Final- Digipak

Here I have a copy of my final Digipak design. 

Final-Webpage

Here I am including a screenshot of my webpage final design. 

Digipack and Website Progress

I decided that while I'll not include a background I will be including coloured boxes behind the subheadings to break up the page a bit and make it easier to read etc. Originally I was going to use the same font for the whole page as it is the font I use on the digipak back cover. However having discussed this with my teacher and some members of my group I've decided to use the font from my digipak on the subheadings while the main body of text will have a different font in order to fit in with the simplicity of these webpages in the examples I have researched and also to make it easier to read.  

I am now finished with my webpage design. I feel that the design is quite effective and clearly does all that it needs to do in order to fit with the wants and expectations of fans of the band/the genre. I have included links to pages that will tell them more about the band, about news, about tour dates and the best ways in which to contact them. I have also included several means of social networking involving the band and information so that the fans will feel more connected.

I have also finished my Digipak design for which I have used several tones of blue, red and sepia/white. I have done this to once more enforce the suggestion of patriotism and also add in some synergy between this and the music video which also uses a variety of tones of red and blue. 

Webpage development

Here I have started to plan out my bands webpage, I'm using grey boxes in order to work out the positioning of the different elements I am intending to use.  this means that I am clear as to what I want to do with the layout and where each element might look best in order to remain complimentary. I've decided that my webpage design will have a splash page, homepage, about, tour page, gallery FAQ's and a contact page. 

I was initially going to have the writing colour change between red and white (maybe blue as well) in order to establish  the patriotic theme and create a link between my music video, digipak and my website.  

I decided part way through the development of my work that, while I'd keep it simple in style in order to fit with the typical conventions of a website for a band of this genre, I would also look at doing some things to challenge conventions and make the band seem more interesting, unique and stand out. As such I decided that I would see how the website looked with a background. This one I chose particularly because of the spotlight effect that I created in the top corner which related to the music video.

However, I have ultimately decided against this use of background as I felt that overall the plain background looked sleeker and created a much more elegant/sophisticated image. I have also decided that I will, instead of using 3 colours, only use a light red that matches the one seen in my bands logo. This helps to create a synergy across the platforms and enforces the bands sense of identity.

I have also been creating hyper links on the homepage that will lead to other pages upon their completion, I've done this in order to make the webpage design appear more authentic and professional.  

Digipack initial designs

Here I am showing some photos of the initial designs I am considering for my digipak

Digipak designs

Here I have decided to include some images of sample pictures and ways in which I might manipulate these images in order to put them on my digipak and have the design appeal to fans of the genre. As such I started with an image of a 4 panel digipak net so that I could start off with a simple design for the images and their positioning/layout. 

Here is the image I found showing a group of boys similar to those intended for my actual digipak and in a position reflective of the one I want to get the actors in for the photos (webpage or digipak).

For the image below I have used the picmonkey editing software in order to adjust the saturation of the image as well as make changes to the colour balances, and add in borders with fade effects. I Have chosen these effects as I feel that they add to the effect of mystery and the idea of being 'lost' therefore relating to the  band name and adding an extra layer to the digipak. I have also chosen red, white and blue as the border colours in order to enforce the suggestion of patriotism.   

Here I have added a Warhol effect coupled with a focal soften in order to again enforce the patriotism of this band and make it quite easy to match clearly with the other images used therefore being synergistic.  

Here I have shown the two sample images that I have managed to complete within the lesson today, this helps me to visualise how my final product may look and also check that the images do match and relate to each other as a result creating synergy across this platform. I have selected to include an image of the London eye in this practice digipak as the picture I have used has a Ferris wheel or something similar in the background and doing this means that I have made connections between the images in more ways than just the use of colours and effects. 

Digipack Analysis

Digipack Analysis

Decisions and plans

What I have so far and what I intend to do on Prezi

Logo designs development

I have decided that the final logo design should and most likely will be a combination of the two ideas featured above. I think that this will help me to create a much more representative and interesting logo for our band. Combining the two ideas would be quite simple and will look very effective in the end I think. 

The image above includes 4 different ideas that I have developed from the 2 at the very bottom of the page doing this has meant that my ideas have been realised more and are expanding to cover more bases. This idea shows the main themes and ideals that our band will uphold and present (patriotism and the music being the most important factor). I feel that these designs are quite appropriate and accurate in their portrayal of the bands themes and ideals. In all of my ideas I am challenging the conventions that I found when looking at the logos of indie rock bands and as such am keeping the logos quite intricate and detailed so that they are more interesting and appealing to a wider audience. Doing so suggests a degree of adaptability from the band and makes it so that they will be more noticeable and recognisable because they are more unique and interesting overall.  

Flatplan iweb website

Today I went on from creating a sample webpage to create a flat plan on iweb that would show exactly where everything that I want to put onto the webpage would be situated. The flat plan created on this programme is actually different to the plan that I drew out and shows that I have taken on board some of the critique from my peer assessment. I have created not only a sample first page but also a sample splash page to show how the main site would look but also how people would enter the site and interact with the fans. I feel that this sample shows a much more effective website layout and design than my initial plan did as it will appeal to a wider variety of people and may therefore attract a wider audience.  

Website practice

Today I used the iweb programme on the mac and have created a sample webpage as a means of practising the process. I have found that the programme on the whole is very easy to navigate/use and looks quite effective. I feel that the end result is very professional in its appearance and looks very good as a website design. Today's practice has meant that I have implemented some of the skills necessary and as such am now aware of what I need to do to change colours, fonts, add in images, include YouTube clips etc. In doing so I have become more aware of the limitations of the programme and as a a result I not know what is practical about my design and what may need to change. As a result of this activity I know how to best implement the widgets at the side of the programmes page, I am also aware of the jobs that the icons at the bottom of the page do and as such know how to best create an effective webpage. 

Initial logo designs

Here I have included my initial design ideas for the logo of the band. Our band name is clearly the lost boys and when creating my logos I was attempting to reflect either the 'lost' aspect of the bands name or the patriotism of the band as a reflection of their ideals. I have also attempted to show that the music is at the core of their ideals in some of the logo designs also. 

The first idea makes use of a viola clef which is quite an unknown/unrecognised musical clef, I felt that using this would help to make the band appear more unique and interesting, it would also make the logo look more interesting and definitely show that the music is very important to the band. I feel that though effective this might be too complicated/difficult to read, as such I either need to adjust the idea or disregard it completely. 

The second logo on the page is in the shape of the yin-yang symbol for light/dark or good/evil and shows the bands peaceful ideals and their want for peace, To further enforce this I have included the peace symbol. I feel that this helps reflect the bands brand as we want to present them in mod styling and also present them as being very harmonious and at peace with their surroundings.  I have use a slightly scratchy font (in its appearance) and feel that thus might reflect the 'lost' part of their name. I feel that this idea is in fact quite effective at what it is doing yet it doesn't reflect the ideals that it should really and as such I am not going to use it in my final design.  

The third logo design I have included shows the union jack with music sheets and a heart formed from a treble clef and bass clef. I feel that doing this makes the band appear very patriotic and very much concerned with the music. Showing that the music is at the heart of their ideals and even at the centre of their logo. The font again is quite scratchy in its appearance as a reflection of being 'lost'. I personally feel very happy with this design and would very much like to use this idea, I may however make adjustments in terms of sizing and spacing.  

The next logo shows a much clearer and more simple font with the colours of the flag appearing like shards of wood behind the logo as a further suggestion of the band being 'lost'. It also serves to present and enforce the patriotism of the band. This design is only somewhat representative and I feel that it is much less effective on the whole than the other designs that I have created. 

The next logo design acts as a clear presentation of the being lost and I felt that a good way of showing this would be through forest/woods imagery, I feel that this has been quite effective in that it does appear to clearly show the idea of being lost. I feel however that the band ideals would be much better to present for the logo and as such I don't think that I will be using this particular design. 

My final idea reflects the patriotism more than anything and is much more personal in appearance as the font is intended to look much more like handwriting (and is in fact my own handwriting) and therefore appeal more to the fans as it creates more of a connection. I feel however that this doesn't fully present all that I would like it to nor does it look particularly effective.

Genre Research and synergy within bands

Genre Research

Webpage initial design ideas.

Here I have included a copy of my initial design idea for a webpage for my band, 

This is my initial design idea and as a result of Peer evaluation I am aware that it will need some slight adjustments and as such intend to change some aspects of the layouts in order to make it somewhat more appealing to the masses rather than just fans of indie music. Making it more widely appealing would mean that my design idea becomes more appealing for a larger audience therefore attracting a larger audience. 

I have attempted to, in my design, account for the typical conventions of indie websites and as such have made it very simple in appearance, as well as very personal and easy to navigate. I have tried to include everything that fans would like to see and what they would want to make use of. When making changes I think that I will put in more images and fill up some more of the space in order to attract a larger audience. I might also adjust some of the placement of text and dates and also include a tour countdown to keep fans even more involved and up-to-date. 

Mood board for band identity and digipack

Some of the images used have been created by me using Photoshop, i.e. the background, and the flag.

Here I have created a mood board that encapsulates the main themes of our band and portrays their band identity most clearly. I have included an image of the British flag (union jack) in order to present the bands patriotism, and the suggestion of their united stance as we decided from the beginning that they would be presented as a whole unit. I've also included an image of a sign post and compass as I felt that they better relate to the groups name of "The Lost Boys" The use of this sign post and compass should suggest that they're finding their path or perhaps even paving their own. Also I've included images of space, this relates more to the name of the song that we are using for the music video, I felt that including this might help me to work out some of the imagery etc.  that we could use in the video itself. I've included the peace sign to relate back to the 60's mod era that we intend to portray and to promote their ideal of youthful innocence. This promotes the idea of youthful innocence as its bright and colourful, therefore suggesting the vibrancy of youth, the innocence is presented by the suggestion of peace reigning free. I have included the doves as a further suggestion of innocence and freedom, again as a means of reflecting the themes and ideals of the band themselves. Finally I have included the image of a rainbow with musical notes and the bass/treble clef forming a heart shape, this has been included as I felt that the images would best show that the music is at the heart of their band and they care most for the actual songs and music that they are producing.

I have also included some initial ideas as to the font in which the logo could be created, the fonts are all quite different however I feel that they are all relevant and representative in some way. 
Artist representation mood board

Website analysis

http://www.franzferdinand.com/

The Franz Ferdinand website is aimed at  primary target audience of reformers (psychographic) who are more interested in values than in status. For example they make decisions based upon the morals and values of themselves or companies that they might choose to associate themselves with. They unlike Aspirers are uninterested in the appearance, fame and fortune of their artists, instead caring more about the music itself.  

The website for Franz Ferdinand is primarily white with a bold logo that continually changes in it's style/appearance, for example appearing as orange or black orange and red etc. It makes extensive use of white space and appears very uncluttered. The simple yet stylish layout of the front page is engaging to the primary target audience because it doesn't try to make itself stand out or seem overly glamourous, it focuses entirely on the music instead of the band and as such appeals to the reformist target audiences values. It also makes wide use of interactive buttons in order to direct people to other pages for example the buttons surrounding the title button all swipe away and change when scrolled over and lets people know what is on the landing page connected to that image/button. 

The website itself appears to go against all of the typical conventions of successful artist websites, it has no real use of a typical hero shot, with the main image on the front page being a black and white performance photograph that moves aside when you scroll over is and becomes a button that takes you to information about their shows. 

The website links to several landing pages, for example, it links to a landing page which discusses their shows, one for their music, one for film and one for their shop. It also has a landing page called personnel which would provide the audience with background information on the band as a whole and the individual members. This has been done in order to cater for the fans interest in the band members and applies to Blumler and Katz's theory of surveillance as one of the reasons for people to consume media texts.   

The website itself shows no real types of convergence and stays solely focused upon the band and their music with no advertisements of other bands and the only offsite links being to their Facebook, Twitter and Myspace pages. 

Richard Dyer's star theory- Mika

MIKA Richard Dyer

Iconography

Coldplay Iconography