Finalising DigiPak: #2

Finalising DigiPaks: #2

Having an idea of what my final DigiPak is going to look like, I experimented with different stills from my music video so that I could explore various designs and identify which ones worked the most successfully. I chose an image that exhibited a low-angled camera shot of my parents as they embraced - an image that would later become symbolic of the love that they have for each other. Opening Illustrator, I went in with the same process as the other times that I have edited images into the DigiPak design.

Using the 'Shift' button to accurately resize the image without altering the resolution and also making a clipping mask using the rectangular shape tool. After completing these steps, I then repositioned the image manually so that it would fit to the bleed line and end before it reached the spine. For this design, I decided to keep the inside image the same, as I know that I want to keep it in the final design and I needed to know how well it would flow with the new image of my parents - in case it didn't work. Having the two images (front and back) side by side enabled me to see how well the aesthetic worked and proved to me that the two images married up and highlighted a continuous relationship between the images on my DigiPak.

The new image worked well as there was a clear link between the hands that are displayed on the back image, and the images of the hands with the wedding bands on the front cover. After deciding upon this image, I then went into altering the position of the text and publishing/copyrighting information; as they had been forced behind the image.

Once I had rearranged the placement of the text, I then went in by recolouring the text - making the track list alternate in colour. This choice of alternating the text colour was inspired from the magazine advert research that I had undertaken. I used baby blue and white as the colours that I would use to provide alternating text colours. After I had finished this, I realised that with the new image, it didn't look quite right as it looked amateur and misplaced. Another problem that I discovered was that the numbers on the track list were not in line with the names of the songs. In order to provide a clean and professional look, I then went in and altered the alignment of the numbers and the tracks by copying and pasting a duplicate text layer over the original text and then manually moving the numbers whilst aligning them to the left (seen on the final DigiPak design).

Looking at the final design with this new image, the text was in the right place but the alternating colour didn't fit well and didn't add anything to the design - but instead detracted from the overall cohesive and professional aesthetic that I was going for. The new image itself works really well and ties together the strong relationship between all elements of my design, it was just a shame that the inspiration from the original magazine advert didn't work well over the top.

However, I am happy with the secondary image and I believe I will carry this over into the final design - this is because the inclusion of two hand images might be overbearing and could emphasise a "clumpy" or forced design that doesn't really have much aesthetic appeal. With my third and final design, I will consider a new inside image but leave the back and front images the same.

Finalised second design