52 - Do's and Dont's of Design Work

Following the rules of design and layout when constructing our ancillary products is an easy way to ensure that what we are producing is effective, professional, and follows all the codes and conventions of the average album cover. 

T H I N G S   I   W I L L   D O:

• Stick to two clear fonts. These fonts will complement each other and will be appropriate for the UK Rap genre. It is important that there is cohesion in terms of the ways in which genre is presented throughout the creation of these ancillary productions. 
• Stick to a maximum of three colours. The colours will work well together, suit the UK Rap genre, and suit the colours within the photographs. I plan to achieve this by using a black and white colour scheme as I feel that keeping the ancillary products as monochrome as possible allows our item of synergy ( S.DOT's rings) as well as his face to be the main focus. 
• Make sure that all photo's used are clear and in focus. They will be of an appropriate shot size as well as being generically appropriate. I have already begun this step by taking a load of images and having a shortlist of the best ones. The ones I feel look the best and suit the genre the most can then be edited and used within both the digipak and website. 
• Follow the rule of thirds for composition. 
• Remember to include a barcode, date, copyright information, title of the album, artist name, record company logo, website and artist website. Including all of this institutional information will allow my ancillary products to look more professional and will also help to encourage the audience to dig deeper into the story of S.DOT, whether it be visiting the artists website or the record companies website. 

T H I N G S   I   W O N T   D O:

• Use unnecessary effects. Any text or image effects must suit the genre. Using unnecessary effects confuses the audiences and also takes away from the quality of the images we have taken of S.DOT.
• Stretch images to fit the panel - if the image isn't the right size to begin with, I will get rid of it. Having stretched images in my digipak will make my product look less effective, and therefore lose marks!
• Place text across the face of the artist. One general and also quite important code and convention of ancillary products, whether they be album covers or websites, is that an instantly recognisable image of the artists face will always be included. 
• Use font simply because I like them or believe they look 'nice'. It is important that the fonts I use in my ancillary productions relate to the UK Rap genre in order to ensure that a well rounded and cohesive product is created. 
• Feel photos have to be used on every panel. Research will give me a greater understanding of the codes and conventions of the genre my artist fits into. Unnecessary photo's take up space that could've been well utilised and wastes time in the editing process.