Production - Progress of Digipak's Inside Panels

Step-by-step animation showing the progress of my digipak's inside panels

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In order to achieve the above outcome, I knew right away that the photo I planned to use across both inside panels had to be edited. First of all, I added a black and white filter on the photo, before putting an additional reddish-orange colour overlay (in Photoshop CS3: Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options > Color Overlay > Blend Mode: Overlay), creating a nice contrasting effect. Because the shadows were now emphasized, I was able to easily edit out the tripod leg on the right using the Brush Tool. I subsequently also noticed that there was another out-of-place object, this time on the floor to the left. After a few unsuccessful attempts at using the Brush Tool again to edit it out, I experimented with the Clone Stamp Tool instead which allowed me to 'sample' a patch of the carpet texture (alt + left click). Then, using the stamp I covered up the object which in turn replicated the texture. I made sure to blend it in as much as possible, resulting in a pretty convincing edit! I then added yet another colour overlay over the whole image, this time opting for the Blend Mode: Hue setting, which lightened the colour slightly. I also used the Inner Glow effect under the Blending Options menu in order to add a faded black border as a finishing touch.

Adding layer effects in Photoshop CS3

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Afterwards, I started exploring online Photoshop tutorials in the hopes of stumbling across something that could enhance my design. In the end, I found this glowing text tutorial, which I loosely followed in order to create the 'Lights Out' typography you can see in the final steps above. Whilst creating it, I hoped to give a "light graffiti" effect, as seen in Imogen Heap's album booklet (and featured in this slideshow). At the moment, however, I am undecided whether I will keep it, as I'm not sure if it fits in with the overall design, but it's definitely something I will consider.

Original glowing text effect experimentation

Research - Album Stickers

A common feature for albums, which I have decided to replicate for my digipak, is the presence of a promotional sticker that is affixed to the front cover. The sticker serves as an additional way to entice the consumer into purchasing the album, by highlighting the inclusion of singles that the audience may be familiar with, special edition features, etc. I have therefore decided to take a look at various examples of these stickers, which you can see for yourself below, and identify the information that is most commonly displayed on them.

Hover over to expand:

• Singles that are included (e.g. "Includes the #1 single...")
• Bonus content - extra tracks, bonus disc, making of's, etc.
• Excerpts from favourable reviews (e.g. "The voice of 2011 - Q Magazine") and/or amount of 'stars'.
• If the album is a limited or special edition version, then it is clearly labeled as such.
• Album and/or artist name may be repeated for emphasis
• Barcode number (in small characters - also present on the album's spine)

Planning - Ancillary Product Ideas

Ancillary Product Ideas on Prezi

Production of Ancillary Product

I spent some time on Photoshop on Friday slightly putting the start of my Digipak together. Below is the original cover I started with, however I didn't like the shade of the images so I edited them and tried again.

Here I have added the 'I Still Know' font, just to see how it looks. I also added the title of the album beneath, with a font I found on Da Font. I am still unsure about the fonts but am trying them out regardless. However I like the effect of the pictures this time and think it makes the album cover stand out.

Planning of Ancillary Work - Fonts

Here is a list of some of the fonts I have been browsing. I used a website called 'Da Font' whereby I am able to download fonts and import them into photoshop. There is also a programme on Photoshop that lets you choose from a variety of fonts the programme. Below are the ones that have caught my attention. I particularly like the top font 'I Still Know' found on the Photoshop font programme, as well as the final font 'Decibel' which I found on Da Font.

I think I am most likely going to go with 'Decibel' for my final Digipak cover, however I have tried out the other fonts on my template just to see how they look. I think the font is still clear to read, and I like the shakey effect it has on it. I also like the fact that it is Sans Serif, I think this style of font represents the artist more as it represents her different, alternative style of music.