the photo was stand out against the background.

Level adjust tool

Our final back panel shows the combination of the background photo that also stretched out onto the front panel, and the sofa photo on top. We then put text with a black box around them for our song titles to make them clear and easy to read. The conventions of a back panel album cover are that there should be a barcode, web address, institution names and logo. We incorporated all of these into our final product.

Back panel

Final front and back panels

Inside Panels

For our inside panels, we used the idea again of having one image stretched across both panels. We wanted to use a photo from our location promo shots at 'God's Own Junkyard' so that this could be the main motif four our album cover. 

The photo we decided to use

We had to then edit this photo so that the colours were more vibrant, making the image look less flat. Also, the right inside panel is where the cd will go, so we need to flip the image so that Jack and I were on the left and wouldn't be covered by the cd. 

Final edited photo for inside panels

The edited photo shows the difference between the Union Jack's and the the lights behind us. They are clearly brighter and more refined which makes the photo look brighter and more spirited. Once our final digipak was made, we asked for some further audience and teacher feedback with both parties reassuring us that they really liked our ideas.