CD Construction and explanation

Anna Daly

Front Cover

I downloaded a free trial of photoshop because of it's sophisticated editing software would make my product look professional. I opened a blank page and set the custom dimensions to an appropriate width and height for a CD cover.

I then inserted my chosen image on to the page and resized it to cover the whole space. I made sure that there was equal distance between the first and last black key with the edge of the page, so that the image looked proportionate.

I then added a retro affect by using the pattern fill tool. This then added a new layer of texture to the piece in order for me to achieve a grainy feel and an overall vintage look.

I then adjusted the 'exposure' in the 'image >adjustments' tool. I set the exposure to quite high to achieve the bright, 'over-exposed', similar to the look achieved in disposable and old fashioned film cameras.(these cameras are popular in indie-culture)

I then found an affect that I had used frequentlywithin the production of my music video, 'posterize'. This effect leaves the colours in the image distorted and saturated - looking unusual. However, this then made the black on my imagery too dark, so i then edited the brightness without losing the effect.

Brightness altered, creating less shadow but distortion stillnoticeable.

I then inserted a screen-cap of the graffiti section in my music video. I feel that the graffiti transition in my video is a significant part, and I feel graffiti represents the indie culture, not associating with the illegal act of vandalism, but in the artistic and ‘cool’ urban vibe it gives - something I would want my branding to represent.When used the ‘posterize’ effect on this image too and i lowered the opacity to, 44%, the image became transparent and it provides a unique pattern when placed over the top of the piano main image; the imposing of these two images makes the design much more interesting and aesthetically pleasing to the viewer - something of high quality design (linking to maslow’s hierarchy of needs and appealing to my target audience)

I then added the text to my design. I downloaded a font called 'Traveling _Typewriter' fromwww.dafont.com, and imported it into photoshop. This font translate the old fashioned, vintage vibe, continuing the indie style. First, i added the band name ‘Bombay Bicycle Club’. In order to maintain a colour scheme, I used the ‘eyedropper’ tool, which allowed me to select the exact same yellow colour that had been created in the image editing stages.

I then did the same for the red colouring used for the album title, ‘Shuffle’. I created each letter separately so that I could place them freely, rather than moving a static word. This allowed me to centre each letter on one of the piano keys and in a wave pattern, emphasising the word ‘Shuffle’ - as if the letters had been ‘shuffled out’.

I then opened my template and pasted the front cover I had just made onto it. I resized my cover so that it would fit into the template.

Using a template is important because it allowed me to make sure that my product would be made at the correct scale, therefore looking as professional as possible.

Spine

To create my spine, I simply re-opened the front cover psd and used the ‘crop tool’ around the title of the CD. This then created a separate file. I used the ‘shape > rectangle tool’ to create a black boarder along the width and length of the cropped image. I then duplicated the rectangle shapes and placed them along the remaining edges.

I then inserted my ‘spine’ in the same way that I did with the front cover. I rotated and resized the image to fit to scale.

Back cover - Track list

For my back cover, I selected a screen cap of a medium long shot, performance image, taken from my music video. I feel this image is appropriate to use because the viewer would have seen it in my other productions and can familiarise themselves with this image and recognise the continuity editing - much like the graffiti overlay used on the front cover and here too.I also felt this image was appropriate because it’s warm colour palette would match with the red/yellow colour scheme used on the other exterior design, the front cover.

I inserted the graffiti overlay here in the same way as the album cover. This repetition causes recognisable continuity.

I then added my remaining images, barcode and record label logo. I made these as small as possible because although very necessary, they must not distract from the main image or text in the rest of the design.

Using the same font I added my remaining text. I kept the same yellow colour for the band name and used the red colour for the track listing - remaining inkeeping with the design. The red text on my front cover was easy to read because it was placed ontop of a white background. I recreated this white background by using the ‘shape tool >rectangle’ and placed my text on top of it so it became readable. I lowered the opacity of the white rectangle so that it did not overpower the rest of the design/main image.

I then arranged my image

accordingly onto the template.

Inside image - right

This image is another screencap from my music video. I selected this image because it appears twice in the video and therefore is repetitive and should be memorable for the viewer. I also chose it for it’s abstract qualities, which fit in with the indie design. Like the other elements of my cd case, I imposed the grafitti image, with the sam opacity and posterised effect.

This element of the digipak is usually used for ‘lyric/photo books’ which are usually kept simple in design. I kept my design simple because it is not a major part of the CD case and does not have to be extravagant, I also did not want to distract from the two exterior designs, as they should be most eye catching as they are the first elements that the consumer can see.

I added the yellow text for the band name and a black rectangle beneath it so that it is easily read. I lowered the opacity so that the tree image can still be seen.

I then inserted the design in the same way onto the template, and rotated the image to fit.

Inside image/disc holder - left

For the right, inside cover, I chose to just use the graffiti image as the disc would take up most of the area and would interfere if there was a more complex design. To create the area for the CD i used the ‘shape tool > elipse tool’ and created a circle shape. I then changed the opacity and used the rubber tool to rub through the circle layer and give the appearance of a CD slot.

This was then inserted in the same way into the correct position.