Simple Plan – Your Love is a Lie

CD Digipak Outside CoverAlbum Name – Simple Plan

(Self Titled)

Simple Plan Albums• Before I started to create my own Digipak cover, I decided to go back and

look again at album covers which have already been made for Simple Plan. I found four in particular which were of the colour scheme I am going to use (red, white and black). I used these album covers as inspiration for font, content and colour scheme of my design.

Step 1• Firstly, I started by opening my Digipak template in photo shop, and also

opening my chosen photograph in an editing website which I have previously used, called www.picnik.com. I chose to use this photo of a rose, because I know that the rose image has been used in Simple Plan albums and also other bands of the same genre.

Step 2• After this, I then edited the image of the rose to make it to my chosen

colour scheme of red white and black. I used the tint effect to make the picture red. And I also changed the contrast and exposure to make the petals of the rose stand out. I also slightly darkened the background to make it look black.

Step 3• After having done that, I then used an effect called focal zoom. I put this

around the rose so that the background had a blurred effect on it so that the leaves and plants around the rose were made more abstract and you cannot tell what they are. This effect also slightly blurred out the very edges of the rose petals.

Step 4• I then cropped the image into a square so that it would fit to the dimensions

of the front cover of the album. I chose to have the rose on the left/top of the album cover, so that there is also empty space on the right so that it doesn’t look to overcrowded and also stays to the rule of thirds. This was also because it gave me space to include text without having to overlap the image too much. Below is a before/after picture of the rose photograph.

Step 5• I then put the image into the template in photo shop, and added text over

the top of the image. As the title of the album itself is Simple Plan, this is the only piece of text needed on the front cover, as the album and the artist are the exact same. I chose to also use simple block lettering which is similar to that of the album already created for them. I also had the lettering in white as the background itself is black.

Step 6• I then decided I wanted to keep the background simple and I did not want

to have another image on the reverse side of the album. Therefore using the ‘fill’ tool, I made the back of the Digipak a solid black colour.

Step 7• I then decided that it would look good if I smudged out the edges of the

rose to blend the colour into the back cover, so that it looks like a different image when the Digipak is folded, however it all joins together as one image.

Step 8• I then added text in the same font as on the front cover, to show the list of

songs in the album, and also bonus tracks. I chose to have this on the left hand top edge as the smudges from the rose were on the right; therefore making it look like most of the space is being used.

Step 9• To finish off the album cover, I added a bar code which I had already

created from a barcode generator. I also added the logo of the record company who created the original album, and added a small paragraph with copyright laws and distribution company names which I created myself by looking at the backs of various CD cases. Finally, I added text onto the spine displaying the record company, the year, and the band name. The finished album cover is on the next page.

The Completed Outside Cover