Making the Digipack

To create the insert, I imported a photo into Canva from a shoot done at a historical museum in Lahore. Following this, I inserted a layer where my logo would be visible against a transparent backdrop, to not ruin the flow of the image. To avoid making it too heavy, especially since the other components feature bold text or dark imagery, I chose to use restrained, yet vibrant shades of red to tell the story.

The insert follows a relatively simple composition, relying on symbols rather than imagery to reflect the album's themes. A stack of books atop a radio, as the focal point of the inlay, creates the vision of timelessness and knowledge, where the truth prevails over the futile and frivolous. Similarly, the Veritas Records logo in the top left corner, again incorporating books, reflects sincerity not only in visuals but in language, as "Veritas" is Latin for "truth." Each aspect has been arranged to align with the theme of the music video, shedding light upon the malicious nature of cancel culture, as well as holding visual appeal for lovers of all things classic.

The back cover was compiled with the use of a darkened and blurred photograph of a trumpet juxtaposed with fine yet intricate red font detailing the tracklist. Additionally, I have used a barcode graphic as a layer in the lower left corner of the design, to create a sense of professionalism. In addition to this, the copyright information again adds to the visual with legitimacy and identifies Veritas Records as the company that is backing this new star.

On the other hand, the back cover has a much darker and more refined look. Foremost, it displays the tracklist across a gloomy image of a music room. The picture has purposely been slightly blurred, to reflect how truth becomes murky and blurred as it passes from person to person. The use of red for the text against an otherwise unassuming dark and light background foreshadows the sudden death of the protagonist listeners will come to witness. We have incorporated a barcode graphic and copyright information for a polished look.

To create the front cover, I first color-graded a picture of Lilith from a previous photoshoot to bring out its shadows and increase the coolness and intensity of the shades. I then imported this image to Canva, before using a font called "Engravers' Old English BC" to fit the theme of medieval and draw focus to the name of the album. Additionally, I brought the "Mori" down and used red to offset the overall green palette and create visual interest.

The front cover features a picture of the artist, Lilith Mnemosyne, posing moodily in front of stone and grass. The color scheme is, as a whole, exploring shades of green with a regal, antique finish, further illustrated by the font used to detail the name of the album. A bold choice reminiscent of its namesake, it adds visual interest and ties the design together in a way no other font could. The use of red for "Mori" again ties in the red and its connotations from the insert, acting as a symbol for the danger and death that is about to befall the artist's persona. Furthermore, there is a certain darkness to the album that is showcased best on the front cover, bringing together intense colors, a strong typeface, and a common theme of violence, or imminent crisis, that is yet to befall.

The spine features part of a photograph of a bookshelf or shelves holding various trinkets, which I trimmed to the appropriate size and edited on Canva, using a lime green medieval font to repeat the name of the album. Similarly, I used the "Veritas Records" logo again at the top, to tie the spine in with the insert. The spine would be otherwise empty-looking.

As the part that is responsible for bringing all aspects of the CD cover together, the spine bridges the intensity and heft connoted by the front cover font to the interplay of light and dark of the back. There is a balance between the text and the background image, which displays several items on a shelf, most prominently a clock. As the album is entitled "Memento Mori," meaning "remember death," it serves as a sobering reminder of the futility of life yet the power one can hold, as reflected by the bold design choices taken overall. The inclusion of the Veritas Records logo helps tie the design together, as well as act as an identifier for the company.

To create the design of my CD, I selected the desired image and put it into a CD template, both to visualize if the image would look good in that shape and if the color choices were adequately highlighted in this form. In Canva, I then added this CD-shaped design and underscored it with the same text as the front cover and spine, a strong medieval font. This not only prevented the CD from looking unnoticeable or regular, but tied all the aspects together to reiterate Lilith's image.

The CD is, undoubtedly the most important part of the package, not only in the sense that it contains the music, but as the thing around which all other aspects have been designed and arranged. It can be noted that the CD incorporates not only a few brighter shades but features a contrast between warm coral and syrupy tones and the regal, foreboding green that has been utilized throughout. The photograph is a still of a lone gramophone in a hallway that looks well-adorned, perhaps symbolizing the pervasive loneliness one can encounter despite achieving success. Alternatively, the gramophone plays its tune while the events of the story play out, unconcerned with the king or Lilith's persona, a standalone harbinger of the end.

This interplay of light and dark, both visually and thematically, reflects the overall message of the album. "Memento Mori" is a stark reminder, and the design choices throughout the CD cover – from the muted tones of the insert to the contrasting colors of the CD itself – reinforce this concept. The listener is drawn into Lilith's world, a world teetering on the edge of oblivion, where beauty and danger intertwine.

The overall design is cohesive and well-crafted. The use of recurring elements, such as the red accents and the Veritas Records logo, ties the different parts of the CD cover together. The choice of fonts and colors further enhances the thematic message. The result is a visually striking and thought-provoking package that perfectly complements the music it contains.

Making the Digipack

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