Evaluation

The first draft of the CD front cover

The first draft of the tour poster

I think that overall my unit 17 went well. For the unit. I designed a variety of promotional material for the band Linkin Park such as the album front and back cover as well as a few inserts. I also designed a one sheet for the band and a tour poster.

The original designs were not well received by the client, he said that they did not give the audience a good impression of the sort of band that Linkin Park are. He also commented that the designs did not live up to the standards of the band. Another criticism that I received was that there was no continuity between the products. I took this as constructive criticism and went off to redesign the products. Before I did this however, I created a production schedule for myself. This outlined the time that I would spend on each product. I made some slight changes to this schedule as I wanted to spend more time on the products to make some improvements to them.

I thought about having continuity and found an image (a skull) which I thought represented the band well. I then placed this on all of the products except for the one sheet as I felt it would look out of place. I edited the image differently for each product to make it fit them better.

The final CD front cover design

I think that this also gives the audience an idea of the type of band that Linkin Park are. This helped to rectify two of the problems that the client found with the original designs.

I feel that my redesigned products are of a good quality and importantly I think that they will appeal to the target audience. This was something that I kept in mind when doing the new designs. I used a simple black and white colour scheme in order to engage with as many of people as possible. This is because Linkin Park have a wide audience which typically ranges from teenagers and older people of both genders. I felt that black and white was a safe choice of colours because they would not put many people off. The client said that the colour scheme was one of the best parts of the new designs however he still felt that some were not as good as others. He also commented positively on the fact that there was now a clear link between all of the products and that the new designs were considerably better than the originals. The client said that I should remove the WB logo from the CD front cover.


The client said that the one sheet was very well ordered and purposely designed. I was happy with these comments as I had worked hard to make the one sheet look professional.

I used Adobe Photoshop to design all of the products. I chose this programme because I had experience with it in the past. It also has a lot of effects available to use. I used these effects to edit the skull image for each of the products. For the CD front cover, I made the image dark through the use of a variety of effects. I did this because it is the main image on the cover and the background is white. This means that the image contrasts well and stands out. This is also the reason that I put the band name in white. I added a outline to this so that it could be seen against the white background. For the back cover, I made the skull more transparent so that it could blend in to the background more. Although I wanted the CD design to be simple, the client suggested that they were too simple. If I was to redo the CD, I would have more images and I would use a different font for the title of the album. I think that the font looks a little too plain. I might also make the font a little larger.

write-up of client feedback 2

After the first meeting with the client in which we discussed the products to be made, I spent time designing and creating the products. I then presented my work to the client and received their feedback. After this I went off and redesigned the products. I presented my improved products to the client in order to receive his feedback on them.  Overall, he was happy with the improvements that I had made to the products. He said that they were off a much higher quality than the originals and that there was now a clear link between them which gave them a sense of professionalism. He said that the one sheet was well ordered and was purposefully designed. In particular, he praised the colour scheme on most of the products although he thought that some of them were not as good as others. I also received some negative comments about the products. For example the client said that there should be social network logos on the one sheet and that the Warner Bros. logo should be taken off the the album front cover

feedback sheet 2

cd front cover design

cd back cover design

Tour poster redo

edited production schedule

one sheet redo

CD insert 2

CD insert 1

cd front cover design

Write-up of client feedback

I have met with the client and discussed my work with him. He has said that the budgeting and the production plan were of a good standard and that they were fairly accurate cost estimates. However he was disappointed with the quality of the product drafts. He said that I should change the design and work hard to get the final products up to a standard worthy of the band. He also said that there was a lack of continuity between the three products. Another thing that the client mentioned was the fact that the album cover did not really tell people what sort of band Linkin Park were. I have taken his feedback as constructive criticism and I am beginning to redesign the products. I plan to make my products look more professional and to create continuity between them perhaps by having a similar image on each. I also want to give people a feel of the kind of band that Linkin Park are.

Budgeting

Cost of photographer:

The cost of the photographer will depend on the quality that we want and how long we will require the photographer and their equipment for. We will want high quality pictures and enough time to make sure that we get a suitable picture for the poster and one sheet so I will set a budget of 600-£700 for the photographer. Additional funding is available if it is needed.

Cost of graphic designer:

We will need to hire somebody to design the tour poster and the CD. I will create the One Sheet myself as I can discuss with the band what information they want to be included on the One Sheet and the picture of the band will already be available. I want the tour poster and the CD to be very high quality so I have set a budget of £7000 for this. As with the budget for the photographer, there is more money available if it is required.

Cost of printing:

5000 A4 Pages - £150
10000 A4 Pages - £300
15000 A4 Pages - £450
20000 A4 Pages - £600

Estimated Cost (Total) = £8600

Production Schedule

One Sheet Draft

This one sheet will be sent to radio stations and any music publications along with the album. Its purpose is to inform people about the band as well as promote them to the radio station or magazine.

Tour Poster Draft

CD Design Draft

Similar Magazine Covers

Similar Performance Posters

Similar CD Covers

Initial Client Meeting

I have just met the client and we have discussed the new Linkin Park album 'Into the Shadows' and the way in which we will promote the album. The client believed that shadows should be heavily featured in the promotional material for the album to relate to the album title and the concept behind the album. In this first meeting, we have decided that the album cover, a tour poster and a One Sheet would be the best way to get the album recognised. The client also suggested that I look at examples of album covers, tour posters and One Sheets as a basis for my own ideas.

My Chemical Romance 2 Page Spread

Purpose: The purpose of the article would be to inform people about My Chemical Romance as well as to entertain them.

Target Audience: The article would be aimed at My Chemical Romance fans. However it could also be informative for people who don't know about them as it could make them want to listen to them. MCR fans are generally early teens and older.

Fitness for Purpose: I think that the purpose is met fairly well. The large images and occasional use of bright colours would probably draw people to the text which would inform them about the band. However the dark colours which dominate the two pages would appeal to the stereotypical 'emo' MCR fans. The black also means that the bright coloured text stands out well so it stands out and is easy to read. The images of the band would attract current fans of the band.

Content: The two-page spread is dominated by photos of the band with the text seemingly a secondary focus. This is probably intended to interest people in the article. Presumably the next pages of the article have more text on and less images. Although they do not like to be considered an 'emo' band, this is what MCR are generally considered to be. This could be the reason behind the dark colour scheme of the article. Most of the two pages are black with the text, which is fairly small in comparison, mostly in white with some parts in red. There is one part of the article, in the right hand corner of the second page which has a white background. This makes it stand out a lot from the rest of the article. The photos of the band all show the band in dark clothing which also relates to the 'emo' stereotype. However I don't think that the dark colour scheme would put people off as there is enough bright colours (whites and reds) to attract most people. There is a paraphrases quote from the interview in a much larger font than the interview itself and with some of the words in a red font. This would probably draw people to the interview.

Design/Layout: The paraphrased quote is in capitals to make it stand out whereas the actual interview is mostly in a standard font i.e capitals only for the start of a sentence and for proper nouns except for the first letter and word of the interview which are in all capitals. This would also be used as a way of drawing people into the interview. Most of the text is in paragraph form which makes it easier for the audience to read.

Three Days Grace Performance Poster

Purpose: The purpose would be to advertise the Three Days Grace performance, inform people about it and persuade people to attend the event.

Fitness for Purpose: The poster would meet its purpose as it would draw people in. The important text is in a a large font which is easily visible. The image of Three Days Grace would attract avid fans of the band and it may make people who aren't avid fans want to find out more about them. The red glow on the date and price makes it stand out even though it is not the largest text on the poster. Three Days Grace is the largest piece of text because the poster is specifically for a performance by them. The text is in colours that contrast from the image so they can be seen easily but do not detract attention from the image.

Target Audience: The poster would be aimed at Three Days Grace fans as well as general music lovers who enjoy live performances. Alternative Rock would primarily be aimed at teenagers to people in their early to mid-20's, both male and female. As the performance took place in Michigan, it would probably be aimed at people who live there or nearby. The poster would probably have been placed around Michigan and in some nearby towns.

Content: There is very little text on the poster. The main text is the band name with the time and price of the event in a slightly smaller font. Both pieces of text are in bold which make them stand out. This means that when people see the poster they would instantly be drawn to it. The image of the band is the background of the entire poster which means that any fans will instantly recognise them and anyone else may be intrigued by the image and want to know who they are. They will then see the band name and might want to go to see them perform. They may also have heard of them and want to see them because of what they have heard. All of the text is in colours which contrast with the background so it is easy to read. It is also all in a bold font which might make it seem more important than if it was in lower case.

Format: If the poster was in a magazine then it would probably be in an A4 format. If it was on walls arounds towns then it would be in a much larger format to allow people to see it as they walk past.

Design/Layout: The text is all on top of the image, which is used as the main background. The text is spread out across the poster. The main text, which gives the most important information, is in the centre of the poster and the rest of the text is at the top and bottom of the poster. This is because the text in the centre is what the disginer of the poster would want people to see first. This text, as well as the image, is intended to draw people into the poster and then they can read the rest of the text if they are interested.

Lostprophets Magazine Cover

Fitness for Purpose: The purpose of this text would probably be to promote/advertise the magazine as well as make people want to read it. The image of the man sticking his middle finger up would most likely appeal to young readers who like the idea of rebelling. Fans of the LostProphets would be drawn in by the image of the lead singer. The fact that the image covers up the name of the magazine suggests that the designers feel that people will know the magazine well enough to not need to see the name. This implies that the magazine has many consistent readers. It could also be that the name is not considered the most important thing and that the images and the text telling people what else is in the magazine will be appealing enough. I think that the colour scheme, images and text would appeal to people and make them want to read the magazine so it fits its purpose well.

Target Audience: The targety audeince for the text would be fans of music specifically pop, punk, pop-punk, emo, hardcore, post-hardcore, heavy metal and extreme metal genres of rock music, as this is the target audience of the magazine in general. However this specific issue of the magazine would probably be fans of the Lostprophets as they are the featured artist in the issue.

Content: The main photo on the cover is the lead singer of the Lostprophets with smaller images of other bands or members of bands. The main colours on the cover are black, red and white. These all contrast against each other so they are all easily legible for readers. These colours, especially with the white background, are very eye-catching which will attract many people to the magazine if it is on a shelf in a shop. The profanity implied by the gesture being made by the Lostprophets singer may put off some people but it is unlikely to put off too many people who are regular readers of the magazine. The title of the magazine is covered by the photo of Ian Watkins. This means that the headline about the Lostprophets becomes the main thing that people see. It also suggests that people will recognise the magazine even when they can't fully see the title.

Format: As it is a magazine cover, it would be in an A4 format.

Design/Layout: The photo of Ian Watkins would have been chosen specifically to portray a particular image of the Lostprophets. The colour of some of the text that is over the photo would have been chosen on purpose to make the text visible even when over the photo. All of the text is in capital letters which makes it stand out more than if it was in lower case. The text is also in a hard-edged font which makes it stand out against the background.

Linkin Park Meteora Analysis

Fitness for purpose: This is the CD cover of Linkin Park's album Meteora. The purpose would be to persuade people to buy the album. It would probably appeal to the target audience of Linkin Park and other people may also be persuaded to purchase the album. The image of the man with the spray paint may appeal to teenagers because it gives the impression of rebelling. The album would not be very highly priced so most people would be able to buy it. The band name, album title and track listing stand out from the background image which means that they are easy for people to see if the album was in a shop so if people are already fans of Linkin Park then they will see the band name and want to buy it. The colours of the album are not directed at a particular gender. The album would be available in shops all over the country so everyone will have the opportunity to buy it.

Format: It would be a standard CD size as it is a basic CD cover and not a digipak.

Content:  The image on the album cover is the main part of the cover but the text is in a contrasting colour and is placed in the middle of the image which means that it is not overshadowed and in fact stands out from the image without taking attention away from the image. The text is also bold and all in capitals which makes it even more eye-catching.

Design/Layout: The image is the main background of the album cover and all of the text is over the top of it. The text is written in contrasting colours to make it stand out. Lines are used to seperate the band name, album name and the track listing for the album. On the track listing, numbers are used to show the correct order of the songs. The numbers are in a different colours to the song names so that people will know that they are not part of the song names.