Evaluation: Question 2

Evaluation: Question 4

Evaluation: Question 1

Evaluation: Question 3

Question 3- What have you learned from you audience feedback?

Throughout my research and development gaining audience feedback has been very important because of my demographic audience. My artist's target audience demographic are female 16-23 year olds who are creative with eccentric, quirky and girly interests in music and other lifestyle products. The age group of my audience meant that introducing a personal and relatable artist image was extremely important. To make sure that I was creating this audience/ artist relationship effectively I carried out a variety of feedback focus groups, questionnaires and Facebook posts in order to understand the target audience more.
Here is the feedback focus group with four people who fit the target audience. We showed them the rough cut of our video. We hoped to discover in the feedback if our target audience 'read' the video in the preferred way. We wanted the video to be light hearted and girly whilst also possessing an indie edge seen through more quirky, entropic and vintage features.
The feedback was very positive with the group understanding and reading the text well. They read the video as being quite 'quirky' containing 'things you wouldn't expect', positive feedback as this is an aspect of contrast that we hoped would be read and appreciated by our target audience.

The feedback group understood and felt the relatable tone we were trying to achieve saying 'you showed people the same age (as us)'. They also felt that the mise-en-scene with the 'girly cupcakes' appealed to the age group and gender. It was clear that they were gaining a unifying and relatable feeling through watching the video as they describes the close up shots as 'connecting'.

Within our music video we interpreted various intertextual references that would require our audience to have a certain level of cultural capital. We tried to select references that would suit our audiences level of cultural knowledge for example the lyrics on cards in our video were inspired by a viral video 'Free Hugs' but also the music video 'Subterranean home sick blues' by Bob Dylan. We thought that the reference to an online viral video would be understandable and recognizable to a online generation like our target audience whilst the Bob Dylan video would fit into our audience's indie musical preferences.
I found in our feedback that the group felt that some of these features were 'entropic' and 'quirky'.
We also used the intertextual reference to the olympic countdown as it is so current and we felt that this would fit the cultural capital of a very wide demographic not just our target audience as the olympics were such a widely watched event.

We gained some really valuable suggestions on how we could improve the music video with the group suggesting 'more performance and more movement'. The feedback group felt that this would make the video more conventional and identifiable as a music video.

We really focused on improving the narrative to performance ratio within the video and feel that we have successfully added a significant amount of performance shots in order to fit our indie genre. The group also suggested different shot 'levels' and shot types which we also added to the video in order to have a good variety of shots. We hoped that by adding a wider variety of shots (as suggested in feedback) the video would be read by our target audience as more relatable; close up shots of our performer would create an audience/ artist relationship whilst a variety of different shot types along side this would amount to an attention maintaining, exciting music video.

I also gained audience feedback in the very early stages of my coursework when we asked people to fill in questionnaires after watching our pitch. I feel that this literary form of feedback was very effective as it allowed the audience to process there thoughts and give us carefully considered responses.
I posted the questionnaire and responses as a blog post. Here is a link:

http://graceludlowcollegea2mediablog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/pitch-feedback.html

We based the question on genre, audience, narrative and brand image. The question on brand image and mise-en-scene particularly gained positive responses with the audience demonstrating their understanding of the 'quirky style' and 'focus on fashion'. This was evidence of the audience demonstrating that they were using their cultural capital to understand and recognize the current and trendy mise-en-scene.

In the production of my print products I have also gathered audience feedback. I wanted both the digipak and magazine to be aesthetically pleasing and appealing to a my target audience so I asked them for the initial thoughts on font colour.
I used email to send these font and background combinations:

Here is the feedback: 

Natasha Lee:

Hey Grace,

I think the pink one looks best. The middle one doesn’t really stand out enough.

I love the collage background – looks very quirky and effective for genre.

Hannah Davies:
I think they all look good. But I prefer the pink colour font as it stands out from the collage background. Also as our target audience are girls it will be more appealing to them.

From the feedback I learnt that I needed to make the font colour and the contrast with the background more striking in order to catch the attention of my audience. The feedback also indicated that pink with its girly and feminine connotations would appeal to my specific demographic the most. The response also clearly indicated that the font experiments were in keeping with the coherency of the promotional package and that the audience were understanding and reading these visual links clearly. 

For feedback on my digipak I filmed a feedback focus group with Jade and Beth; two people who fit into my audience demographic. 

In the Feedback Jade and Beth demonstrated a clear understanding of the brand image through my use of visual communication. For example 'the different textures used are really effective as they link to the genre of indie'. I was glad that the feedback signalled that the collaged design was effectively linking the visual house style with the artist's genre conventions and that the target audience were reading these genre conventions, that we aimed to portray, clearly. The group also used their cultural capital in order to understand that the shots types were typical of the indie genre: 'Different shots of artist are quite indie'.

This focus groups cultural capital was also hugely beneficial in their constructive criticism; they expressed how they felt the positioning of the barcode was not typical of indie digipaks they had seen before. I took this idea on and moved the barcode to the conventional position in order to create a professional looking product.

The feedback group expressed the need for a more clear sense of communication and VIP feeling that extra online content provides. They felt that making the website and social network links 'a bit more bold and a bit more clear' would improve this aspect of the digipak greatly.

Overall, I have found the various forms of feedback throughout my coursework very useful in clarifying that my products were communicating the correct brand image. The ideas of improvements have also been a great help. Feedback allows you to look at your work from a different and angle, noticing things you had not before. 
The feedback also really allowed me to understand if my products were being read and understood correctly and clearly by the target audience. I feel that the feedback has greatly contributed the success of my promotional pack in all aspects from house style and brand continuity to narrative understanding and communication of genre conventions to name a few examples.

Final promotional package

Magazine advert feedback

I have completed my magazine advert design and want to again get some feedback as this was so useful in the production of my digipak. It really allowed me to understand and gain the opinion of my target audience.

My magazine advert is a half page as my artist is a newly signed artist. This subtle sized advert is appropriate for the indie/ pop genre.
The advert has clear links with the digipak and music video which creates a strong and consistent house style which abides with Goodwin's theory that different media platforms are linked visually.

Here are some quotes from the feedback questionnaire.

Do you feel that the advert links well with my digipak and music video?

'You can see a certain house style'    'The pictures link both'

'The collage demonstrates the quirky feel'

Do you think the advert is bold and attention grabbing?

'Yes the bold font make it stand out'   'The bold fonts draw you in'

Do you feel that the advert will attract the attention and appeal to my target audience?

'Yes as the bold font and colour makes you look at the advert'

'You look and see straight away its girly and vintage which will appeal to target audience'

Is there anything that could be changed or improved?

'Could put what some magazine think'

I think the idea of adding quotes from magazine reviews is a great idea as evidence of musical talent and acclaim really appeals to an indie target audience.

Digipak feedback

I have completed the first draft of my Digipak. Here is the Digipak.

I wanted to gather feedback from my target audience. I have done so through a feedback video.

I have received some really useful feedback from the feedback group. Here are some quotes from their positive feedback:

What do you feel is good about the digipak?

'Clear house style'          'I definitely think its really girly'     'Get a sense of fashion and style'

This feedback suggests that the house style and mise-en-scene is effectively communicating the girly and quirky artist identity.

Do you think it suits our target audience?

'Its young and quite funky'      'It appeals to girls'

I wanted to create an artist image that would appeal to our young female target audience in a personal and unifying way. It seems from the feedback that this is understandable through the digipak.

Do you feel that it suits our indie/pop genre?

'Unique and bright'       'Artist style looks quite indie'     'Different shots of artist are quite indie'  

'Quite different with the different textures'

I really wanted to communicate a clearly combination of pop and indie. The feedback suggests that the digipak has achieved this look.

I asked the group is there is anything they would change or improve, they gave some really helpful ideas and suggestions. I agree with this suggestions and these are the changes I am going to make:

- Add title on front  This will make the artist name and brand more memorable (a requirement often requested by record companies)

- Move bar code down to make it look more like a conventional digipak 

It is important to create a professional looking digipak in order to appeal to my  young music knowledgeable target audience.

- make links to website and extra content clearer and brighter 

Creating a strong artist/ audience relationship is very important. A digital and online form of communication will appeal to my target audience greatly.

- Remove the glue stick image as it looks out of place 

I want the design of the digipak to be cohesive and understandable.

Audience feedback on Font

In order to make the decision on the font colour I want to gather some audience feedback.
I have developed the idea for a collage background for the digipak which communicates the vintage, feminine and quirky look and mise-en-scene that I want to achieve.

I want to see how the fonts work with the background.

I have requested feedback by email. Here is some of my feedback:

Natasha Lee:

Hey Grace,

I think the pink one looks best. The middle one doesn’t really stand out enough.

I love the collage background – looks very quirky and effective for genre.

Hannah Davies:
I think they all look good. But I prefer the pink colour font as it stands out from the collage background. Also as our target audience are girls it will be more appealing to them.

From the feedback I have learnt that the pink font and background are considered the best combination that will appeal to our target audience most effectively.

Digipak Design

Here is the first design idea for my Digipak. I have tried to include a vintage, feminine but quirky feel; various shots types with a focus on close ups; and a musical focus with images of performance that will appeal to the indie/pop audience.

Front Outside
The front of the digipak design includes the artist name and album title in my chosen font: 'Poplar std' as well as close up image of Nina Nesbitt. In the photograph I want Nina to be wearing the hat she wears throughout the video in order to create a memorable and consistent artist image. I also want her to be holding a guitar as focus on musical talent and performance really appeals to a pop/indie audience. The close up will also appeal to the young female audience because of its personal, relatable tone.

Inside right
On the CD is the image of a cupcake; a visual motif in the music video. The artist name and title printed onto the CD will also be a reference to the video with the writing written by hand on white card. This links will create a between the two media platforms therefore creating a artist brand image. The images will also be an entropic combination; they will not be expected to be seen on a CD. I learnt in my research that entropic images appeal to a indie/pop audience as they suit their eccentric and quirky tastes.

Inside Left
This pane has been hugely inspired by the Eliza Doolittle digipak that I researched in which Eliza's name is filled with extreme close ups of her face. I think this is really striking and powerful image that will also work well for my artist, making both her name and appearance memorable and recognizable.
Throughout the background of the digipak I want their to be a collage of patterns and images that will appeal greatly to the female target audience. This will work well with the overall vintage mise-en-scene.

Back Outside
The back pane will include a track list which will be numbered using the images of house numbers we used in our music video. This idea was originally inspired by the olympic ceremony countdown and worked very well in our music video creating a clear link between lyrics and visuals (Goodwin's theory). This will create a recognizable artist image and house style.
The image on the back will be a long shot of Nina performing on stage. This reference to live performance will appeal to the target audience as in my audience demographic research I learnt that live events were one of the audiences interests.
The back pane will include intructions on how to access the disc's extra digital content and will also have links to Nina's social network pages. These wil

Font Experiements

I have began experimenting with different font styles to appear on the Digipak and possibly the advert in order to maintain a consistent artist identity much like the font Florence and the machines name appears in across various media platforms.
I want the mise-en-scene of the Digipak to be quirky, feminine and vintage inspired in order to appeal to the target audience. The font and look of the name and title therefore need to suit and portray this theme.
1. The first font is 'Capitals'. This font is striking and noticeable but I don't feel that it has the feminine look I am trying to achieve.
2. Font: 'Didot'. I like the colour of this font; I feel that it is girly but not too much therefore maintaining that quirky indie feel. But I don't think the font is strong and noticeable enough to grab the attention on the front of a Digipak or advert.
3. Font: 'Desemona'. I really like this font. I think it has a vintage 1920's look but is also quite modern therefore creating a combination that will appeal to the young target audience greatly. The only problem with this font is that I feel that the 'N's are quite difficult to distinguish meaning the name may not be instantly memorized. I feel that it is not clear enough to make a recognizable and memorable artist image.
4. Font: 'Edwardian Script'. I do not think this font is appropriate. It is portraying the vintage mise-en-scene too literally and it weak because of its delicate lines. I feel that this would fail to stand out and grab the target audience's attention.
4. Font: 'Poplar std'. This is the font that I feel will most appeal to the target audience and work well on the digipak cover. It is strong and bold whilst the colour is feminine but with its dark pink tone it also communicates a more edgy, eccentric indie look.

With the chosen font: 'Poplar std' I have continued to experiment with slight variations:
1. Original
2. Smaller size
3. Spaces between each letter
4. No Capitals
5. Grey outline
6. Lighter pink
7. Light blue
8. Mint green

After these further experiments I still prefer the original (1.). I feel that many of the other variations like the spacing between each letter and the no capitals take away from the strong impact the original version has. I do however like the colour variations (6,7,8). I think I will bear these in mind and refer back to them when I have selected the images that will appear on the digipak as the font and image will have to work well together.

Digipak Template

I am now going to begin developing my Digipak. This is the template that I am going to design around.


















I learnt in my Digipak research that close ups are extremely important when trying to appeal to a young target audience as they create a personal, relatable image. This was seen in much of my research of similar artists. I want to use similar shot types in my Digipak.
All of the Digipaks I looked at also had entropic and eccentric design aspects and mise-en-scene, which clearly communicate the indie aspect of the indie/pop genre. I therefore one to integrate this entropic, quirky tone into my Digipak. I feel that this would work very well with my artist as her lyrics are very light hearted and quirky. This will therefore be an example of Goodwin's theory of how a visuals often link with lyrics.
The final thing I learnt from my research that I want to be evident in my Digipak is the large presence and links to e-media with links to social networking sites and extra digital content. Like the artist's FLorence and the machine and Eliza Doolittle I want this to appear on the back outside section of the Digipak. This feature will suit and appeal to my young target audience for who internet and technology is hugely important and appealing.