THE FINAL PODCAST COVERS:

DESIGN IDEAS AND PROCESS:

For the ‘What’s your type?’ podcast cover, I wanted the podcast colour to be bright and have comedic connotations to match the image. I created the cover using layers, filters and opacity changes. I changed the opacity of the image and the filter to ‘luminosity’ so the picture would blend better with the background. I then duplicated the main heading and changed the colour to a darker pink, I also changed its opacity to 40%. I then placed this heading under the original to act as a shadow and give the heading a sense of depth. I’m happy with the end result, the colours are bright, they work well with the image and help maintain a sense of comedy throughout the design.

For the ‘Typography & graphic communication’ podcast cover; I was aiming to create a mystery themed podcast cover but also incorporate typography. This is why i choose a ‘ransom letter’ typeface. I created the background by drawing on different layers in different colours, then i changed the opacity on each layer so each colour could be seen throughout the background.  I originally planned to make the text seem like it was melting but struggled to create the desired affect; so i used my experimentations of the melting effect as the background. I also used a scrabble type picture in the background with the opacity changed to 15%, this was to connote that the podcast was still about type rather than mystery.

For the third podcast cover I wanted to stick with the mystery theme. To help the title stand out, I used a simple bold, sans serif, white typeface for the title called ‘Typefaces.’ I decided to stick with the purple and bright theme, as I thought it was eye-catching. I put the title above the woman’s face, the placement of the type and little information the cover gives creates a sense of enigma. I also incorporated a photo of metal type letters onto the image, this is to further connote that the podcast is about type and provide a sense of drama. In the top left corner I put further information about the podcast, however i don’t think its effective as it’s illegible.

My third podcast cover is my favourite as I like how simple yet effective the outcome was, I also like how it gives connotations of enigma.

SOFTWARE TUTORIALS:

To help me create my podcast designs, I watched a few videos on youtube. One that explains what makes a good podcast and another for creating melting text. My original idea for podcast two was to add in melting text however I wasn’t happy with the outcome, so I used parts of it for the background. I used pixaby for most of the background images; For podcast one I used an image from google. The youtube tutorials helped me understand the conventions of a podcast and develop my cropping and picture blending skills in photoshop. They also helped me learn how to create a ‘melting text effect.’  In order to develop my photoshop skills further I would like to focus more on photo editing and other text effects.

During the first podcast cover i developed my skills with filters. I went through the list of filters to see what option would help the picture blend well with the background. In the second podcast I developed my layer skills further. I originally wanted the text to have a liquid/melting effect but I struggled to create the effect. In the third podcast I developed my photoshop skills the most, I used cropping, rubbers and layers to create the see through type effect on the woman’s face. I really enjoyed developing and playing around with different photoshop effects, especially exploring the ‘liquid text effect’. The video helped me explore different styles of text and how to manipulate text further. The ‘create podcast artwork’ helped me understand the conventions of a podcast and what makes a podcast look appealing.

The second podcast cover was the most enjoyable to work on as I enjoyed experimenting with the layers and the picture opacity.

These are some of the links to the videos i used:

https://pixabay.com/

RESOURCES FOR RESEARCH & INSPIRATION:

I created all three of these designs on photoshop, and drew my colour inspiration from existing podcasts. For my first podcast I drew lots of inspiration from gossip podcasts and drag queen podcasts. The woman featured is a well known drag queen called Bianca Del Rio. The composition of the first podcast cover  reminds me of talkshows, due to the bright colours and body language. I wanted the colour to be bright and comedic to match the woman’s facial expression. These are some of the existing podcasts I took inspiration from, they all use similar bright colours and have comedic connotations:

For the second podcast I drew inspiration from mystery, horror and crime podcast covers. I wanted to give the podcast some mystery and my use of the ‘ransom letter’ typeface was inspired by some of them. I used different layers to create more enigma, I also tried to stick to darker colours to create a ‘horror’ effect. These are some of the podcasts I took inspiration from, they all use similar ghostly conventions and dark purple, blue, red and green colours. I mainly took inspiration for the type from the podcast on the left:

For the third podcast I stuck to a purple theme; like the second podcast i wanted to create an element of mystery. I took inspiration from alternative podcasts which all use similar colours. My original idea was to create a podcast with neon type, and I took inspiration from podcasts with a neon theme:

My favourite podcast I created was the third one, this is because it gives the desired effect that I had aimed for. I wanted to create enigma but also connote what the podcast was clearly about. Just like the podcast covers above it, it explains what the podcast is about but also creates mystery through its colours and typographical style.

Design ideas and design process

For my Photoshop task, I decided to create three completely different podcast covers. My first idea focused on my office life and ‘The Everyday’ life of a designer. I wanted to the text to be bold against the background image so opted for a black and white photograph of a work colleague. From here I decided that yellow would pair nicely and stand out well against the photo so chose this for my font colour. After researching podcast covers, it became apparent that graphic illustrations are often used to accompany titles. This gave me the idea to add diagonal lines to create a platform for the text to protrude – I’d previously tried drop shadows and outer glow effects but didn’t feel as though they made enough of an impact. To the left, you’ll also see what it looked like without any kind of effects or extra graphics. I also thought that if for whatever reason, I decided to make a series of podcast covers, the lines could be a reoccurring theme throughout the covers.

For my second idea, I decided I wanted to go really out there and push myself to polish up skills and learn new ones. I’d previously played around with the double exposure technique but decided to step it up by using multiple images.

Firstly, I decided the topic of my podcast would be ‘Design in Gaming.’ I chose this as I’d previously attended a Gaming Festival so thought I’d use imagery I’d taken at the event. I chose the saluting figuring as my base image – this would be the outline for my multiple exposures. I started by using the polygonal lasso tool to cut around the edges of the figure – alternatively, I could have used the magnetic lasso tool. I then inverted my selection by using the shortcut command+shift+i and from here deleted the background. The exposure effect was then created by dragging a new image into the document; I then altered the opacity so I could position where I wanted it and once happy with the position selected command and clicked the saluting figures layer. By then selecting the other images layer and adding a vector mask it created a silhouette of the saluting figure.

From here, I was able to use the brush tool in the colour black to fade out sections of the top layer image – this allowed for detail from the original image to be seen. I chose the brush tool to remove sections out, rather than than the eraser because by using the brush in the colour white I’m able to add the faded sections back in. I then repeated this process with a variety of images and added a gradient fill across all layers to add the blue and green effect. I finished by altering the exposure, contrast, whites and blacks to make colours darker and more defined.

I opted for a simple grey background with paint splatters in the same colours as the gradient. I’d done some research into gaming podcasts and they often used dark backgrounds with pop colours so I thought this would relate nicely (see image on the right). I also wanted a simple font so it stood out against the complex imagery. Looking back, this is probably the thing I would experiment with more. I don’t think it relates well to the rest of the design and almost looks out of place. From my research, gaming podcasts often rely on bold text with minimal imagery – my design is quite the opposite and therefore if published could go one of two ways.

For my final podcast design, since I’d previously focused on bold imagery, I thought I’d focus more on the text. I found this image on Unsplash and liked the idea of making use of the green space. I started by cutting around the girl and blanket and duplicated the layer (command+j). This was so I could layer the text in between the two image layers to create a tucked behind effect. The image on the left shows my layers and how I positioned them. On reflection, I think I should have used the stamp tool to remove the text from all over the book. This would have made the overall design look a little cleaner.

My final designs:

Software tutorials

The biggest challenge for the Photoshop project was brushing up on skills I haven’t used in a while, such as; double exposure and outlining text.

For my ‘Design in Gaming’ podcast cover, a lot of the skills and shortcuts I used I already had an understanding of. I’d also previously experimented with double exposures but not to the extent of using 8+ images. To recap and learn how to do this, I read the Adobe article ‘Use Adobe Photoshop to create a double exposure effect.’ It was really helpful and allowed me to refresh my memory – it also gave me the idea of adding a gradient map to my final image. I decided I wanted to also watch a more in-depth tutorial and came across ‘Double Exposures Effect – Photoshop Tutorial’ by Letsgettoit on Youtube. It was incredibly helpful to be able to see what layers were being selected and the shortcuts being used.

Even though it wasn’t a skill I used in my designs, I really enjoyed learning about how to expose photos beyond the base image on double exposures. This was demonstrated in the Youtube Photoshop tutorial I watched.

I’d really like to learn a faster way of doing everything, whether this is learning shortcuts or different tools that do the same thing, just in a faster fashion. I’d also be interested to learn more about photo blending and the ability to combine photos and blend them together seamlessly while matching the colour and tone.

I’m also curious about how to dodge and burn images – this is something I have absolutely no experience in. I know that the dodge and burn tool are used to lighten or darken areas of an image but apart from this, I have no idea when it would be appropriate to use them and how you would use them.

Additional Resources –
https://www.adobe.com/uk/creativecloud/photography/discover/double-exposure-effect.html

Resources for research and inspiration

When we were first given this task, my initial reaction was to look at inspiration on Google and Pinterest. I created a board on Pinterest to highlight my favourite ideas, this mainly consisted of illustration based podcast covers as I struggled to find a variety of photography based covers. The reoccurring themes were bold fonts and graphics illustrations, with images of individual people cut out from their background and instead placed on a colour or pattern background.

On reflection, I definitely should have read articles on how to create a successful podcast cover and then matched my covers to represent my findings. Rather than looking at designs I liked and developing them into my own style and topic.

Since designing my covers, I’ve read the article ‘How to Make Great Podcast Cover Art (aka. Your Podcast Logo)’ by the Podcast Host – this is something I’d have benefit hugely from in my initial planning stages. They talk about how you should keep your artwork simple and as clean as possible as you want your podcast logo to be memorable. My ‘Design in Gaming’ cover definitely reflects the opposite of this, whilst it might have been a good idea for a postcard cover, I suspect viewers would struggle to make out with images within the saluting figure on their phone screens. I also sacrificed a larger title font size for the sake of my image – this again would have probably worked against me as some viewers may struggle with eligibility.

One thing I continually noticed in podcast covers was that san serifs were mainly used as titles – this could be due to san serifs being easier to read than serifs and that they also look better on screen. I made sure I only used san serifs, though I could have experimented more with colour and layout.

Additional Resources –
https://www.thepodcasthost.com/promotion/how-to-create-your-podcast-cover-art/
https://blog.spreaker.com/9-steps-making-great-podcast-cover-art/
https://www.google.com/search?q=podcast+covers&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj72IP9463tAhXAUxUIHeeiCBQQ_AUoAXoECBEQAw&biw=1920&bih=866

Design ideas and design process

Final Design 1

The idea behind design one was to create a cover that represented the topic (graphic communication), but also be eye-catching and to stand out. If you go onto Spotify podcasts; as a listener you are met with a sea of different colours, shapes and fonts. Which is why it was important to make sure my podcast covers stood out or drew you in to look at the detail. I believe that this design does this well. The contrast of the colours (especially black and yellow) work well together; whilst also helping the typography to stand out. For this  podcast cover I used Pixabay as my source for my images. I downloaded four different portraits into photoshop, each into their own layer. As this didn’t complicate the final design. I then started working on the cover by taking sections off each image and adding them in one by one, to create this distorted illustration of a face.

I wanted to create it to look like I had cut up multiple photos and placed them on top of each other. Once I created my main illustration I decided to add typography to the cover.

As the podcast was about Typography & Graphic Communication, I felt like the listener should be able to tell this by just looking at the podcast cover art. I used a san-serif font called Futura because it is a modern font as it is easy to read. It is simple and bold and works for the title. I placed the text in a yellow box as I found it contrasted well with the background. Also I used the concept of a box rather then just leaving the text on its on, as then it is easy to read and stands out.

Final design 2

I chose this podcast cover as a final design, as it screams professionalism. I think that it’s important to use photos within a cover as it depicts something that is real, which is what this podcast is about. It isn’t a story; it’s teachings and news within the department. From my research I learnt that for a non-fiction podcast, the cover tends to be photography. Compared to a fiction podcast which tends to be illustrations on the cover.  I really liked this design visually.

I took 3 different portraits and edited them to be black and white.I didn’t want to leave this design as just an image that was black and white. I liked the style of design 1. So I repeated design 1, but in a new manner. I took cuts horizontally to create one portrait from many different snippets of woman. Even though there is no colour, there is depth and tones created from the different snippets. Which is why I believe it is effective.

I then added the typography. The type is large and clear, but not over powering. The photography and type balance well together. I chose to keep the type white as I didn’t want to over power the design with one colour.

Final design 3

This podcast cover screams graphic design to me. I used my own photograph of pouring paint on a skull, then edited it too look more digital and graphical. I used bold colours to stand out.

I feel that this cover will entice you to listen if you want to learn about graphic design. Personally I think it looks cool, and as a listener I would want to learn how to create something like this from an image. It is digital and modern, which is why I believe it works well with the topic.

I have the text layer above the image and down the side so it doesn’t create a too busy look. The contrast of the white text to the bold skull balances each other out creating a visually pleasing cover. For all 3 of my designs I kept to a black background, as it surrounds the images well and creates a nice contrast and unity through all the elements of the design.

Software tutorials

I started by watching the tutorials that were provided, but felt that most of them were aimed for people who were new to Adobe Photoshop, so didn’t feel like I learnt anything new from them. I was confident in my photoshop skills and knowledge before I started this project. Therefore, didn’t find the tutorials useful personally.

I watched a couple of videos on YouTube about photoshop and podcasts. The one I would recommend is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlVVMXE4Epw . Although I understand photoshop, I haven’t created a podcast cover before. Which is why I watched some YouTube videos on the topic before jumping straight in. I took pointers from this video and considered them when creating my design.

Resources for research and inspiration

I found the sources for inspiration useful as a starting point and from a research point of view. I think it is good to research and look at sources before you start a task. I especially found the pointer to use Pixabay useful, as I never knew this existed. It gave me a more free rein to play with concepts and designs, without having to take my own photographs to depict all my ideas. Additional resources I used were; Spotify, Pinterest and Captive Blog.

I found spotify a good place to start as it is a popular platform for podcasts. Also it contributes to the reason behind why podcast covers are the size they are (so they fit and can be viewed from phones and smaller devices). I found this sources useful as I got access to a wide range of podcasts on all kinds of topics.

Next I used Pinterest, I find Pinterest a useful source in whatever I am doing. It is always a go to source for me. It helps me stimulate ideas and concepts; but also create a mood board of different influences and designs. I have made my board public, if you would like to have a look at it: https://pin.it/1YgLoo6

Lastly I used Captivate Blog. I reed their article on ‘Do’s and Dont’s for creating knock out podcast logos and cover art design’.  I found this source useful as research before I even started my design process. It gave me insightful knowledge on important pointers for designing a successful podcast cover. The link to this blog is below, as I would recommend reading it too before you do a task like this: https://www.captivate.fm/blog/5-dos-and-donts-for-creating-knock-out-podcast-logos-and-cover-art-design/ 

I would further like to experiment and create podcast covers on a different topic. As I believe this will stretch my design skills and understanding on this specific area of design.

My designs and process.

I have chosen the photoshop podcast covers, my 1st design for the podcast cover was a simple design, on a plain background I had the name of the podcast cover which was type matters. But after looking at the podcast it looked really simply so I changed the background to a typeface background which I got from pixaby. Then I have used the text twice to give it volume. To develop this further I have changed the colour of the background to a forest colour.

For my 2nd design I have chosen the same idea but this time I have kept the plain background however I have used a pastel green colour and then I have used another picture from the same source of a microphone and then I have added text to the bottom of the cover horizontally.

For my 3rd design I was to create a really simple cover with typography on it, but then after looking at my design I thought it was too simple and I did some research about the Bauhaus and tried to incorporate that into my design. To do that I then added some geometric lines and some circles in black and red however I wanted to add some photography, after added the photography I thought I should take out the lines and put my black and white photography which will look better with the red colour. Then I choose a cream colour background so the text and the photographs would stand out. To add the text, I wanted to add a simple text but after putting it on the photography and circles it was too simple, I thought of making the text in two colours as it would then show white on black and red on white, but I couldn’t do that as I didn’t have enough knowledge about that.so I had to come up with something that would complement the background. I then have put the text in two colours and then stack them together as I didn’t know how I could make the text 3D.

Tutorials I watched for the podcast

To make these podcast covers I have used some tutorials from YouTube of how I can make the outline of the text, to create the outline for the text I was to add the text to the artboard and then I was to click on the layer and use blending positions and then use strokes and put options as outside and then chose how thick I want the stroke.

how change the opacity, to change the opacity I was simply needed to go to the opacity option on top of the layers and then add how much opacity I want. as I am not really good with photoshop, how to change Size of the pictures by going on the top and clicking edits and then using the free transformation to transform the size, and some basic introduction to photoshop videos in which they explained what every tool was all about. Which have explained quite a lot about photoshop.

Some of the videos which were given to us on what each software was and how it was used for different things. These videos really helped me identify which tools to use and how they can help me change the hole look by just one simple thing such as adding the outline to the text or changing the background or changing the opacity.

The additional source which I was using was Pinterest as it really helps me get my thoughts together. As well as ii have used some of my own photography with black and white film around town.

Resources and inspirations

I have used Pinterest to get inspirations of how I can make different podcast covers and then looked at google to see what existing podcast covers were like, my biggest inspiration was from Bauhaus as I was doing research about the essay when I looked at some Bauhaus covers which were really fascinating to me and I really liked the way they have used geometric shapes to create such an effective cover as well as the way they build the subject in the centre in a architecture sense is quite interesting. I have looked at some other podcast covers which really helped me to make my mind map of what I wanted my designs to have. after making my 1^st designs, I was to develop those designs further so I looked at some Pinterest podcast covers which then helped me decide that my podcast should not look busy it should be simple but effective.

And what fonts I should use, after designing my 3^rd design I looked at some more Bauhaus, so I decided to use a traditional font and the design the podcast in modern style. Which I think looks better on the background as its to busy in the centre.

For my 2^nd design I was inspired by the Bauhaus posters however I didn’t want it to look like the 3^rd design, so I changed the design of it and

I also looked at the podcast covers from our Class which were quite good as well. Which was also an inspiration. And to see what names other people came up with.

I would  like to develop  the 3^rd designs in modern designs as the new 2020 deigns which are quite in trend these days.