In this post, I will be discussing the beginnings of the DVD Label.
I still haven't chosen between which of the two ideas I have yet, and so I figured I will make the DVD label template in the mean time.
Most discs are plain silver, if user were to store them as they are, it would make it difficult for him/her to remember which disc has what content on it without going through the trouble of loading up multiple discs individually before finding the right disc. This is labelling discs come in handy.
Disc labels, much like the labels you would use on boxes, files etc. are used in order to help distinguish discs from each other. Disc labels are applied to the top side (actually known as the "label-side") of a disc either by hand or machine, depending on the type of label and scale of operation (home-use vs commercial production).
There are other ways of labelling discs, such as simply using a disc pen and writing on the top of a disc, but this doesn't make for the most professional presentation of a disc; it also means writing the content on each disc compared to making a label once and applying it to many discs.
When discs are sold to the public, they usually have a label applied that represents the material they contain (such as a movie or a game) whilst tying in to the theme of the disc cover in order to be recognisable, even when the disc is "stored outside of the box" (Disc cover — the ways of labeling discs, 2003).
The interesting thing about disc label designs is that obviously the 'canvas' is round. This means there are two options in regards to the overall design of the label; I could design it as I would normally in a square canvas, allowing part of the design to be cut off as long as the important details are on the label, or I could design the label to in-cooperate the roundness of the disc, making for an interesting design that can be viewed from more than one angle.
The second idea sounds more attractive to me as there are no worries about seeing what will or won't fit on to the disc towards the final versions of the design if I design the label within the constraints of the shape. It also means I can create a design that 'wraps' around the disc meaning it doesn't just cut off at the edge. Perhaps I could add a round sort of border to show this effect.
Using the dimensions found on the template online (Martin, 2013), I have started to design a blank label in Adobe Illustrator; you can see the template I have used below.
I began creating the label by opening the dialog to create a new file, from here I entered the dimensions that I wanted the new file to be; according the template, the widest the label should be including the bleed is 125.5mm. I wanted some white space around the label so in order to give the file some 'room'; I thought this will be useful later when there are multiple objects on the label as the space will allow me to see what I am doing more easily.
After creating the file, I changed Illustrator's units to millimetres as I did earlier in order to give me more control and accuracy over object dimensions.
I then went on to create the first circular shape on the file, the outer disc edge. I did this by selecting the Ellipse tool, holding down the 'Alt' key on the keyboard and finding the centre of the page. Once this was done, I then clicked the left mouse button, bringing up a dialog asking for the shape dimensions. The outer edge of the disc is 117.5mm, so I entered that accordingly.
After fixing this issue, I then went ahead and drew the circles for the disc hole edge and its bleed.
Now that I have created all edges, I then saved the file and decided to colour the circles in pairs to make distinguishing between edges and bleeds easier; red lines are bleeds and blue lines are edges.
And finished! Now the template is setup for designs when I start.
Today was my first time using Illustrator, I find that it takes a bit of getting used to, especially because I am more used to using Photoshop; things like menu layouts and the sidebars are re-arranged making finding your bearings a little confusing.
However, I do like that Illustrator uses vector imaging; this is useful because vector images take up less space and more importantly, are scalable without losing quality. This is going to be useful when it comes to creating the production logo and other objects like that may need to be resized before finding the right fit.
That's all for this post, stay tuned for the next!
Hasnain
References
Images
Martin, P., 2013. CD and DVD disc and packaging artwork templates - Wizbit Internet services Ltd. Wizbit Internet Services. Available at: <https://www.wizbit.net/cd-duplication/cd-dvd-disc-packaging-artwork-templates/> [Accessed 22 February 2016]. (Please note, I am using the 2006 version of the template)
Text
Disc cover — the ways of labeling discs, 2003. . Available at: <https://www.belightsoft.com/products/resources/labelingdiscs.php> [Accessed 22 February 2016].
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