Initial Album Packaging and Merchandise Ideas

So, I've been looking at producing this edition of the album as a 12" vinyl, mainly because they are bigger which gives me more room to wiggle in in terms of design and packaging. However I also wanted to view this project as producing a limited-run of this particular design, and I thought a vinyl would be something more distinct than a typical CD, especially in that serious music collectors often have record players and, more to the point, record collections. I also think a really outstanding vinyl has way more 'Oomph!' than a titchy CD!

For this reason I wanted to design the packaging as something different, not just a record sleeve or something that opens out. I'm also considering making a prototype for this though, so it must be feasible in means of production and printing.

Merchandise is something almost every single music artist has as part of their package now, whether it be cool, grunge-rock t-shirts and tote bags to cutesy comfy pillows with Elton John's face on. Iggy already has a range of merch including t-shirts and totes (of course!), along with a cloth fan, temporary tattoos, patches and artsy nail stickers. Therefore I don't really want to do something similar to these, they've been done before and it would be easy to make the mistake of creating something identical.

Ideas I'm throwing around at the moment include her own actual fashion range, maybe some provocative bikinis or swimsuits (sex and erotica are often underlying in her lyrics although not something I want to focus on too much), instead of the cookie-cutter t-shirts and hoodies with a logo on that she promotes at the moment. A make-up range could appeal to her female fanbase, however some market research would be needed to be able to make a definite decision on this.

Concept Mind-Map

As mentioned previously, this is the mind-map I made using the most important theme buzzwords.



 As seen in the map, everything I've deducted links to the most common theme of wealth.

Wealth is a result of a successful career because of the determination she writes about. This is because she puts in a lot of hard work, which again directly results in an abundance of money. Wealth also is a factor in living a high-class, luxury life which gives her access to the expensive fashion she obviously admires. The 'lone wolf' in her comes as a consequence of her drive and need for success, and so linking it to her career as a contributing presence.

These kinds of deductions give me the foundations of a really solid concept. A mind map like this allows me to think more about the direction I want to go with the idea, and I can always use it as a reference to go back to when I need to bring new thoughts into it.

From here I will finalise a concept and explain the process behind it thoroughly and how I will use it in my work.