CD Digipack

AT1 RESEARCH: ALBUM COVER HISTORY

The text below is copied from wtsduplication.com. The original online article can be found by clicking here.

The first disc records, ones that we would recognise as such, appeared around 1910. Most often these were packaged in plain brown Paper or cardboard sleeves. Occasionally and enterprising retailer would print his store name on the sleeve but generally they were unadorned.

These are the sort of sleeves that 
records would be sold in during the 
early days of records.

In the early 1920's retailers started gathering many of these cardboard sleeves and binding them together with heavy paperboard or leather covers. These looked similar to large photo albums and, borrowing the name, were sold as record albums. These albums offered much greater protection for the discs than the original packaging and were seen as indispensable to disc owners that had seen too many of their fragile records broken.Beginning in the 1930s the record companies started using these record albums to distribute bundles of records from one performer or a collection of performers with similar musical styles. Some of the first cover designs can be traced to these albums and the record company’s desire to graphically communicate the music each album held.

This was the first album cover,created 
by Alex Steinweiss.

Alex Steinweiss the art director for Columbia Records is given credit for the concept of modern cover art. He experimented with different concepts and images through the late 1930s and into the early 1940s. During this time Columbia Records rebounded from the terrible years they had suffered during the depression to become one of the most prominent record companies in the United States. Much of this was due to their ground breaking use of graphical design. (Of course signing Frank Sinatra may have helped a little too).By the close of the decade all major recording companies had graphic design professionals on staff.The golden era of cover art design began in the early to mid 1960s and lasted into the early 1980s. During this time the major format for music was the 12 inch, long play disc or LP. Cover art became a part of the musical culture of the time. Often used to express graphically the musician’s artistic intent, it helped connect and communicate to listeners the message or underlying theme of the album.

This is an example of artwork being 
used on an album cover. Andy Warhol 
has been used here.

As the medium for recording transitioned from the LP to the compact disc many graphic designers failed to transition with it. Having worked for so long with the much larger canvas of the LP cover, switching to the smaller CD case left most designers dissatisfied with their results. Often artist and record companies simply tried to shrink the LP size art to fit the CD.

This size difference in LP to CD
 was hard for album artists to work 
with. 

Album cover art, now almost exclusively CD and CD packaging artwork, went through a period of change and rebirth in the 1990s. Designers learned to capture snapshots and portions of the artist’s musical intent rather than trying to convey the entire message. Also designers started conveying the emotion of the music rather than the musical intent.

In the late 90s computer design programs started to overcome the physical limitations of the smaller CD packaging. With the ability to draw much tighter, finer lines and have even small details look crisp and sharp, once again designers were free to explore a larger variety of design options. As the technology continued to improve graphic designers adapted and were once again producing world class artwork.

In the present, CD design is undergoing a true renaissance. Rather than becoming obsolete in the digital age as many thought it would, graphic design is once again proving itself as the difference maker. The internet is now the largest record store imaginable. Now rather than browsing a few hundred albums or songs at a time you may be exposed to thousands and thousands. Since it would be impossible to listen to portions of all those thousands of songs the design of the accompanying artwork must cause potential listeners to stop and take notice and give this album a try. 

Designers, photographers, and illustrators sometimes became famous for their cover art creations. Such notables as Andy Warhol and Frank Frazetta were taken from being known in their industry to becoming household names due to their cover art graphic design work. So respected and desired are the designs and illustrations found in cover art that there are numerous art galleries that specialize in helping collectors find rare album covers.

AT1 RESEARCH: CODES AND CONVENTIONS

This album is arguably one of the most iconic ever made. The image of The Beatles crossing over Abbey Road is known by everyone, and repeated by many.

The codes of album covers have been ignored quite significantly in this case. The album does not include the name of the album, nor does it include the name of the band. This is possibly a bit of arrogance on The Beatle's part as they know that they are a big enough household name and therefore they don't need the publicity of their name being over the front of the album to sell it.

The conventions in this album are a bit hit and miss. The group are being led by John Lennon therefore showing his prominence within the band, however, each member is of a similar size and of equal distance apart. This placement of each character shows a clear amount of equality between the band members.

The imagery on the album cover does not actually give any representation of what the music within the album will be, however, it does represent the album name. The Beatles are crossing over Abbey Road, to get into Abbey Road Studios where they recorded the album, Abbey Road.

This album cover has followed the codes an conventions. The three main codes that we expect to see is the album name, the band or artists name and then an image. This album has got all three.

This album also gives a clear representation of what we expect to hear when we listen to the music. The cover is mainly taken up by a rather gross looking character. The character looks like a skeleton, and is probably representing living dead. This tells me, someone who is does not follow this band, that the music inside the album is rather punk-like. This is further amplified by the writing. The words on the cover are all written in red which symbolises death, anger, blood etc. The name of the album is the icing on the cake, called Killers.

This album from Pink Floyd defies the codes and conventions that we expect to see of album covers. The band have used an image on the front which is now widely renowned by all. The logo is used on clothing that have no connection to the band and is used by many as a way of identifying Pink Floyd.

However, the album does not include two very popular codes; the bands name and the albums name. This move from the band is no accident. Pink Floyd will have already known of their success from their previous seven studio albums and therefore, felt the need for promotion of their name was not necessary. Clearly they were right as this album cover is arguably the most well-known within the Rock music industry.

AT1 RESEARCH: EXISTING ALBUM COVERS

For this task, we worked in a small group and looked at 6 existing CD cases. This task was for us to research the conventions of these CDs that we would then have to incorporate into our own CD Digipack. The 3 main conventions that we had pre-decided were the artists name, the album name and an image. Using that as a starting point, we looked at our 6 CD cases to try and find these conventions. We looked at all 5 panels, including the spine, to find these. When we had spotted these conventions, or in come cases didn't, we set out to try and find any other reoccurring features of all the albums. Other features that we had spotted were the artists image specifically, the track lists on the back, credits of individual songs and even the ban members names. This information can be found below in the grid that we filled out:

This information as given me a larger insight into the conventions of a CD case. Every album that we looked at had an image on the front panel and every album had the band name. This tells me that these are a couple of conventions that should be followed indefinitely. The artists picture and the album title both appeared in 4 of the albums. This tells me that although these conventions are popular, they are not essential. The spine had the album title and the artists name for all the albums. This simply tells me that these should be put here. On the back panel, the track list was a key feature in most of the albums. An image was also quite popular but was not on every album, so it is not essential for me to use an image if I did not want to. Small print appeared on the back, with information such as a record label and the year of production.

The inside panels were also researched. Images of both the inside front and back appeared occasionally but were less popular than on the front. Images of the band were quite popular amongst the inside cover images. credits appeared in one of the albums insides,listing the people who played music within the songs. This most likely won't be occurring in my albums but it was quite interesting to see the variety of conventions used in the albums.

AT1 RESEARCH: EXISTING ALBUMS

Now that I have looked at the codes and conventions of some existing album covers, I have chosen to look at a complete album to see the codes and conventions of all panels. To help even further with my research, I have chosen a folk band to look at so that I can see the types of thing  should be including in my own product. Below are the pictures of the album from JP Harris and The Tough Choices with my annotations alongside;

This is the front panel of the album. The main conventions have been used
with the band name, album title and imagery. With in that, we then have
references to the genre such as the dress of the main character and the location.

This is the back panel for the album. Here we also see the conventions
of the back cover with the track list, an image and a barcode, along with
information of record label company and album. Additional information is
included such as the track timings.

This is the inside front cover. I have not yet researched this part of an album
however there were some running themes in this in comparison to the rest of
the album. There is more information of the band, record company and the
recording of the album. Images are also in sync with the front cover, also. 

This is the inside back cover. I have not previously researched this part of the
album cover, however, I have found some key characteristics. This cover also
follows the same cloud scheme as all the others, and also has the same truck
images on the bottom. The ret of the cover is used for contact information of
the band and the record company.

AT1 RESEARCH: EXISTING ALBUM

In continuation of my research into existing album covers, I have looked at a band that play music of a similar genre to my artist. Mumford and Sons are a band that I have researched for the most part of my project and they have used many characteristics in their album cover work. Below is a quick analysis of the things used to create and follow the image that they have already created for themselves. 

We can see the band in the window which allows the audience to familiarise
themselves with the band, along with their dress style. This can allow them
to relate the band to themselves. We can also see the instruments played such
as the banjo which gives an indication of the genre of music that the band play.
Furthermore, in dead centre of the album cover we have the band and album
names in black, the opposite colour to the background of white.

AT1 RESEARCH: EXISTING ALBUM COVERS

I have now looked at a series of album covers that one from my artist. These are made for his single tracks however, the general themes can be transferred to a full album. 

Here are a series of album covers made for Ben Howard's own singles tracks. There is a strong theme going through them all, that I quite like and wish to research further to see whether it would be worth trying to replicate or create a similar version of this. 

The albums consist of just words relating to the album title and Ben's name. These are over-lapped on one another to create a really nice, simple looking album cover. The reason I like this and could see it being a good suggestion is that it is not always clear what the album cover is saying and therefore the buyer is forced to stop and look properly, and may induce them to pick up the album. 

The first album has just the album name 'ONLY LOVE' written on it, and as you can see it is in a two letter x two letter square. One word has been put on the bottom (for example 'only') then the other is on top, over-lapping the previous word.when the colours are of such strong contrast like in this with the blue and pink is is very bold and easier to make out.

This next album made for 'THE WOLVES' is a little harder to make out for a number of reasons. The first is that there are more letters and therefore more to keep up with. Secondly, the colour scheme is very similar but if thou pay attention you can quite easily see that it says Ben Howard and The Wolves. If I was to recreate this then I would probably change the colour scheme to something more similar to the one above and therefore it should stand out more clearly

This final one makes use of the pattern when the number of characters do not match the two words / phrases. This one just uses the song title 'OLD PINE'. As the two words have odd numbers of letters then the L in old has been shifted to sit in the middle of the IN in pine. Although this works to complete the pattern, I feel it does not look as good as the others do. I do, however, like the idea of repeating the line three times to complete the square theme. The colour scheme is again not fantastic so I would be looking to alter that if I was to repeat this sort of design.

AT1 PLANNING: INITIAL IDEA

After looking at a type of design that I could possibly use for my own CD digipack (the typography based one above) I decided to attempt to recreate this using my own album title. Below are the steps that i took to create this and then also my final product of this attempt.

To start my design idea, I had to get all the lettering onto the canvas. I did this very simply by selecting the typing tool on the bar on the left hand side. Then I selected where on the page to put my letter and here I have done the first letter B and I chose green for this using the colour option on the top tool bar.

I then individually typed every letter of my artist Ben Howard and then  I typed the album name Every Kingdom. As you can see, I changed the colour of the album name so that is is of complete contrast to the artist name as it will be over lapped.

I then had the seemingly never ending task of over lapping the lettering. As all the letters were individual and of odd shape and size I had to try and correct that so they were all equal and fitted on well. As I stated earlier, this was almost never ending...





Therefore, I decided against this way of creating the design, and changed the process to typing the lines together, not individual letters. This way, I have got a line of letters that will all be the same height and of equal width. This will make the process much easier and should make the product look better.

Now that I have all my text written out once more, I can start to layer it so that one of the colours is above the other. For this, I have decided to but BEN HOWARD on the bottom with EVERY KINGDOM over the top. The reason for this is that the four letter lines are harder to read and therefore should be on top.

Once this has been done, I need to make it so that the letters underneath can be seen from underneath the top layer. I did this by hanging the fill levels on the right hand side to just above
60. This allows the lettering to become translucent and you can see the backing through the top level like a darker shadow. 

AT1 PLANNING: DIFFERENT FONTS

Now that I have tried my design idea, where I used a plain block font, I have looked into other possible fonts to use. Below are a few of the best fonts that I tested with a short description of how I feel it looks.

This text looks as though it is from behind a translucent window. The idea for this particular font was to get something that looks slightly more quirky and not just a plain fill text. Although I like this font, I feel it may be slightly too difficult to read in particular colours so I shall have to chose carefully.

Again, this text was used to try and modernise the design and make it look more interesting. The problem with this text is that, although it looks very cool and is more interesting than the original text, it look futuristic and looks like it belongs with a techno album, for example.

This bottom text is a very nice one. It is similar to the original text that I used in the sense that it is a plain font - but this text is Serif meaning that is has the small projecting features on the letters. I think that this makes the text look really good. when the picture is more enlarged then you can see the curves in the typeface which gives it a more relaxed feel - rather fitting to my audience that I am aiming for.

AT1 PLANNING: THREE COVERS

Now that I have my text planned out, I have to add a background to the lettering. I have decided to keep it simple and have a single, solid edge around the side of the lettering. Below are my three final ideas for my album cover with the background applied.

AT1 PLANNING: SECOND IDEA

I have evaluated the above idea that I have looked into, however, I feel that in all three ideas the text is rather difficult to read. Although I like the concept of these above designs, the text is a key part of the design and therefore it needs to be readable. With this in mind, I have decided to look at other designs that incorporate a text element but also make it more clear to read.

Also, I want to include an image on the front cover of my album as this is a big convention that I am missing out. My first thought for this is to have an image of my artist as the main focus of the cover, with text playing number 2 in the ranking.

One album cover that I got this inspiration from is the Olly Murs album below:

I like the idea of having the yet very large and still as a large focus on the album cover, but also having a large and overpowering image of my artist. This will then comply with the conventions that you see in many albums where images are used.

I first put an image into photoshop that I wanted to work with for my test of this design idea. I did this by just opening the picture using the file drop down.     

I then had to remove the background of the image, just as I will in the final product. I did this by using the rubber tool to rub out the background, zooming in and using a smaller rubber for the finer detail such as the hair.

I then just added text to the image and made the first name sit behind the image of the artist with the rest in front of it. The colour scheme is a random one that I have chosen for the purposes of this and I will need to add a background in the final product.

AT1 CONSTRUCTION

The first thing that I had to do when I was constructing my CD Digipack was to open up my template. This was to help me to keep all my sizing even.

I then had to insert my panels for each of the four sides and then I also put in the spinal panel. Due to the sad nature of my song I decided to opt for a greyscale colour scheme.

Following the colour scheme of the digipack template I decided to make my image of my artist black and white, also. This involved me just going to the image tab at the top and selecting adjustments, and Black & White.






I then had to edit the colour level to get the level that I wanted. When this was done I just exited this window to then edit my image further.










Now that I had my image ready, I just had to remove the background of the image to be able to put it into my final product. This was done using the rubber tool, at different sizes depending on the level of detail.

Once my image was finished being edited, I put it straight into my digipack template roughly in the position that I thought I wanted it.

I then added my text to the front cover of the digipack - The first name was put behind the image in a larger font size than the surname, which was placed in front of the artist. This is in the same colour green/blue that isn the colour of my artists shirt which I could using the colour finder tool shaped like a pipet.

I then added the album title underneath this in a smaller, thinner font in white to contrast the darker grey background.

Using the same colours as the main cover, I wrote the same things on the spine of the digipack.

My next task was to design the back cover. This was an easy one as I had a huge convention that I felt I needed to follow. This was to have the track list on the back which I added in the same colour as the name on the front in a thin font.

I then added some images to the back cover of the digipack that I found to be common conventions in cd digipacks. I added the record label logo and a barcode.

For the inside back cover, this is where the disc will be put. I don't need to have a big design on this, however, I did want something circular shape. I decided that I wanted the name of the artist and the album to circle round.

I did this by selecting the word effect icon on the top bar and selecting arc. I simply had to move the sliding bar to select how much of an arc that I wanted. As you can see by the image on the left, I went for the biggest arc I could get so that I could adjoin another one to make a circle.

Once this was done, I repeated the process but made the circles smaller as I went along so that they sat in between each other. This will be complete design for the inside cover.

Now that I am on my final panel, I did not have a design for this part. When I did my research into existing products, I found that many of them have contact information for the record label and the artist.

On this panel I originally put some contact information for the record company. This was their address, contact number and website. When this was done, I realised I needed to flip this upside down as the panel will be folded over and with therefor be upside down to how I have done it originally.

I then added the website and twitter address for my artist and put this on the same panel as the record label. I put it above the record label as I felt the artist was more important.

I moved this towards the top but not too far up just to avoid the rest of the space looking empty.