Magazine Advert Analysis

This is the magazine advert from Jay Z's album "The Blue Print 3". I analysed the digipak earlier on in the course so it will be familiar territory to what I have done then and I can take both into comparison.

The advert uses the same theme and image as the digipak front cover, its basically a larger image with smoe information on. This is used because people will recognise either one when they see it, this is kown as brand identitiy.

The layout is very centralised, making everything the centre of attention. It has a very minimalist approach in the sense that there isn't anything to divert the viewrs attention from the main information about the album release.

The fonts are bold and easy to read, this means that there are no difficulties and possible chances of the text being misinterpritated for wrong information.

The colours are very bland and are mainly tonal sketches but the red stripes stand out from the rest. People will sublimanally take them into account and associate it with artist. The small records label at the bottom has the fitst section red, this shows a link between the two. Jay Z has his own record label so it seems appropriate in this context to link both his album logo and record label logo.

Using a date instead of "Coming Soon" or "Out Now" gives it a classier feel. This issomethnig that is often done on the more prestigous artists and genres, it helps to give the advert a well put together and classier appearance.

It has only a small amount of information but it is all the essential criteria that will offer the consumer the best information. It isn't to much text to divert the readers attention and potentially not take it in, but there is enough for it to be informative and not be to obtrusive.

Conventions of a magazine advert

Through the research into different magazine adverts it seems there are certain trends and conventions with in them.

• The majority of adverts show the artist/s to give the consumers a chance to recognise it. When someone sees the artists  they are familiar with they will automatically associate it with the digipak, video and song. This will make it a more successful advert.
• Brand identity is another element which is included the majority of the time, this is again so the consumer associates all the elements with the music video.
• Release dates or "Coming Soon" are shown so that the consumers know when to buy the product, offering help and making it easier for them to buy.
• Retailers are often shown on the adverts, places such as HMV have their logo on it. This is from the artists and companies getting paid by them to be on there. The retailers want to be on the adverts and are willing to pay a lot of money because they are more than likely to get receive money from the sales produced by the adverts.
• Ratings are used predominantly throughout the adverts and are usually either star rating out of five or a score rating out of ten. If it's a good rating then this is going to make it a more appealing product to buy and help to sell more.

Brand Identity

Brand identity is where a range of media texts are easily associated and recognised with one another whether that be images, fonts, colours or layouts.


These are the two Ed Sheeran parts. Both his album cover on the left and the magazine advert below. This shows what is meant by brand identity because you know by seeing either one what it is linked to.

Second Brief

A magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package)

Digipak Editing

These are shots from the editing process. This is when the digipak was very close to completion and getting to how we wanted it. These two parts are the front and back.

Digipak Idea 2

The second idea consists of the artist in the urban location which is taken from the video. With using the image from the video it allows people to automatically associate the two things.

For the inside of the digipak, we have decided to spread the lyrics from all the songs in the album across the pages. This is something that we have taken from both the genre conventions and our artist.

The back cover has another urban shot which taken from the music video itself. This will go with the theme from the rest of the digipak as well as being recognisable from the video so people associate the two.

Digipak Idea 1

These rough sketches are the starting points for our digipak, Hayley has put together the basic sketches to give us an idea of what we would like to include on each side.

 

 

The first idea incorporates the scene from the video where the artist is split into three different peopel and colours. After watching the video this is something that people will recognise and when they see the album with this cover it will prevoke thoughts of the video itself, and will be very recognisable.

 

The inside of this idea is planned to be very plain and simplistic, this is taken from inspiration from other digipaks in the genre such as Drake - Take Care, and even in other genre's such as Ed Sheeran's album "+". The colour scheme is still undecided at present.

 

The idea for the back cover uses the same colour scheme as the front the the three colours on the artist and having the track list in two different colours. This will seperate the song name and the artist so it is more distinguishable between the two, thus making it easier to read. 

Analysis Of Digipak 3

This album is the third edition album from Jay Z, The Blue Print 3. The images only show the front and back cover as I dont have the album to take photo's of and upload, these were taken from the internet.

The front cover is much busier in comparison to the other album digipak's I have analysed. The main image is of a variety of musical instruments and equipment in a jumbled up fashion, this conotes a rough, out of order style which could refelect the artists personality and genre. As Jay Z is more of an urban artist that came through the very roots of the hip-hop genre, it's an apropriate combination that suits his style. The three red stripes that are centrally composed show the link to the albums name, the three stripes link to the Blue Print 3. The red contrasts the white back ground and the actually colour is something which grabs peoples attention, it can signify many things and conjour up thoughts of love, danger etc. The writing on the coveris very understated which helps to keep the attention on the three main red stripes which is what people will recognise when the album is talked about.

The same colour scheme is continued inside the digipak, with a a similar style image. This helps to keep a flow throughout the digipak so everything fits together. With having a re-occuring theme there are no obvious clashes which make it a more proffesionally composed piece. The insiude cover has red highlights throught which keep the customers attention reverting back to the three red stripes on the front and the albums names.

 

The back cover has a very busy theme to it, another thing which links back to the urban roots of both the artist and the genre. This makes it a more appropriate theme for this unique style of Jay Z. The colour scheme is again continued and the three red stripes are again shown. This is again to keep this image in the consumers mind. I personally feel the track list is a bit difficult to read but it's not to such a bad extent that it's impossible.

 

After looking into the semiotics of the colour red, and thinking about this three striped logo, I think it's been used so that it creates a trend. Hip-hop artists often start trends within the genre and therefore gain sales, fans, listings and awards all from setting off a trend. This easily recognisable logo is something that will reapear throughout the genre and is something that will very easily help with the sales and recognition for both the artist and the album.

Analysis Of Digipak 2

This is the front cover from the Drake, Take Care album. I have chosen this due to the genre, is the same as ours plus the fact we are recreating the video to one of the artists songs. Due to not having the album to hand the images i have are only of the front and back cover but i can analyse the insides but no picture will be included.

The image shows the artist at a table with various ornaments involved with his religion, and which one of his songs in the album is based on. This shows the artist is a more sensitive than many other artists in the genre, and this shows again with the title "Take Care". The composition of the image on the front cover shows the artist in the centre of the CD case, this shows that although he is more sensitive he is still very powerful which is known from his status in the hip-hop industry.

The inside of this digipak is very simplistic, there are only two colours (black and gold) and the writing on the actual disk the same as the front cover. There is some copy right information on the lower part of the left hand inside part. This gives it a more sophisticated look, something that the artist is often associated with, this is due to him being a leader and owner of a music label, he appears to be more of respectable.

The back cover of the digipak is again a very simplistic design, just using the classy combination of black and gold. These colours connote power and wealth which is a popular convention of the hip-hip genre. This has the record labels logo's and the bar code which shows it a professional product. These little aspects are all things which will need to be included within our digipak to make it as realistic as possible.

As a conclusion on this digipak, I think its very plain and simplistic but, it seems to work, everything on the covers and inside compliment all the other aspects. The colours, images and fonts are all appropriate to both the genre and the artist. Its a classy and sleek looking finished product.

Analysis Of Digipak 1

This is an existing students digipak from last year, I have chosen this digipack due to it being a very professional looking piece and it is also the same genre as my chosen artist I will be designing mine for.

This piece is a very simplistic design but it works very well, the original artist (Tinie Tempah) is a more sophisticated, clean cut and respectable character which is something different in the hip-hop genre. The design of this digipak is very unobtrusive, there is nothing to divert the attention and due to this vision associated with the artist it works well. The fact the artist is placed relatively central in the digipak connotes that he is a confident and powerful figure, a popular convention of hip-hop genre. The red writing is also very appropriate as it is the same writing that is in the video, and we subliminally see this and automatically associate the two. The little details such as  the parental advisory sticker give a class touch making it a far more realistic, and professional looking piece.

This is one section of the inside cover of the digipak. Again its very simplistic and understated but it works, the sombre facial expression on the artist in the means that it doesn't draw attention to the face, you concentrate on the whole image. The red high lights work well contrasting the white back ground and the dark clothing as well as being appropriate as its used in the video.

I like this concept of having the song lyrics within the digipak, its something that can make the consumer feel more interactive with the artist and song. It is something that is a popular convention in the music industry, not only in the hip-hop genre but in many other genres as well. The colour scheme of white black, and subtle hints of red is continued and works well. The only thing I would have done is maybe put an image in the background and turn up the opacity so that it is less obtrusive and doesn't interrupt the text.

The professional looking colour scheme is still continued with the re-occurring pictures of the artist. The way the artist is placed (off centered) and the body language of him looking down could suggest that being on the back cover, the song has finished and after the artist has finished performing, his confidence goes down, almost as if the music gives him the confidence. The copyright information and logos are all making this a more professional looking piece, which is perfect for gaining the higher marks and helps to make it appear a more realistic product.

Conventions of a Digipak

Through research into the many different digipaks on the market today, its come to a list of certain components that go together to make a successful one.

Artist or song information is nearly displayed 100% of the time, this shows the customer who and what it is that they are buying. The fonts used are often eye catching and bright unless the genre dictates otherwise, often more heavy metal or rock bands have a more subtle title. A good example of a digipak that has text that stands out is Paramore's album, Riot! the cover is essential black and white scribble writing with the title bigger, bolder and brighter placed within the writing. This is a very effective way of drawing more attention to the album title.

All digipak's have one thing in common, this is that they have bar codes, company logos, warnings (when needed) and record company logos. These are all requirements so every CD, DVD, Blu-Ray, and game case will have them.

When artists are shown on the digipak, they are more often than not shown in the centre of the shot. This composition is to show them in a powerful and dominant way. In nearly all types of genre they are shown in the centre of the screen and often in a dominant pose. This helps to make the artist appear more attractive, dominant and will help to sell the product.

Some digipaks have external stickers on the cases, these often promote extra features for the band/artist or the music company.

Digipak brief

• A cover for it's release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package)
• A magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package?)

A digipack is a style of CD or DVD packaging that promotes the artist.