Research: Ed Sheeran, previous digipak's

This particular digipak for Ed Sheeran's debut album '+' is very simplistic. Ed Sheeran's face is the main focus of attention for the viewer, however it appears faded and slightly grainy. This purposeful appearance of a 'bad quality' image is obviously done for an artistic reason. To me the image has a very authentic appearance, almost as though Sheeran has taken the image himself. I think this is part of the star image that he wants to create, by making his persona and music appear very self made, extremely real and emotionally raw. The image fades from white, which draws attention to the piercing eyes of which will be seen by potential buyers upon first glance. You are unable to distinguish were the face of Sheeran ends as the image eventually fades into orange. This could possibly symbolize his efforts to distract away from himself as a 'celebrity' and focus more on his music.  'Now I don't ever wanna be perfect Cause I'm a singer that you never wanna see shirtless And I accept the fact that someone's got to win worst dressed'- Lyrics from 'Take it back' Sheeran sings about diverting attention from his appearance The orange I believe is also to advertise his disregard from the stereotypical assumption that being ginger is a undesirable feature,

Ed Sheeran's second studio album is even more simplictic than the first. There is very little to analyse here and I think this may have been Sheeran's purpose, once more to leave people talking about the music instead. I think this is very representative of the Pop Acoustic genre as it appears effortless with its easy listening qualities. The green colour of the album went on to be the theme of his entire collection of merchandise and therefore the cover sets a house style which is easily recognised and perfectly creates effortless tie-ins.

All of the above merchandise takes advantage of the instantly recognizable 'x' sign from the album cover and therefore the symbol has become a logo for Ed Sheeran's ever expanding brand. He has phone cases that appeal to his younger target audience. Ed Sheeran also sells entire outfits, for example the shorts, T-Shirts and bracelets which creates a uniform for the extremely dedicated fans! The guitar piks will also appeal to the fans who love Ed Sheeran for his gift with the guitar and who may since have been inspired by him.

How this research has influenced my planning and creativity: This post has shown me that when I create promotional material there should be a recognizable house style and an identifiable logo.