ANCILLARY TASK 1 - CREATING MY CD COVER

Now that I have decided on the images that I would like to use and are aware of the conventions that are needed on a CD cover, I am now ready to start making the cover of my CD.

Before making my CD cover, It was important for me to know of the size and specifications for a CD cover so that I can produce a cover that will suit a CD case. I found out that a standard CD cover case is 12cm X 12cm for the front cover and 11.75cm X 15.1cm for the back cover, Including the spines.
These sizes are shown below:

I decided to start creating my final front cover on photoshop. I chose this programme because it enables me to edit images the way I prefer and to create a CD cover in an easier and more practical way.

This was an original idea for my front cover, after playing around with Photoshop. Once finishing this first design, I decided that I didnt like this because the image looks squashed together. As well as this, I thought about the image itself and decided that with the mouth of the artist open, it may not be appropriate for an album cover.
I like the font of the text used because it represents a carefree spirit but it is hard to read this text.

After using this image and not liking it, I decided to change the image.

Step 1 - Before using my image, I had to use picnik to edit the image. This is to make it look lighter and stand out to the audience, especially as this would be the first thing the artist would see in a store.

Step 2 - Again using photoshop to edit and create my front cover, I inserted my image and added some text. As I had already tested the writing, I knew that I wanted to use Pristina but I didnt know what colours to use and how to layout the writing on the page. With this in mind, I had to experiment with both.



I used the colours white and green and located the text straight and to the right of the subject.  I chose this side because it is darker and so would be easier to see.



 



I then changed the colour and the layout of the text. This was to experiement with both. I preferred the name of the artist on the bench. I think this was good because it is using an area of the image for a different purpose.  As well as this, I like the use of white because it is in contrast to the background colour. Im am still unsure about the layout of the 'Back to December' text.

I then decided to move the song title text to the same area of the artist text as well as change the colour. As the title overlaps with the main subject of the image, It was difficult to find aa colour that was bold enough to be seen, especially the yellow and green used before, which is why I changed it to red.