Preliminary Task: CD Cover

Here is the CD cover that Matt Bostock made for our preliminary task as well as the explanation that he has personally written and the sources he has used in order to influence the creation of this product:

Click to see Larger Version. Produced for Educational Purposes only.

Our preliminary task music video was based upon the song 'Bad Day' by Daniel Powter. This gave me the opportunity to practice my skills in making a CD cover, which is one of the ancillary tasks that we will need to complete for our main piece of coursework.

I based my work on many professionally produced covers that use the 'Photo Feature' technique, which uses a simple photo of the artist on the front cover to draw attention to the product - something that artists such as Amy Winehouse, James Blunt and One Direction have done in the past (see covers below). This technique is often effective, as the simple design often draws people in, encouraging people to buy the album.

When making the front cover of my CD Cover, I found the photo of Daniel Powter from the internet, and used photo editing software to remove the background from the picture. Although the end result is quite effective, when we make our CD cover for our coursework, I would recommend that we take photos specifically for the purpose of using on the CD cover, so that we can ensure that the photos used best suit our requirements.

I also used the photo editing software to apply a Black & White effect to all of Daniel's body, except from his face. I feel that this would help the cover to stand out from many of the other CD's on the market, whilst also creating a talking point on social media sites.

I feel that the black background with a white glow on the front cover is effective, as black is a colour usually associated with depression and negative thoughts, which fits in with the album title 'Bad Day'. The white glow suggests that Daniel is stuck in a lonely and sad place, with no way of getting out, which again fits in with the title of the album.

Taking inspiration from other album covers, I decided that the title of the album does not need to be too big. This draws attention to the photo, and also fits in with modern branding conventions. In addition, I used the '>' symbol before Daniel's name, which helps to create a unique trademark identity, which could perhaps be used across other forms of marketing for the album. The use of the hashtag '#>DanielPowter' or '#>DP' could also be encouraged from the official Twitter account, which could also be used as an effective marketing tool.

The rear of the cover features a photo strip at the top, with photos of the artist. I chose to keep to a black and white theme on this side of the cover, as this also adds emphasis to the effect applied to Daniel's face on the front.

Conforming with convention for modern CD covers, I chose to leave an area of space blank on the back cover. Again, this represents purity and simplicity, and helps to keep the back cover in line with the styling on the front of the CD case, ensuring consistency is maintained.

The bottom section includes the Daniel Powter logo, and, in line with this styling, I have added the Warner Bros production logo, which is coloured in a similar way. At the bottom, I have included the official website address for Daniel Powter, and have added bold formatting to the 'D' and 'P' of the website address, which also creates a unique brand identity. Reference is also made to Daniel's Facebook & Twitter account, and I have coloured the social networking icons using the same colour scheme as Daniel's logo, which maintains consistency throughout the design.

Overall, I feel that this task has enabled me to develop the skills I will when producing our actual CD cover, whilst also learning how I could further improve my design in the future.