GENERIC CONVENTIONS OF DIGIPAK AND MAGAZINE

ADVERTSFemale Pop Artists

Introduction■ In this PowerPoint, I will look at existing digipak and

magazine adverts to see if there are any common themes. Pop digipak and adverts have different styles depending on the artist or album name, Some artists have brand identity where there is a visual connection in the artists album cover and other media products the artist have released in order to promote them. The target audience of pop tends to be a young audience so the artwork has to appeal to them.

Fonts■ The font on the digipak and magazine advert tends to be large and bold,

therefore eye catching for the audience to see. The colour of some fonts compliment the rest of the colours, for example on the Ellie Goulding Advert.

■ The placement of the text for an advert is either at the side of the subject or at the bottom as the viewers eye is drawn from the top to the bottom. The font style is usually the same for both the digipak and the advert. A good example for this is the Ellie Goulding digipak.

■ The artists name is usually the largest font on the digipak, and/or advert because the pop artist tends to market themselves to their fans as an individual as much as they market their music. Looking at the Lana Del Ray digipak her name is the most dominant font, drawing the buyers eyes to her album. The same font has also been used for the title of the album.

■ There are many pop artist trying to attract an audience, so any font used on a product has to be bold and eye catching to attract attention and thus sell the product.

Colours■ The colours used in pop digipaks and magazine adverts

are bright colours in order for them to stand out to potential buyers. The artists use brand identity within their artwork so that the audience can easily identity an artists product. The colours that the artists use may depend on the artists personality, style of music or the title of the album, for example Taylor Swifts album, and advert for ‘Red; uses the colour for the font colour and the colour along the bottom of the advert. Also, due to the background being black and white, it stands out to the target audience.

■ In Jessie J’s digipak and advert the colour of her signature logo is gold, this stands out against the mostly black and white background. This choice draws the audience’s attention to the centre of the advert and the digipak, meaning they look around it, this may persuade them to buy her products.

Poses & Expressions■ The artists poses and facial

expressions are important for portraying the artists personality, or portraying a mood or concept.

■ Facial expressions and posture vary with different artists as some tend to be fairly provocative, for example Katy Perry. Taylor Swift tends to have a casual ‘girl next door’ approach. However most artists tend to look directly into the camera, like Beyoncé, who is heavily made up to look attractive to appeal to her target audience.

Composition/Layout■ The artists image will be the

major focus before the text as the viewers eye will automatically be drawn to an image. It therefore needs to be eye-catching. Composition can be dictated by the image that the artist wants to put across to their audience or by the title of the album. The second point of interest is bold text, especially for the artists name – for easy recognition of the product to the buying public.

Mise-en-Scene■ Costume – The clothing worn by artists varies, as different artists have different styles.

Some artists have particular styles or a signature piece of clothing that they wear, such as sunglasses or a hat.

■ Lighting – The lighting is usually controlled as most photos are taken in a studio, so they use three point lighting where the subject is lit fully. Sometimes they would not use all the lighting in three point lighting – so they would create a light balance. If the lighting was based on natural lighting the editors would use a program such as Photoshop to make the image stand out and look more artificial like Ellie Goulding’s album uses an effect to make her the main focus but still lighting the subject.

■ Actors – The artist will facially express themselves in a way which suits their iconic image or a given theme, often the theme of their album or songs.

■ Make up – On female artists the make up is clearly seen, such as red lips or eyeliner. More often that not, female artists have a signature look, whether its red lips or heavy eye make up. This makes them a role model to their audiences as they don’t change, meaning they may copy their style.

■ Props – Props are rarely used on digipak covers, but sometimes they are used on magazine adverts, if they are used they are mostly musical instruments or signature items associated with the artist.

■ Setting – The setting of most digipaks and adverts tend to be in a studio with a plain and simple background so that the audiences main attention is on the artist as the main purpose is to promote the artist.

Camera Shots■Conventionally, a mid shot or

close up of the artist in an attractive pose that is positioned centrally is used. This is so that the artist can promote themselves and their product to the best advantage.

■Sometimes the person on the cover may not be the artist if their music is concept based. However, it might be a long shot of the artist.

Identifying Genre■ The iconography depends on the image

that the artist has chosen through Mise-en-Scene and the representation of the artist. Most pop artists chose bright colours so that it connotes a professional but fun product. The pop artist is usually young and attractive and usually present themselves in an appealing way to their audience. Therefore, they are an icon to their fans as they aspire to be like them, or to know someone like them.

■ The generic artwork may differ depending on the songs and the title of the album that they produce. However, many pop artists choose a direct facial portrait – sometimes without much more design or styling.

Connotations■ The connotations of pop digipaks and adverts vary

depending on the advert and album title, as there are no specific connotations such as rap having jewellery to connote power. The artist is always present within the digipak and advert to connote their importance as an artist.

■ Looking at the Adele ‘25’ cover, by having no text on the digipak cover connotes that she is a strong independent woman. This also suggests that she is a well established figure, so she doesn’t need to put her name on her album.

■ On the Marina and the diamonds cover, by having Marina as the main image, suggests that she is the most important in the group, this ties in with the title as she is the only person to be named.

Conclusion■ In conclusion, the generic conventions of pop help show some

features I should use for my digipak and advert, such as the use of bright colours. I will ensure that I pay attention to the layout of my digipak and advert, as I realise the importance of a strong facial image to promote the artist. I will make sure that I use the features that I have researched to make an outstanding digipak and magazine advert.

■ These features vary between different artists so I will carefully examine my artist to see what features should be included.