Album Art - Is Your Digipak Really Going To Sell?

In this lesson I was taught more about what it takes to make a good digipak and this lesson has helped me greatly with my own thoughts towards my digipak. What I was taught is that print and web design in the music industry is really about identity. What our audience, potential customer or client can expect to hear, feel, experience or identify with is communicated visually. I also learnt that a talented designer understands the power of text (typography) and images, and knows how to use them creatively. In order to find out whether my digipak is successful or not these are some of the things that I can look at to see if what I have created is a success;

• is it unified with the content or message you are trying to get across? This creates and immediate connection and sense of belonging.
• is there an information and visual hierarchy? This means there's a focal point or image that grabs your attention first and then your eye is led around the design in the order of what's important after seeing the main image or reading the main text.
• does the design have graphic impact? is it distinctive or memorable? There are many CDs competing with your for attention (lots of demos are sent out to producers, potential crew, record labels and distributors), so yours must be a major contender.
• is it appropriate for whom you want to attract and the environment in which it will be presented? A poster or CD for a country audience will not have the same look and feel presentation as for a heavy metal one.

Why is this image so iconic? This is such an important question because it's just so plain and simple but yet who can forget the strong identity between the Rolling Stones and this bring, red tongue? It's a very powerful example of a highly successful design. The Stones logo has graphic impact. is distinctive and memorable, and is appropriate for its Rock audience.

When looking into the history of cover art design, the golden can be seen to have begun in the early to mid 1960s and lasted into the early 1980s. In this time cover art became a part of the musical culture of the time. Often used to express graphically the musicians artistic intent, it helped connect and communicate to listeners the message or underlying theme of the album. Album cover art went through a change in the 1990's and had a rebirth as the 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.