For my second design I decided to do a CD cover. First I took a picture of my friend, and then I photo shopped it. For the background I painted spray paint onto poster board, and then scanned it onto my computer. I combined the two photos to create the basics for the CD cover.
For the text I wanted the band name “The Here Afters” to stand out, so I chose a font that would draw the eye toward it. When I came across the font I eventually chose the “f” which fit exactly the shape of my friend’s nose on the CD cover. I thought that I might move the font more toward the left because the design element of proximity. Instead I decided that it took away from how well the nose and the “f” went together.
To contrast the band name, I chose a different font for “To Whom it May Concern.” It is a simpler font, as to not draw away the eye from the band name. I also chose a different color for the album title to make the band name contrast more with the background since it is the most important part of the CD cover. I also made sure to align the “To Whom it May Concern” with “The Here Afters” to make reading easier for the eyes. The “f” is obviously also aligned properly with nose.
I also started out with “To Whom it May Concern” in a much bigger font, but instead liked it in the smaller font it ended up in because it was understated. Emotionally, this choice gives the album gives a more solemn, melancholy feel.
The CD has depth to it, just as the CD cover does. There are layers for a reason. I put layers into the spray paint when I painted. There is green as a very base layer, then I put brown on top of that layer. There is gold on top of that. I then took a plastic bag and stuck it on top to bring forward some of the previous layers.
I used repetition by repeating the colors throughout the design. The color that I chose for “To Whom it May Concern” was eye dropped from the chin. The color used for the other font, black, is also repeated throughout the design.
Culturally speaking, this CD cover is for a young adult audience. I created it for a mixed CD that one of my friends made me. This CD has many indie bands, and a lot of music that is for a younger age group. The picture I took also goes well with the audience the CD is meant for. The girl on the cover is actually the one who made the CD. Older audiences probably would not like this CD cover, and therefore it should not be marketed to them.
Rhetorically, CD covers these days are not usually kept. Instead the digital version of that CD cover is. People do not walk through a store anymore, but instead shop online. There is still a need for the CD cover, but not a need to see it in person. There is implied texture, but no need to actually have textured paint on a CD cover that one could touch.
2 comments:
Wow. This is absolutely beautiful. It's obvious that you really put a lot of effort into the design of the cd case.
You used the right colors as well. Using really bright colors would not have matched the somber theme. By maintaining the sepia color throughout the piece, you made it look classic.
I'm really looking forward to what you come up with next! :)
I agree with Kristen--good time spent on the project. When you work on documents that make use in large part on graphical representation, the graphic(s) must say a lot, and every word and proximity and alignment and contrast, etc. of the text used must also say a lot. Some notes:
- the graphic is enticing
- some of the coloring on the face of the graphic is a little confusing, looking as if the person has a lot of blotchiness
- the curve of the f in Afters is particularly important, I think
- I still think the alignment of the To Whom it May Concern would provide better chunked proximity with the main title if they overlapped with the f, which would also bring better balance with the text moving from the left (where the image is) to the right rather than left aligning
- the eyes begin with the image, moving down to the squiggly in the bottom left, then to the text
- go with one word with photoshopped
- spraypaint, also, could be one word
- if the image is smaller, the font is not very easy to read; at the size of a CD it works, but for promotionals it may not work
- what is the rhetorical purpose of the f aligning? What does it add to the message?
- good use of coloring from the chin to match with the coloring of some of the text; the eyes make this connection
- reminds me a little of a Michael Jackson image, and one makes the connection because he is dead, of course, and the hearafter connection
- the digital version of a cover is very important on an iPod or iTunes list, etc., making the text clarity even more important
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