Audience Questionnaire

Audience Questionnaire

We decided to create an audience questionnaire to find out what styles/designs of digipak and advert would appeal to a potential audience. We used various examples of digipaks and adverts, including both mainstream and non-mainstream artists. We also tried to include examples from across the indie genre. 

We also wanted to see if age or gender had an impact on choices, as a difference here could mean narrowing our audience. In doing this we also stayed mindful that for some people age & gender may be sensitive topics, so we made sure we provided an option for those who preferred not to say. Below is a copy of our questionnaire:

We then went and asked 8 different people what they thought about the digipaks and adverts. We tried to ask a range of people so that we had a good overall idea of preferences, although obviously some groups (especially 16 - 20 year olds) had more representation than others, mostly because we could access these people more easily. Below are our results:

We seem to have gained quite a variety of answers in our questionnaire, and possibly if we asked more people we might be able to see stronger patterns. Nevertheless, some preferences have emerged. A and B seem to be the most popular digipak design, although all designs were liked by at least one person. In terms of the adverts, however, there seems to be a strong preference for A, with C also being relatively popular. Interestingly, nobody chose B as their favourite, everyone choosing either A or C. There also seems to be no link between favourite digipak and favourite advert.

Overall, we have found that there is a huge variety in people's preferences to indie digipak and advert designs, although Mumford & Sons seems to be a favourite. This shows how wide and varied the genre can be, and how different aspects of it appeal to different people in different ways.

Audience Moodboard

Audience Moodboard

We decided to create an audience moodboard of our potential target audience. We looked at the research we've done before (see the post here) to create our moodboard, focusing on fashion, art, albums, and conventions of the genre. This will help us think more about our audience and direct our focus onto them.

Choosing a Target Audience

Choosing a Target Audience

In order to create our product, we must choose an audience to target it at. These are the people who will be most likely to consume our product, so it is important to make sure our product is suited to the audience.

Audiences can be separated into different sub-categories when considering targeting - socio-economic status, psychographics, demographics and technology targeting.

I think that socio-economic status will not have that much impact on our target audience as music appeals to people regardless of their wealth or status. The video would possibly appeal most to the middle class, as they tend to be more liberal and interested in creative, artistic content, plus our characters clothes and the settings make them appear quite middle class. However, it could really appeal to anyone in any class.

In terms of psychographics (the audience's mood) our video would probably targeted towards people who are feeling a little bit sad, as the content of the video is reasonably emotional. It would especially relate to people who have also just gone through a break-up or have experienced cheating in a relationship. The video would also appeal to young, artistic liberals, as the video is open-minded, containing a homosexual relationship, and quite creative.

The demographic we are aiming for is probably young adults, as they tend to be most open minded, so more likely to accept a homosexual relationship than adults and old people whilst a child might find the video too complex and confusing. It is also probably more catered to females than males as the main characters are all female and it deals with issues like love and relationships, typically female topics. It would also strongly appeal to members of the LGBTQ+ community as it includes a lesbian relationship, which is rarely seen in mainstream media so would be a breath of fresh air to the under-represented, and a sign that the times are changing.

Technology targeting refers to the medium our audience would use to consume our product. Our video will be released on YouTube, so most people would access it through that. It could also reach them through other social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter either if they followed the artist or if their friends share it.

Analysing Digipaks & Magazine Adverts

Analysing Digipaks & Magazine Adverts

We decided to analyse some examples of indie digipaks and magazine adverts to help us design our own. We decided to look at several examples of each so that we could get a good idea of the sort of product we would like to make.

   Digipaks

The first digipak we looked at is Gabrielle Aplin's 'English Rain'. It conforms to the artsy side of the indie genre, and is very pretty and positive. It focuses on the artist as someone the listener can relate to, and seems personal and friendly. There is a strong sense of synergy in the style of the pictures and the colour schemes.

The second digipak is Mumford & Sons' 'Babel'. This digipak conforms to the vintage and eccentric side of the genre, and seems more 'folksy' than the other 2. It has the look of an old-fashioned english village or town, with bunting and strange furniture. It also looks positive and friendly, although less personal than Aplin's. There is less of a sense of synergy here, because the CD does not have the same colour scheme as the packet.

The last digipak is The 1975's self-titled album. It is very different than the other 2 due to it's more alternative sound, and is very dark and mysterious. Unlike the others, it seems less friendly and more mysterious. It also doesn't feature a picture of the artist, adding to the sense of mystery. There is a strong synergy as the front and track listing are almost exactly the same, and the CD and back link with the dark feel and colour scheme.

   Magazine Adverts

The first advert we looked at was for Gabrielle Aplin's 'English Rain' tour. The advert is not particularly similar to the digipak, although it has the same positive and happy feel. The advert focuses on her face and therefore on her as a person, unlike the digipak which focuses on the art. However, there is a sense of synergy with the font used, as her name and the name of the ep are the same as those on the digipak.

The second advert we looked at was for Mumford & Son's album 'Babel'. Unlike Aplin's, the Mumford & Son's advert is the same as the picture used on the digipak, creating a sense of synergy and an immediate link between the advert and the album.

The final advert is for The 1975. This advert is different to their digipak cover, although it has the same dark and mysterious atmosphere. The advert focuses singularly on the band, showing only their logo and the band members. This means that although the look is not exactly the same, the synergy is still there through the style and atmosphere of the advert.

Researching Ancillary Tasks - Digipaks

Researching Ancillary Tasks - Digipaks

In order to decide which ancillary tasks to do, we decided to research examples of them for 3 artists within the indie genre. We decided to focus on 3 artists specifically: Lana Del Rey, The Killers, and Coldplay. We chose these artists as they are well established within the genre whilst having different styles of music, meaning that their products will be both professional and varied.

   Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey is on the front of her album covers. Her album covers are quite simple and conforms to the conventions associated with the genre as being the kind of laid back type of music. The colours on her covers are also bright and has effects such as black and white. Typically most Indie music has a lot of effects and I think that element was tied in very well with the covers. The text is also a simple style and is in large letters which makes it stand out. The costumes Lana is wearing in the covers are very classy and feminine. The dresses are very simple yet elegant.

This album cover in particular I felt like conformed to indie genre very well. The costume is simple and elegant but still draws our attention as the audience to her as the artist. Indie music is usually more about the artist rather than cars and flashy objects. Her dress is silky and flowy just like the music itself. Her hair is very old school with the loose waves. The title in the cover is big and bold in gold and the font is simple yet because its big it still draws our attention to it. 

Being a female artist, Lana Del Rey's image is very important whether its consciously important or subconsciously because we associate her elegance with her music. If she looks good we pay more attention to her and therefore are more likely to be consuming her music. Her body language is represented in a sexual way which references back to Mulvey's concept about the 'male gaze'. How even though she is an incredible musician, the camera still portrays her to conform to the conventions of being a women.

On the other hand, this album cover portrays Lana Del Rey as being a strong women through her costume of the black leather jacket and the white bold letters and also the tilting of the camera makes her look 'big' and powerful. The splatter of blood makes you wonder whether she is a killer and her smokey eye makeup also presents a dark image or in other words the other side of her. However, she does still conform to the sexual stereotypes associated with women because she isn't wearing anything underneath her leather black jacker and has a long chain from her neck down and our eyes follows this. The colour of her lips and the parting of her lips looks 'sexy' and also its the way model's look. This emphasises the point about the 'male gaze' as even though Lana Del Rey is trying to escape  the norm she is still in some ways conforming to it.

   The Killers

The Killers albums all seem to have a main focus on their name when is comes to the covers. There's a common theme of red, purple, grey, white and black. The mixture of these colours set different moods for each album suggesting they like to experiment with their style of indie and giving us a large variety of song types for different moods. The four main image focuses on these album covers are: the band, women, creativity and open spaces. The use of the band in their own cover promotes who they are whereas the use of women or open spaces suggest what kind of atmospheres they like or what they feel will draw the audiences eye. The use of artsy imagery for creativity suggest the personality of the band.

This specific album cover relates to indie very well. Indie tries to focus on a persons feelings and when looking at this album cover we can think of many stories that are behind it and making us feel as it's very thought provoking. The use of the plain black and white effect is very clever because the background is very dark and the snow-globe. though white, is very vibrant making us focus on it. The album is also called boots so making our eyes attract the the boots inside this snow-globe is smart. Though it's rather obvious to put a pair of boots on a cover with the album called boots it's very creative as an audience would expect something else such as a picture of an artist or something or at least a little colour, and this is what makes them indie, stating the obvious but in a way we (as an audience) don't expect it.


This cover features all the band members just casually standing, promoting the mood of indie genre as being chilled. The band isn't sexualised or represented to be attractive but just shown as being relaxed. This album cover has a bold title, using a unique style font. The effect of the cover is simple and sepia, a sort of mono toned look. However, the small writing which is in red stand out against the black background. 

   Coldplay

Coldplay's album covers tend to my very simple and minimalistic. The images used usually just represent the title. Angle wings for 'Ghost Story', King Kong for 'King and Kong' and Mario with Luigi for 'M and L'. The titles are usually written in a very small font, barely readable along with the bands name. Barely any of their covers suggest a form of promotion besides the odd couple with either them or their logo. One thing that is obvious through out is the use of vibrant colours (and sometimes the odd black and white). We can see the individuality this band carries as their album covers may be different they still have a common theme: simple image with colourful background  small font on the side of the cover listing the band and the album title in line with it.

This selected album cover really stood out to us. It reminds us of doodles we do as children, just filling in certain gaps without any specific pattern. This album cover shows a contrast of vibrant pastel colours within a tangled frame of bare silhouetted branches and twigs. We found this album cover was different to all the others Coldplay use as they usually have very vibrant, minimalistic features but this one in particular is different, though there's a simple design we're looking at a more naturalistic cover; rather than it being very artsy is it a photograph with very little added colours and effects. In relation to indie we can say this album cover features nature which is a common theme in indie music videos (we normally see people - such as the artist/band - at a beach, in a field or in a forest).


This album cover of Coldplay's music is very different. Coldplay has become a big band and therefore their brand image isn't as important as compared to a starting band. Coldplay doesn't rely on brand identity as they have become very popular so therefore the audience knows this abstract cover is their music. The album cover consists of bright colours such as blue, red and orange. The bird in the middle is a contrast because within the bird is a women and man and playing cards. There is also no title, no words and highly reliant on the image of the bird.

Researching Ancillary Tasks - Adverts

Researching Ancillary Tasks - Adverts

In order to decide which ancillary tasks to do, we decided to research examples of them for 3 artists within the indie genre. We decided to focus on 3 artists specifically: Lana Del Rey, The Killers, and Coldplay. We chose these artists as they are well established within the genre whilst having different styles of music, meaning that their products will be both professional and varied.

   Lana Del Rey

The advert for Lana Del Rey's 'Born To Die' album reflects the look of the album it is advertising. Along with the imagery, it features the name of the album, and includes an offer of an extra feature that can be purchased alongside it. Some of her most famous/well liked songs are also mentioned so as to persuade the viewer to buy the album, as they would know those songs and therefore want to own them. The fact that Lana herself is featured on the advert would also persuade people to buy the product, as her potential audience would recognise her image and therefore want to support her.

This advert reflects the indie genre as it has quite a vintage feel to it. The slightly saturated colours and grainy appearance create the feeling of a somewhat old advert, reflecting the indie convention of making things seem vintage. Indeed, the very fact that it is advertising a 7 inch vinyl is part of the vintage side of the indie genre, making the sale more appealing to an indie audience. The advert also seems to feature nature a lot, which again appeals to an indie audience as the genre focuses on nature and natural things. The font used on the advert is very simple, which, again, is a convention of indie music, whilst also making the advert look smart and professional.

The magazine advert represents Lana Del Rey as an artist by having her on the advert. As the audience, our main attention is towards her. This reflects on the way she appears with the coloured lipstick and her loosely curled hair and wearing hooped earrings conveys to the stereotypes of women looking and presenting themselves very well. Mulvey uses the term 'male gaze' to refer that the camera views women from a masculine point of view. Although Lana Del Rey is a huge popular singer, her visual appearance is vital in the music industry. The camera tilts up making Lana Del Rey have some power of her audience. Her facial expression is very submissive and rested.

   The Killers

The advert for The Killers 'Day & Age' album is similar to Lana's in that it shows the same picture as is on their album cover. However, unlike Lana's, it does not feature images of the band. However, they have included their logo, which reflects their brand and therefore makes the advert immediately recognisable to their fans. There is very little text on this advert, which makes the text that is there stand out more. The viewers will quickly see the 'brand new album' text, which should make them want to buy it as it is something new and exciting. This advert also mentions one of their most famous songs which is featured on the album, again drawing people in through a song they recognise. This all makes the viewer of this advert want to buy the new album.

This advert is also a reflection of the indie genre, although it is so in a different way from Lana's. The advert revolves around the art of the album. Art and artsy things are often used in the indie genre, as the genre involves the idea of art and beauty without the technology and professionalism of more 'mainstream' genres like pop and rap. Although the art could have been digitised, it appears quite natural and broken up, looking like a mosaic. This broken up imagery is also reflected in the font, which all seems quite broken and rough. This gives the advert a sense of consistency, meaning that the advert does still look rather put together. However, the advert also seems very welcoming, and the brokenness makes the advert seem less professional and thus less mainstream, reflecting a convention of the indie genre.

   Coldplay

The advert for Coldplay's 'A Head Full Of Dreams' album also reflects the art of the album. Like The Killers', it doesn't feature the artists themselves; however, it also doesn't use a familiar logo that their fans would immediately recognise. The font for the advert is completely different to that on any beforehand, which may be because they have gone through many sounds and evolutions over the years. However, as the advert is inconsistent with other adverts of theirs, this means that a viewer may not make an automatic connection or assumption about the advert. On the other hand, they are such a famous and well established artist that they possibly don't need to do this in order to get people to buy their albums. Instead, their name and identity as a well established band is likely to be enough to sell their product anyway. The advert also doesn't feature a selected already well-known song from the album, although this could be because of the reasons mentioned before.

The Coldplay advert, like The Killers', is also based around the convention of art, although the style is very different to that of the latter. In the centre is a colourful geometric shape, and surrounding it are little images of various things, including planets and birds, with a colourful rainbow border on the outside. The font matches the geometric shape in the middle as the gradient colours are reflected in the font, thus creating consistency. However, this consistency is broken by the seemingly random border on the outside. There is almost too much to look at on the advert, but not so much that it appears crowded or heavy. The randomness of the images also reflects a convention of the genre, which revolves around being different and artsy. There is a pop art feel, which again is a convention of the genre. The imagery also reflects the modern 'aesthetic' style that is common on the internet.

Researching Ancillary Tasks - Websites

Researching Ancillary Tasks - Websites

In order to decide which ancillary tasks to do, we decided to research examples of them for 3 artists within the indie genre. We decided to focus on 3 artists specifically: Lana Del Rey, The Killers, and Coldplay. We chose these artists as they are well established within the genre whilst having different styles of music, meaning that their products will be both professional and varied.

   Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey's website is very 'bright' compared to The Killers and Coldplay's. It uses the colours, red, blue (dark blue for texts and baby blue for the background) and white. It also features Lana Del Rey wearing a pink hat which could suggest the gender role categorisation of boys wearing blue and girls wearing pink. The fonts on her website are big and bold and also squared around the edges. Lana Del Rey has 'ENTER SITE' in red writing.

   The Killers

The Killers website is very dark and blue (could suggest the gender categorisation) The band are on the website again looking quite relaxed and chilled. The Killers have 'NEWS' and other things highlighted in bright blue. The Killers have images of who they are in order to actually show the artist/band.

   Coldplay

Coldplay's website is both dark and bright because of the rainbow coloured fonts and imagery. Coldplay don't have their faces on their website, we can see their band logo. Coldplay also have their tour dates in big bright boxes.  

In all of these screenshots of Indie websites we can see a common theme of promotion; both Lana Del Rey and The Killers have images of who they are in order to actually show the artist/band. Even though Coldplay don't have their faces we can see their band logo. Each band is surrounded by imagery that represents them and they believe suits them best for their style. Another thing we can see they all have is a way of searching into further information about them and what's on e.g. 'iTunes', 'News', 'Gift Shop'. Vibrant colours are used through out the websites perhaps in a way to draw attention but it's usually to highlight something that they want you to look into. Lana Del Rey has 'ENTER SITE' in red writing. Coldplay have tour dates in big bright boxes. The Killers have 'NEWS' and other things highlighted in bright blue. Overall, we can see that the central/main image is of the band/artist/logo as a way of recognition; we now know what they look like, what style they participate in and how they want to be represented.

Researching Indie

Researching Indie

In order to understand more about the indie genre, we decided to do some research into what the genre is like. As well as the music, we also decided to look into other elements, such as style, settings, and the sort of people associated with the genre. To help us come up with initial ideas, we decided to type 'indie' (and various forms of the word) into google images. Here our results:

INDIE:

• lots of art in various styles
• colours, both bright and pastel
• pop art
• nature/natural symbols
• gradients

INDIE STYLE:

• warm & cozy
• brown and yellow tones - warm
• jumpers & cardigans
• festival clothing
• casual

INDIE PLACES:

• back streets
• old buildings
• nature, especially trees, mountains and lakes
• no big or busy cities

INDIE MUSIC:

• records
• cassettes
• guitars - playing live
• supporting the artist

INDIE ALBUM COVERS:

• artsy
• assortment of colours; bright, dull, yellows, blues
• circles
• nature
• variety of fonts, but all seem quite individual

INDIE TUMBLR:

• art & artsy things
• flowers, especially daisies and roses
• water
• travel and adventure

We also decided to look at words associated with the genre of indie.

The words associated with indie were grunge, hipster, alternative, vintage and pale. These words all share the idea of individuality, of being different from society and not quite fitting in. They also relate to the idea of being genuine, and not just doing what everyone else does. The word 'vintage' also reflects a convention and style of indie, as the genre uses vintage things (like vinyls) which are considered more 'genuine' and 'real'.