Initial Response (Magazine Ad)Abigail Kernaghan

Structure6/10

Silhouetted background image; for depth.

Main image, featuring lead singer.

Band Name

Blending between colour scheme, to avoid white space.

Condensed information on the new album being released. What? When? Where?

Image of the Digipak/Album cover, it is the main focus of the advert and is the crucial selling point.

ImagesEmotions Backgrounds

Silhouettes Clothing

7/10I like the idea of a silhouette backing image to create depth and an impression of a tribal aesthetic. But also to emphasise the main image of the artist/main focus of the advertisement.

As well as close-ups of clothing being a popular choice for marketing in the indie music genre, the appearance of clothing is key to create meaning and character to the artist. So even if the clothing is not the main focus, it is still something to really consider. In this case, I would choose a contrast of white shirts and dark hoodies/ checked shirts.

Varying settings have a lot of atmospheric effect, images of locations/backgrounds would give us the ability to transfer the meaning of the songs into the advert, as well as filling a space that may otherwise look odd and blank.

I am intent on having an image of the lead singer of the band on the cover (an actor), however the expression he pulls is crucial to the feel of the entire image. I would want to avoid any extreme negative or positive emotions being conveyed, however if there were one word I would want to capture it would be: longing.

Font

Heading Information

HeadingHeadingHeading

Information

Information

Information

7/10

I like a combination of a few of these fonts. I would have to decide between having an individual letter in a bold and effective font [Left, 2] and then continuing the heading in a simplistic font [Left, 3]. OR using the band’s logo from my Digipak as the heading of the advertisement.

My favourite of these fonts is Lucida Console [Right, 3] as it is uniformed enough to show structure and a more mature context, but interesting enough to be used to display important information on a magazine article.

Colour scheme10/10

Content10/10The main message of the magazine advert for my band, song and artist will consist of the release of the new album. It will therefore include an image of the album cover at the bottom with some additional information to do with purchase.

I would like the feeling from the main image to be fairly mysterious, and include a profile image of at least one member of the band. The expression of longing/quiet determination. With a full body shot to include all articles of clothing to create depth of character.

Given that the name of the album (which I changed) is ‘Rituals’. I believe that images and themes that mimic this name would be highly effective. This could be something as blatant as a ritual symbol, or a more subtle silhouetted image of people that could possibly be performing a ritual, or undertaking a tribal-style pose.

The colour scheme could be connected across all formats of my coursework. Therefore similar colours that I would like to use for my digipak and music video. These include grayscale with a pop of vibrant colour (to avoid being dull), combined with the influence of nature and natural elements. The reason for this is that the setting for the video is being stripped back to nature, to show the raw emotion and desperation of the characters.

To create depth to the images and to grab readers attention I am using the contrast between a silhouetted background, and a full colour, full body image of the lead singer with an easily interpreted expression. This is to create a balance between abstract and physical, which I think conveys the feel of alternative indie-pop. Combining the literal and theoretical worlds. However, another way that I could establish depth is through other camera methods such as planes of focus, lighting and space. Therefore making the background image more out of focus, less emphasised by key lighting, and more shallow use of space.

The proportion of each element is important, as this conveys varying significance between the images and text. But also shows that I can make the most of the space I have when designing a product. It needs to be a balance between lots of detail to peak interest and prevent dullness, but not too much that it creates noise for the reader, and it is unclear what the selling point is. It is also important that although there are a few different components, the photograph of the lead singer of the band is not undermined by other features.

Design12/10

BASTILLENew! Album; Rituals, featuring the hit singles Pompeii, and Flaws.Available on January 1st 2017.Until then, check out their Facebook page for interviews and exclusive information.