Analysis of promotional posters.

In this post I will analyze two promotional posters i've created for our artist in the dance music genre, I created these promotional posters using the photoshop software on the computer using my own images of the person impersonating our artist in our music video and editing them myself and applying certain effects to the image, the text and the background too. Before creating these promotional posters, we looked at other artists promotional artists to get an idea as to what aspects should be included on our own poster and what aspects we liked and disliked, it also gave us what details had to be included for example; hit singles (the biggest selling hits on the original album), the record label and a website for the artist too as well as being necessary these details also make the promotional poster look a lot more professional as opposed to just including an image and the album and artist name.

This is the first promotional poster I created using Adobe Photoshop, this was after editing the photo in iPhoto and increasing the saturation of the image to make it brighter, i also used used a tool to make the red-eye that was originally on the image not visible as it made the image look slightly amateur. I then used the re-touch too and clicked over the face to make the skin tone look really even. After this i then increased the saturation this was too make the artist stand out more against the background, then I uploaded the image in photoshop and used the bright tool to make the background a more clear slightly darker cream color to contrast against his t-shirt and hair color. I applied this picture to a image i got from a copyright website, the image has a galaxy color scheme to it and is similar to the night time sky. However despite the background image I got from a website there was a logo on every image so i then dragged the image and altered the size to conceal the logo. After doing this, i decided to start creating the details using the text tool as the only thing left was the details the audience needed. Firstly I created the artists name using a bold font, i went on to create this text four times and placed them behind them to give the impression of a shadow, the colors are all bright and vibrant to create a fun aspect for the promotional poster i've created. The bright colors are also similar to strobe light colors that are recognized and often present in clubs, these colors also make the poster stand out more which is good as it would get the attention of the target audience and promote the poster which is the obvious purpose.

I placed the text underneath the image to make it obvious to the audience that it was the audiences name  and give the impression of introducing the artist with his name, above the image i placed the text 'Data Record presents..' this again contributed to the impression of introducing the artist as this was at the top of the poster and was at the top of the poster and would be the first thing the target audience would read, this text was in a different font to the rest of the text as it represented something different with the record label which only significance to the promotional posted is that it may make people more interested as the label also signs other successful artists and could've built a loyal fan base through the other artists.

Underneath the artists name i used another text for the album name 'STAY AWAKE' underneath this the text reads 'INCLUDING HIT SINGLES STAY AWAKE, PLAYING IN THE SHADOWS AND KICKSTARTS' one reason for doing this is because these were some of the biggest hits amongst the album and would therefore be recognized amongst the target audience, it also may encourage people to purchase the album if they recognize the big singles that entered the charts thinking his work may be of a similar high standard. Both the name of the album name and the hit singles included font is in a white font to make it stand out and create contrast against the dark background and goes well against the galaxy them background. However the hit singles included is in a bold font whereas the album title isn't this is to distinguish between the information and what details will be relevant to the target audience, despite the album title being vital information the hit singles is in bold as its more likely to be recognized by the target audience. At the bottom of the promotional poster the artists website is in a text similar to a type writer, the text is again in one as i thought too much color differences could make it difficult for the audience to focus on the important information. The font is in the bottom corner as it's the least important bit of information on the promotional poster but is still relevant to the artist and needs to be included on the poster. At the top of the promotional poster in the left hand corner is the Data Records logo this is to make it more evident to the audience who the record label is and also makes the promotional poster seem more professional by including all the relevant information for the target audience. The majority of the font is in white to not overwhelm the target audience and compliment the dark background and image on the promotional poster.

When creating this promotional poster, I took a different approach again i decided on a black background to make the important relevant information stand out to the target audience, firstly i opened the image of the person impersonating the artist in our music video in iPhoto again i then rounded the edges and made it black and white as i wanted to create two different promotional posters and choose the one that i thought looked the most professional. When opening the image i'd altered in photoshop i decided to place the image in the bottom left corner so i could put the details around it and make it stand out and create contrast against the dark background. I decided to add text in bright colors such as red and orange this is because this colors connote positivity and good things which is a good thing to convey when creating a music video for the dance music genre. the colored writing contrasts against the dark image and black and white image which is good because without the bright colored writing my promotional poster could potentially look formal as the colors are formal and aren't really something i want to associate with our artist as the image should be fun and positive for the dance music genre.
By creating contrast the brightly colored writing against the dark background it also helps to make the writing stand out and be the first thing noticeable to the target audience which is good as the text is all the significant information, it doesn't overwhelm the target audience with too much information either while my other promotional poster is good there's more information and could be seen as though the information is competing for space. Again i put the text "Data Records Presents.." this is to introduce the artist as its above the image and makes it obvious to the audience who the artist is, underneath this piece of text is "MIKE SMITH" this is too help establish who the artist is, not a lot of information needs to be included as the purpose is to promote the artist and their new album so this is the only vital information.
Next I put "debut selling album Stay Awake" this piece of text will be of use to the target audience of this poster as it highlights the good standard of the album and shows how the album was a big hit which could interest the audience thinking they're going to purchase a high quality album. The last bit of information is "INCLUDING HIT SINGLES.. CHANGED THE WAY YOU KISSED ME, KICKSTARTS AND STAY AWAKE OUT NOW!" this was important as people may not be aware of the music industry and artists, yet people are usually aware of what songs are big hits and considered current in charts so by naming the songs that were considered the biggest hits on the album reaching a high spot in the charts may familiarize the audience with the artists work and give the impression that they'll enjoy the majority of his work if these particular three songs are recognized by them. The last text OUT NOW! is to encourage the audience to buy the album and could connote the urgency in the album as its selling first as the capitals and exclamation mark make it seem urgent that the album is selling fast, this also portrays how popular the album is and how good the album is also. This being the last piece of font on the promotional poster also leaves the target audience considering purchasing it which is the purpose of the poster therefore being the reason i put this last as if i put this piece of text first then the other details they may grow bored before processing all the information of begin to focus on the  other information and forget the purpose of the poster or get overwhelmed with too much information.
Overall i prefer the second promotional poster as i think it looks more professional as well as including all the relevant information without making it difficult for the target audience to understand and take in the information, i included colours that also apply to the dance genre in the second poster as typical conventions within music videos are a dark atmosphere with bright lines similar to a club for example, dance music connotes fun which is what i was trying to get across in my promotional poster yet with the finished outcomes i think i helped display this in the second promotional poster better.