Illustrator - Current Disk Designs

Current Disk Designs:

When faced with this task I initial looked at a couple of DVD disks as basic inspiration however after progressing through this assignment further it has become clear that I will need to find more ideas and variations of DVD disks in order to aid my own design process. For this reason I have analysed many current DVD Disks in order to help me make my own decisions as to what works well and what doesn't work quite so well. Within this blog I have uploaded the DVD disk and made comments on its appearance and its overall suitability commenting on what I like and hence could take forward into my idea.

The Big Wedding:

The disk is very simple and takes a lot of inspiration from its DVD inlay. The large family image which sits to the right and below the central hub is the full size image which was broken down for the front cover. I like the way this has been done and the sense that this is a different image when it has simply just been used in a different way. This is something I could look into when creating my disk design, I could break down my main image into smaller images in reverse to what has been achieved on this disk. The font and title style as a whole is exactly the same on the disk as the inlay, this achieves a sophisticated and consistent look. The company logo is placed at the very top of the disk, this is a very simply logo so doesn’t look out of place however I am not sure I like this positioning on a personal level. The age rating on this disk can be found left of the hub just above the main image. I like the positioning of this and would where possible like to use this in my own design. The colours used on the disk are the same as those used on DVD inlay, I feel this is definitely the best way to go to keep it consistent. Overall I don’t feel this disk has many bad points. It is quite simple however I often feel simplicity is bets than over doing something. I would like to compare this design to one which is slightly busier to see which one I prefer overall. The image below shows the disk I have scanned for this DVD.

 

 

 

 

The Holiday:

The main and first thing I notice about this disk is the title of the film. This is very bold and stands out on the disk as a whole. I like this idea and I believe the colours used help achieve this. When applying this idea to my design I could go for my bright pink text on a white disk background. The images are displayed slightly unconventionally on this disk. There are four images of the four main characters each in a small square box under the hub. This is unusual however I quite like the idea. This also frees up a lot of space to allow for the white background to show and hence the simplicity of the disk to really be displayed. This disk has even less on than the previous one I looked at however I feel the overall appearance gives off the same vibes and this has shown me that I don’t need to fill the disk to make it look good. All of the logos and age ratings are positioned either side of the central hub between the row of images and the title of the film. This works well and breaks up the disk as a whole. Overall I like this disk design but I feel that this disk matches the simplistic inlay which was created and I evaluated earlier, my inlay is much busier than this and hence I feel that my disk could look slightly out of place in comparison. The image below shows the disk I have scanned for this DVD.

 



 

 

 

Dear John:

This disk design appears to have taken the image from the DVD inlay directly. The disk has a more noticeably full design than the other disks I have looked at although ‘the big wedding’ arguably uses a full disk design. The title on this disk is positioned below the hub. This is unusual however works best with the image as if not the title would cut off the heads of the two main characters. This is a good idea and shows that I don’t need to fit my main image around my title as it would still be effective in other positions. Like all of the other disk designs I have looked at ‘Dear John’ also uses the same style and coloured title to achieve the consistency. This is something I am now certain I will do when creating my own disk design. All of the logos and age ratings for this film are located to the left of the hub. This could again be due to the nature of the main image used however I don’t feel they look out of place. The image below shows the disk I have scanned for this DVD.

 

 



Friends With Kids:

The design on this disk uses very similar techniques to those used in ‘theBigwedding’. The main aspect of this disk is the image. This has been taken from the DVD inlay. This seems to be a general running theme however I am undecided whether I like this aspect or not. Under this main image is a pink bar with the company logo inside. This is similar to the DVD inlay which keeps them consistent. The title on this disk can be found centrally above the hub. This uses the same style and colours as those used throughout and is very effective. This font is of a good size and stands out well on the white background. The size of the title is something which I hadn’t yet thought about and hence this gives me something else to consider when designing my own disk. The age ratings for this film are located to the left of the hub, this seems a common location and hence I plan on experimenting with this on my own design to see if I will follow suit. All other logos can be found to the right of the hub. This also works well and acts as a breaking point between the title and the main image. This is similar to that of ‘The Holiday’. The image below shows the disk I have scanned for this DVD.

 

 

Friends With Benefits:

This is by far the most simply disk design I have ever come across and hence I felt that it was vital I evaluated it to really compare the two ends of the spectrum. The white background of this disk is good and seems a running theme throughout the disks I have evaluated and hence something I would like to look into experimenting with them creating my own disk. The title is the same style and colour as that on the inlay and hence this keeps the two consistent. The location of this is top central. This works well however this title could have been anywhere based on the sparseness of the disk as a whole. The age ratings on this disk are located in the same positions as those on the other disks I have evaluated (central left). This works well and as mentioned above something I will look into further. All the other logos for this disk can be found underneath the hub. This disk is far too simply for my liking. I feel I would also have a great deal of trouble hitting all the criteria I need to with this kind of design. It is effective but not on the same level and those previously mentioned. The image below shows the disk I have scanned for this DVD.