Evaluation Question 2: How Effective Is The Combination Of Your Main Product & Ancillary Texts?

Our video fits in well with our other media based work as throughout the video we used a variety of colours which we have included in our digipack. The digipack which I created consisted of four panels; each of the panels had a spectrum of colours, which created continuity between the music video and each of the four panels. We created the link between the different media formats because it allowed them to tie in together with each other and shows the audience that the different colours has a minor but important role in the video as it links with lights among other things.

Many of the digipacks/CD's which are available on the market today usually have the band or singer positioned on them & I decided to follow this trend but to do something different which would make our digipack stand out from the rest in hope that we could attract people into purchasing the album. To do this, I decided to take a more colourful but more meaningful approach towards creating the panels & I thought that the idea of embedding the spectrum of colours in each panel was uncommon & able to show cohesion.

On the back panel of the digipack & on the music advert, we used the logos of 'Hmv' (CD) & 'Roc-A-Fella' (CD & Advert) record label; I chose to put the record label on as it makes the media products more realistic & authentic. By giving the digipack a similar relation concept to the video, I believe that this would help us sell our product to an audience because the idea of the spectrum of colours is simple & colourful yet easily rememberable. Also the different colours represent the different colour & types of lights mentioned & seen in the video, magazine advert & CD.

Another feature which is shared between the advert & digipack was the use of the main performer. This included him with his hood up which were both used on the music advert and the digipack. On the advert I decided to layer him behind the spectrum of colours, almost like he's trapped behind them which I think represents him or his struggle of not being able to be himself, not able to show his true colours as he's in a predicament - he can't see his daughter as he has a restraining order against him. On the back of the CD cover he's looking up towards the light, which shows that he's looking for hope of beating the restraining order.

Furthermore the font is another feature which is shared between the advert & digipack. This was done to create continuity between the products & also to create a signature style for the performer. If the performer uses the same font for their name, over time it will become more recognisable & distinctive.

Due to the music video being colourful & a bit expressive, I felt that I should do something to recreate this when creating the magazine advert. Using the 'layering' effect was a good idea. Although we felt this made the magazine advert look colourful, we also felt that we captured the emotion showed of the music video & the main performer in the advert.

Furthermore, the advert could be seen as artistic through the use of the different fonts, bright colours & effects used which I think links in with the prismatic approach which was seen in the digipack.

To summarise, I feel that all of the media products which we produced are artistic but each of them are unique in their own way, also I believe that all three off the different media formats all link together & compliment each other.

Media Kit Aka Press Pack

A media kit aka a press pack is a pre-packaged set of promotional materials of a person, organization or company given to members of the media for promotional use. I was inspired to do this when I was analyzing the 'Watch The Throne' Album although they never included any written details on their panels. I think this is a good idea as we will be able to tell the audience about the record label, give them a lyric book so they can rap or sing a long to the song, a biography & a picture of the artist so they get to know about him. This is an example of a media kit, it includes a biography about the artist among other details & here's our 7 Page Media Kit.

Digipack (Magazine Advert) Comments

Looking at the advert I am happy about how it has turned out. I feel the best part of the advert is the layering effect of the spectrum of colours behind the main performer, I feel that the advert created is original & visionary. Through the images, font and colours I have manged to create a advert which represents the new album coming out but also the performer himself which is unique.

The font which we have used, was also used within the CD cover which keeps continuity between the different media arrangements. However compared to the other covers; on the front I added different colours to 'All Of The Lights', making it bold, bright & distinctive so it would catch the readers eye. The magazine advert is made more realistic through the use of adding the Hmv logo & the web link which appears at the bottom of the advert.

Digipack (Magazine Advert)

My initial idea was inspired by a Hmv advert that I saw but i decided to change it as i thought that although it was good, it doesn't really reflect what the song represents. The new idea was to have the main performer leant back against the wall with his hood up, facing downwards. I thought this & the use of the picture being black & white would represent sadness or struggle.
Pictures From Photoshoot:


Magazine Advert Designs:

Digipack (CD) Comments

For the digipack which I created, I felt it should have an original but expressive design. Many other covers usually focus on the performers, so I decided to go with this. After considering the 1st draft of the digipack I done I considered on what I should do. I felt that the panels should be based around a spectrum of light which is used throughout the music video, I chose this as I thought I could use the colours in an original way. For the front panel of the digipack, I used a digital camera to take a long shot of a few street at night in different positions, I felt that that this would look quite simple but effective. The use of the different colours allowed me to use the white coloured text on the artists' in the video & different colours on 'All Of The Lights' which stood out quite a lot from the numerous colours in the background. On the inside on the left side the almost ghosty/vanishing effect makes the background stand out, especially the lights.

The use of having the performer there is so the audience gets to know who he is & what he looks like. On the inside on the right side it's similar as also has a street as a background, it's multicoloured but it has different types of lights embedded into each corner. The different lights stand out & makes the audience think about what the song could be about & how the pictures could relate. On the back, it also has a street background that is multicoloured but we have all the performers on this side. The multicoloured background makes use of the contrast makes the text really stand out from the rest of the panel. On this panel we have all the performers, this is to show the audience that although Kanye is the main artist & the one who is being promoted, there are other artists who have a part in the song. The artists look like they are being interspersed into the background, I thought this would be a good thing to to do as I think it relates to the restraining order that's on Kanye. Also the use of the bar code & small print make the digipack look more realistic.

I'm extremely happy with how the digipack CD designs has come out, considering that that haven't really had any previuos experience using photoshop until recently doing the coursework. I think the continuity between each of the panels is portrayed through the use of colours & streets used throughout.

Digipack (CD)

About Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is a graphic editing programme developed & published by Adobe systems Incorporated. Photoshop will allow me to edit & format pictures, for example blurring or re-shaping or re-colouring them. I'll also be able to use a wide range of fonts from Comic Sans to Times New Romans. I will be able to layer images & overlap them to create or manipulate numerous effects. These are just a few of Photoshop's many features. I used this to make the album & magazine advert.

Back Covers

I made 2 designs for the back cover & the 1st design would've been the chosen one if i stuck with the original design. So the new design I made is what I used as it maintains the theme.
Original & New:


These are some pics from a photoshoot we done for the back cover:

Inside Covers

Due to the people picking front cover 3 I decided to maintain the theme throughout the CD, so I came up & designed these covers to be the left & right side on the inside, respectively, otherwise it would've been the other 2.

Front Covers

I had made 3 alternative front covers, as a result to find out which cover I should use we asked 20 people of which they thought was their favourite. They voted for Front Cover 3.


After showing my teacher my designs, I was told that i wasn't able to use google images so that very night I took some pics of roads as I was walking home & embedded it on front cover 3.

Original Digipack (CD) Design

This is the original CD case I made but decided to change because although it has different colour lights which relate to the lyrics, having stars as the backgrounds didn't relate atall I felt so that's why I changed the whole design.

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