Draft Digipack 1 (Dan Spurway)

Concept 
This was our first try at producing a draft digipak, at this point we did not have all the photo shoots completed. So this digipak was completed using a very basic template. The underlining concept of the digipak is of a memories and remembrance. Thus the worn texture on the digipak to denote that specific concept. There was a overall feeling of Zen tranquility that was created with the digipak. The reasoning behind this was that Jane found peace in her untimely demise, and the band are searching for such calm and peace in the acceptance of her death.

Construction      
To build the digipak, our marvellous digital graphics creator, Dan, will discuss how he built it with the following:

To begin, I found a digipak template, with the 6 panels marked out. From here, I used an image of old paper as the background. As the image was semi-cropped, I reconstructed the image by replicating the top of the image. Then it was a matter of creating each panel. As we decided to go with the Zen idea, I acquired visual examples of the Zen culture, which included the Zen leaf, and Zen sunshine. I cropped the lower half of the Zen sunshine, as I wanted to show the beginning of change by having a sunrise; however, some pessimistic audience may see it as a sunset representing the end of life. I then changed the colour of the Zen leaf image, by going to Image -> Adjustments -> Replace Color; and tweaking the colour (blue) to a golden/brown colour to blend better with the background. As the background of the image was of a different texture, I masked the image, removing the background in a non-constructive manner. This meant the leaf would blend better. Finally, I reduced the opacity of the image's layer so that the image wasn't intrusive to the viewer's eye. Another addition we decided to add, was a QR code. This was due to the fact that many albums feature a QR code to navigate customers to their website, or Facebook page, via their phone or portable device, assuming they have an app which will read the QR code. In regards to the front cover, I went with a font that resembled handwritting which denotes a more personal feel to the digipak. This subverts conventions of the genre, but applying David Gualett, conventions are in constant negotation, allowing us to create new and unique interpretations of the album.




Whilst creating this post our team member, Dave Waugh found a interesting copyright free image which may add to the effect created above: