Website

I haven't blogged about the website a lot, but we've finally signed it off and here it is!

http://www.wix.com/latymermediamv2/lexi-grace

We decided to have an enter page, which is what a lot of other artists have on their websites. We promote the album throughout our website, but the enter page is specific to purchasing from iTunes which really taps in to the downloads and tech-savvy audience. As our core audience is teens, they will be familiar with the iTunes store so we felt this really targeted them.

 
On the first page, there are features for fashion retailers Topshop and Aldo. By working in synergy with these brands, we are again accessing the fashionable audience and teens/young adults are definitly aware of these shops. Also, ALDO features in our video so by having it on the video, this intertextuality makes sure that the shop was purposely in shot.

The first page shows Lexi's tours and has a banner about her album and new single meddle which is rquite professional and something that other artists do, as I have seen on websites from artists like Pixie Lott, Katy Perry and Tinie Tempah. There are also login and singup buttons which encourage repeated visiting of the website, just like a music video encourages repeated viewing.

 Other pages include 'Lexi" which allows fans to see what Lexi is really like and get personal with her which is really engaging and lets people relate to her.

As well as emphasising the album, we also have a page for her new single Meddle.

Again, getting personal with Lexi-photos from shoots.

The competition is really interactive and engages the audience so that they aren;t just browsing the site-they can actually get involved.

By having a merchandise page, we are really getting the audience to buy into Lexi's brand. Tshirts have Lexi's logo, which runs across the website and album and is specific to her. The merchandise really anchors her brand image.

The fan page allows fans not only to interact on the site but to do so with each other. Fans can express their thoughts and opinions and really interact with each other, so this is great for the audience. This page also has a live twitter feed which shows what Lexi herself is saying!

More interactivity is included in the social networking sites. Twitter has really become a prominent part of ccelebrity culture, with nearly every musician, actor and even us normal people using it. For example, as soon as I log in to my twitter I can see updates from friends but also rappers like JME and P Diddy. Unlike other sites, most celebrities on Twitter actually interact with fans which is really engaging and is why we included a feed on Lexi's page.

Lexi Grace Logo

We've been looking at fonts for Lexi's logo, and we found one called hand of sean on a website called dafont.com, which would be recognisable so that fans would associate it with Lexi. This logo would run throughout posters, albums and Lexi's website, anchoring her brand image.





We also thought about using a swallow as she wore a jumper with a swallow on it in photoshoots and we are going to use a couple shots on the album cover. This would give Lexi's brand continuity and the audience familiarity.
This is what the logo would probably look like:

Album Covers
I looked at some female artists' album covers, and there are many strong points which we should try to include in Lexi's album.

The use of direct address in Cheryl Cole and Alexandra Burke's albums is very eye-catching and I think that Eliza Doolittle's would work better closer up (although the focus is on the artwork, so this is probably why it isn't).

Also, Pixie Lott's styling is great - it isn't too over the top like Alexandra's, but many of her fans (teenage girls) would wear similar outfits and therefore be able to relate to her. However, I don't like that Pixie and Alexandra wear the same outfits on both panels, as this is quite repetitive and boring- seems like a waste of a photo!

Colour schemes are key - they really brand the album; Cheryl Cole's is dark and serene, whereas Eliza's is bright and funky (both fit their images really well).

These are definitly factors to think about. I would love to have an album with a strong colour scheme, iconic CU front photo which captures Lexi's personality and an cover where all the panels fit and mesh well together to work in synergy with the music video and website and anchor Lexi Grace as an artist!

Artist name

We've decided to call our artist Alexandra Grace Hunter, but Lexie Grace for short. I really like this name as it's something that fans can relate to and will help Liv to get into character.

We really need to think of a brand for Lexie, with a logo that can be replicated across different forms of media that her fans will see.

For example, Kissy Sell Out (DJ & producer) has a distinctive logo with a recurring font that runs through all his work; it's on albums, singles, his website and his logo which creates his brand image. I like the font as well and something similar could really work for Lexie's logo.