James Clayton

Evaluation
Effectiveness
Extent to which brief has been met:
At the start of the project I had a meeting with the client
where they outlined all of the features I had to include in
the graphics, I wrote everything down that was said in this
meeting so I could check my work against it to make sure I
had completed everything. I have followed the brief completely therefor have completed all
of the tasks it asked for. I created a logo for the Pixels which I then applied to a A3 poster
and CD cover which I also created, the CD cover had all of the requested features such as
the logo, mandatory information like age rating, legal information and barcode.

Use of appropriate methods and techniques:

To create all three of my graphics I used Photoshop since that was the most appropriate
programme since its the best graphic software you can purchase. When producing the
graphics I used conventional methods which most people know if they have some
experience with Photoshop. The most complicated part of creating all of the graphics was
making the logo since it involved so many steps and required a decent level of skill to
achieve the finished product. On the logo I needed a rock texture since the letters are
supposed to be made out of stone. To achieve this I did the following:
Moved the rock texture over the letter I want to apply it to making sure it
covers the whole letter. In this case I am applying it to the letter I so you
cant see it right now.

Using the magic wand tool I select the whole of the letter I including the
shadow. To make this easier I made the layer with the rock texture on
transparent.

I then made the texture layer visible again and made sure I was on that
layer. I then pressed crtl+x to cut the shape of the letter I out of the rock
texture. I deleted the rest of the texture and pasted this cut out texture.

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Heres the texture, now I just have to edit the layer transparency so you can still
see the 3D effect.

I set the layer transparency to 40%. Now I will repeat this process for all the
other letters.

Simply adding the texture to the letters took a bit of time due to all of the steps but I had no
other way of adding it.

Professionalism achieved:
I think all of the graphics I produced look professional as they contain few colours which
shows Ive thought about the colours Im going to use and not just randomly selected some
as I went along. Here are all of the graphics I produced:
When creating the logo I took my time to think about how the 3D
effect would look once I added the blue liquid onto the letters. If I
added too much of a 3D effect then the letters would look out of
proportion and strange, to avoid this I made sure the 3D effect was only around 1/5 of the
total width of the letter. After adding the blue liquid onto the letters I applied a bevel effect
to it so the edges of the liquid became darker, this gives the illusion that the liquid is down
inside the letter and has a shadow casted onto it. This looks more professional than just
leaving the blue a solid colour. The texture I added onto the letters also makes the logo look
more professional as its the sort of subtle detail you would find in a professional graphic.
On the poster I spent around 20 minutes trying to get the glow effect right
since I wanted it to be darker in the centre and then fade out to a more
gradual effect. To achieve this I duplicated the layer with the logo on and
then changed the glow effect so the spread wasnt as far. This level of detail
is what youd find in a professional piece of work, just like with the logo its
these little bits of detail that bring the quality of the graphics up. Another
reason I think the poster looks professional is because of the very bright text on the dark
background, this means its easy to read from a distance but also makes the poster stand
out because of how bright the text is.
For the CD cover I made sure to include all of the legal
information youd find on a real CD, this included the
barcode and the legal information talking about copyright. I
also included a age rating as an extra measure. I think the

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CD cover is also professional looking since the front cover is very simplistic and only contains
features that make it interesting for passers-by to look at. On the back Is where all of the
information is located, this Is because the person has to pick up the CD to then look at this
information rather than just being able to quickly read it from the front cover. As the person
has to pick the CD up to look at this information they are instantly more likely to purchase it.

What message does your final versions communicate:

All of the graphics have a similar design in that they all use the same font,
Bauhaus 93, they all have two main colours of black and bright blue. The
background used on two of the graphics is identical and the band logo is
used on both the CD cover and the poster. The message the bright blue gives
off is that the band stands out as they are colourful and creative with their
work. If you look at the poster it contains information about when the tour
dates are, it also has an email address which people can
order tickets from. This information that it gives to the
reader means the poster is informative along with being
aesthetically appealing. The CD cover is similar in that the
front cover is all about aesthetics since its only purpose is to
draw peoples attention, the back cover however has all of the information on making it
informative.

Problem solving:
As I have a decent amount of experience using Photoshop I know how to do most
things. This comes in handy when working on project such as this one as you
rarely run into problems which stop your progress. I personally didnt run into
any problem when creating my graphics I just had to think about how I would
tackle certain things sometimes such as when I needed to adjust the glow effect on the
poster so it was darker in the centre. If I was to use a different programme to create these
graphics then I might have ran into some problems especially if I hadnt used that piece of
software before.

Skill development:
I didnt develop any new skills when working on this project as I
already knew how to do all of the tasks to create my graphics
such as adding effects to objects and applying textures to letters.
You could say I refined my skills by working on this project as I
was using the programme meaning I was refreshing my skills and
reinforcing them so I didnt forget them. If I created these

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graphics on a completely new pieces of software then I would have definitely developed
some new skills. To develop these new skills I would have to research what I wanted to use
if I couldnt find out how to it myself, I always learn a new piece of software like this since it
enforces the task so you remember it easier for the next time.

Areas for improvement:

Im very happy with how all of my graphics came out as they are exactly
how I planned and imaged them to be. The only graphic that I think could
be improved is the rear cover of the CD as I think it looks slightly childish.
If I was to go back and remake this back cover I would probably change
the title which says track list since thats what makes it look childish in my
opinion. To resolve this I could either use a different font that looks more
professional or change the curved underline to a straight version. I would also space the
songs in the list out more so there isnt as much empty space between the list and the legal
information. I wouldnt want it too close though as it would give the impression that the
back cover is cluttered.

Sources of information
Self-evaluation:
During the production of anything its always important to look at the work and see if
theres anything that could be improved, if you cant see anything ask someone else as they
may. Doing checks like this during the production stage and not to the finished product
means they can be resolved much quicker, but also as it might spark something else that
doesnt quite look right. I used this technique when making my graphics as I wanted them to
be the higher possible quality. I also asked peers in the classroom if they could suggest
anything to improve the graphics which sometimes they did have some useful suggestions
that helped improve the overall look of the finished product. An example of when I did
some self-evaluation was whilst adding the glow effect to the logo on
the A3 poster. After I first added the effect I thought about how I
could improve it as the text didnt blend in well with the effect. I
played around with adding another glow effect below the text which
meant the centre of the effect near the text was darker and less
transparent which ended up resolving the problem. If I had just
moved on and left the effect how it first was I wouldnt have been happy with the finished
product and would have had to go back and resolve the issue.

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Documentation (notes, sketches, production logs, comments from others/

peers:
At the start of the project I had a meeting with the client where
they outlined all of the features I had to include in the graphics,
I wrote everything down that was said in this meeting so I could
check my work against it to make sure I had completed
everything at the end. Notes like this are very important when working for a client as you
can use them as guidance as it can be difficult trying to remember every bit of detail they
gave you. I used these notes when making my CD cover as I just wanted to double check
that I had included everything the client had requested such as legal information and the
band logo.
At the very start of the project I created three different sketches of what the graphics would
look like once they had been completed. The benefit of making drawing like these is you can
see what your ideas will actually look like, but also as you can refer back to them whilst
making the finished product. I checked back with my designs whilst making all three of my
graphics as I wanted them to be exactly as I planned as the client asked that I produce them
exactly like the sketches.
This is the sketch I created for my Logo. This was the first drawing I
created since the other two graphics would have contain the logo so
it made most sense to create the logo first.

The second storyboard I created was of the CD cover for the Pixels. I
drew this storyboard with the correct aspect ratio so the placement
of the assets would be in the correct place on the finished graphic.

The final drawing I produced was of the poster, even though the finished
poster was printed on A3 I drew the design on A4 to save time. Creating it
on A4 also meant I was able to use the same storyboards as the other two
graphics which has a note panel at the side where I put notes about the
designs.

During the creation of the graphics on the computer I kept a diary up to date with every
step I did in creating the individual graphics. The finished diary ended up being 10 pages
long and contained all the steps involved in the creation of the graphics. For each step I took
a screenshot of what I was doing and then wrote a short paragraph about what I did to help
the reader understand the step. This was especially needed if I did something which had

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multiple steps. Heres a sample of a part of the diary where I began creating the first
graphics:

Like I previously talked about, during the production of my graphics I made sure to self-
evaluate my work to try and get it perfect. Along with this self-evaluating I asked fellow
peers about what they thought of the graphics so far to try and get any suggestions that
would help improve them. I would ask them whilst I was in the middle of making the
graphics and also at the end. I did this so they could spot any problems early on so I could
get rid of them then and there, I asked at the end of the production process so I could get
their opinion on the finished thing.

Tutors:
Along with this self-evaluating I asked fellow peers about what they thought of the graphics
so far to try and get any suggestions that would help improve them. I would ask them whilst
I was in the middle of making the graphics and also at the end. I did this so they could spot
any problems early on so I could get rid of them then and there, I asked at the end of the
production process so I could get their opinion on the finished thing. I could have also asked
my tutor about what they thought of the graphics but I didnt think that was necessary since
I got plenty of suggestions from my peers.

Production process
Planning:
When planning my graphics I wrote down all of my ideas in my proposal so I had a list of all
the ideas I came up with. I instantly decided that despite the name of the band being The
Pixels I wouldnt be using any form of pixels in the designs since that doesnt require any
creativity and is the first design idea that comes to peoples minds when they hear the band
name. Instead I wanted to create designs that would be interesting and detailed, making
them stand out from other simplistic designs.

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For the logo of the band I decided to use normal text that would
be edited heavily so the letters were on different orientations
and looked 3D. I then decided I would be adding a blue glow
effect to the letters so the text would stand out on the black
background. To make the letters even more detailed I thought
about adding hints of colour to them that looked like flowing
lava in the letters themselves. I could adjust the colour of this lava flow through the letters
to match the glowing colour of the logo.
The CD cover would be the conventional size for a CD
cover, as seen in the diagram, and would contain the
logo for the band, the songs on the album and other
essential information like bare codes and age
restrictions. The design for the cover would be similar
to the logo in that it wouldnt have any pixels or pixilation on,
instead I decided to create an exploding black hole in space that
the logo would come out of. On the spine and back cover I
wanted light coming off of the logo along with little stars since
its space.

For the A3 poster I would use the same design from the front of
the CD cover so they match, this includes the logo coming out of
the black hole. The other information on the poster such as tour
dates, locations and contact information would be at the bottom of
the poster so its out of the way and doesnt obstruct the logo and
background image. The size of this A3 poster was 42.0 x 29.7cm as thats the size of a
portrait piece of A3 paper.

Preparation:
At the very start of the project I created three different sketches of what the graphics would
look like once they had been completed. The benefit of making drawing like these is you can
see what your ideas will actually look like, but also as you can refer back to them whilst
making the finished product. I checked back with my designs whilst making all three of my
graphics as I wanted them to be exactly as I planned as the client asked that I produce them
exactly like the sketches.
This is the sketch I created for my Logo. This was the first drawing I
created since the other two graphics would have contain the logo so
it made most sense to create the logo first.

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The second storyboard I created was of the CD cover for the Pixels. I
drew this storyboard with the correct aspect ratio so the placement
of the assets would be in the correct place on the finished graphic.

The final drawing I produced was of the poster, even though the finished
poster was printed on A3 I drew the design on A4 to save time. Creating it
on A4 also meant I was able to use the same storyboards as the other two
graphics which has a note panel at the side where I put notes about the
designs.

Production:
To create all three of my graphics I used Photoshop since that was the most appropriate
programme since its the best graphic software you can purchase. When producing the
graphics I used conventional methods which most people know if they have some
experience with Photoshop. The most complicated part of creating all of the graphics was
making the logo since it involved so many steps and required a decent level of skill to
achieve the finished product. On the logo I needed a rock texture since the letters are
supposed to be made out of stone. To achieve this I did the following:
Moved the rock texture over the letter I want to apply it to making sure it
covers the whole letter. In this case I am applying it to the letter I so you
cant see it right now.

Using the magic wand tool I select the whole of the letter I including the
shadow. To make this easier I made the layer with the rock texture on
transparent.

I then made the texture layer visible again and made sure I was on that
layer. I then pressed crtl+x to cut the shape of the letter I out of the rock
texture. I deleted the rest of the texture and pasted this cut out texture.

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James Clayton

Heres the texture, now I just have to edit the layer transparency so you can still
see the 3D effect.

I set the layer transparency to 40%. Now I will repeat this process for all the
other letters.

Simply adding the texture to the letters took a bit of time due to all of the steps but I had no
other way of adding it. The production of all three of my graphics took around 5-6 hours in
total, this could have been much shorted but I had to create the diary whilst making my
graphics which was very time consuming.

Time management:
At the start of the production stage I was given an individual learning plan by the client, this
contained the dates at which I should have completed certain tasks by. The benefit of
having something like this is you can easily see if youre ahead or not. To make sure I met
the deadline I kept track of my schedule to see how many sessions I have left to create the
graphics. Thankfully I knew how to use Photoshop relatively well so didnt run into any
problems where I get stuck which could have led to me falling behind schedule. This is what
part of my ILP looked like:

As you can see for each session there were certain tasks that I should have been working on.
I could use this to see if I was behind or not which came in handy because it was very easy
to see if I was ahead, on track or behind schedule.

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Monitoring work in progress:

At the start of the production stage I was given an individual learning plan by the client, this
contained the dates at which I should have completed certain tasks by. The benefit of
having something like this is you can easily see if youre ahead or not. To make sure I met
the deadline I kept track of my schedule to see how many sessions I have left to create the
graphics. Thankfully I knew how to use Photoshop relatively well so didnt run into any
problems where I get stuck which could have led to me falling behind schedule. This is what
part of my ILP looked like:

As you can see for each session there were certain tasks that I should have been working on.
I could use this to see if I was behind or not which came in handy because it was very easy
to see if I was ahead, on track or behind schedule. At the end of a session I would write
under the session review what I had been working on. For example in the first column I
completed my CD cover graphic whilst keeping track of the production of it in my diary. I
then began working on the checklist task. The benefit of writing these short summaries is
that I can go back and see what tasks Ive already completed.

Technical competence:
As Ive been making different graphics on programmes like Photoshop for years and recently
started working on Photoshop I have excellent knowledge on how to use the programme
and also where all the tools are located. Having this level of technical competence allowed
me to make all of the graphics in a decent amount of time which meant
I had extra time in which I could review the finished graphics and see
how I could improve them. Having this experience on Photoshop also
allowed me to do certain things a less experience person might not have
known how to do, such as adding the texture on top of the logo. Theres
nothing that I did on my graphics that other people couldnt do, I just managed to
do it all faster due to my experience on the programme which meant I didnt have
to research how to use a certain tool or feature of the programme.

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Creative ability:
The three graphics I produced all involved a decent amount of creativity to create as to
achieve some of the finished aesthetics I had to think outside the box. For example on my
logo I wanted to add the blue highlights to the letters since I had them on my drawings.
Once I added them onto the letters though I didnt like how it looked since you could easily
tell they were drawn on and werent imbedded in the letters like I wanted.
To resolve this problem I knew if I added a bevel effect to the blue lines it
would make them fit into the letters more since the shading along the edges would make it
look like the blue was inside the letters and not sat on top. Im happy that I found a way to
improve the logo as it wouldnt have looked very good if I had left the blue without the
bevel effect applied.
On the front cover of my CD cover is another aspect of my graphics where I
thought about how I could improve how it looked. After I first added the
effect I thought about how I could improve it as the text didnt blend in well
with the effect. I played around with adding another glow effect below the
text which meant the centre of the effect near the text was darker and less transparent
which ended up resolving the problem. If I had just moved on and left the effect how it first
was I wouldnt have been happy with the finished product and would have had to go back
and resolve the issue.
The A3 poster was the easiest graphic to make out of the three as I just had
to put previous graphics which I had created together like the back and logo. I
then added the blue textual information at the bottom of the poster which
only took around 5 minutes as I just used the text tool. To make the text
stand out more I added a very subtle glow effect which just brightened the
colour up making It stand out even more just like the logo does.

Own work:
The three graphics I produced were all created by myself without the help of anyone else
such as other students. I created almost everything on the graphics except for a few things
which I will go over. The reason I didnt create everything for my graphics was
because some aspects such as the PG rating and the barcode would be very
wasteful to try and create myself as that would be time I could have spent
making the rest of the graphics. For the logo I created everything you see
except for the subtle texture which I overlaid onto the text. The reason I didnt
make this texture is because it wouldnt look very good and so would lover the
overall quality of the logo. Everything else on the logo was created on
Photoshop by me though. I dont feel bad using the texture on my work as if it wasnt there
the logo would still look good it just wouldnt have the nice textured effect that adds that
extra bit of detail. On the CD cover I didnt make the PG rating icon or the barcode simply
because they are official icons so need to be accurate. Theres no problem with using these

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graphics on my CD cover since they arent a main feature such as the logo or the
background, I only added them on so the cover meets the legal requirements.

Teamwork:
For this project of creating three graphics for a band called The Pixels I worked on my own
as thats what we were told to do. I did use peers in the class for feedback on my graphics
but they didnt help in the actual designing and production of the graphics.

Finished product
Compared with original intentions:
Im pleased with how all three graphics came out as they are exactly as I imagined and
planned them. If you were to put the drawings next to the finishing thing youd see how
similar they are. Obviously the finished graphics are more refined as they were created on a
computer but you can still easily see the similarities.
This is what the finished logo looks like and below is a picture of the
sketch for this logo. You can see they are almost identical in the
positioning and rotation of the letters, I also made sure to copy
where the blue aspects of the letters went. The only big difference
is the font I used as when I drew the logo I didnt have a font in
mind.
Heres the finished CD cover alongside the drawing for this graphics.
This graphic came out exactly how I designed it as you can see by
the two images being side by side. On the front cover there is just
the logo with a glow effect applied behind it to represent the black
whole which I talked about on the notes of the drawing. On the
back cover you find all of the information such as the track list, age
rating and the legal information.
The final graphics I produced was the A3 poster. This like the
others was produced whilst following the plan I drew up meaning
that it is basically identical. The only slight change on the final
poster is that the tour information is slight larger and move
upwards.

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Appropriateness to audience:
The logo for the Pixels wont be used individually but on other items
such as the poster and CD cover. It could also be used on anything
else related to the band if necessary. Because the logo is going to be
used in lots of different locations it needed to be suitable for a wide audience of all ages, to
make it suitable for this large audience I made sure it contained no offensive material.
The poster has the most important job of interesting people and getting them
to go to a concert or perhaps buy the CD, for this reason it had to be exciting to
look at and contain as little information as possible so the person isnt bored
from reading all the information. The posters will be put around in different
locations so once again just like the logo I made sure it didnt contain any
offensive material as it could offend someone passing by. A person reading the poster may
be interesting in going to a concert, because of this the poster contains contact information
so they can book or ask any questions that they may have. This contact information was
made very clear on the poster since its vital information.
The CD cover also has an important role of getting a passer-bys attention although this is
only relevant if the person hasnt heard the bands music before and is looking for
something new to listen to. If a fan of the band is looking to buy the CD then it doesnt
matter as much what it looks like as they will buy it anyway. On the front of the CD it has the
bands logo and a background image, this is because if all the information was on the front it
would distract from the band logo. On the back is all the
important information such as the songs on the CD, the
barcode, any legal information and the age rating. To view
this information the person would have had to picked the
CD up meaning the front cover has done its job.

Technical qualities:
Overall the graphics I produced arent that technical as I just used standard tools and effects
to produce them, however the techniques used to create certain aspects such as the logo
and CD cover werent quite so simple. The most complicated part of creating all of the
graphics was making the logo since it involved so many steps and required a decent level of
skill to achieve the finished product. On the logo I needed a rock texture since the letters are
supposed to be made out of stone. To achieve this I did the following:
Moved the rock texture over the letter I want to apply it to making sure it
covers the whole letter. In this case I am applying it to the letter I so you
cant see it right now.

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James Clayton

Using the magic wand tool I select the whole of the letter I including the
shadow. To make this easier I made the layer with the rock texture on
transparent.

I then made the texture layer visible again and made sure I was on that
layer. I then pressed crtl+x to cut the shape of the letter I out of the rock
texture. I deleted the rest of the texture and pasted this cut out texture.

Heres the texture, now I just have to edit the layer transparency so you can still
see the 3D effect.

I set the layer transparency to 40%. Now I will repeat this process for all the
other letters.

Simply adding the texture to the letters took a bit of time due to all of the steps but I had no
other way of adding it.
Another technical aspect of one of my graphics is the glow effect
applied to the logo on the front of the CD cover. The finished effect is
made up from two separate effects, one big one and one smaller one in
the centre which makes the area around the text darker. I applied this
since I added noise to the effect which broke it up into small dots which
makes the effect fit in with the space theme. The smaller glow effect was created by
duplicating the layer with the logo on and moving it behind the original, I then changed the
effect so it had a smaller widening radius. The reason I added this effect is because I wanted
the logo to look like it was exploding out of a black hole. If I had thought about it at the time
I would have deformed the logo so that the middle bulges out which would make it look
even more realistic. Im really happy with how the finished effect came out as its exactly
how I pictured it.

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Aesthetic qualities:
I think all of the graphics I produced look appealing as they contain few colours which shows
Ive thought about the colours Im going to use and not just randomly selected some as I
went along. The bright blue theme also gives the graphics I relaxing tone. Here are all of the
graphics I produced:
When creating the logo I took my time to think about how the 3D
effect would look once I added the blue liquid onto the letters. If I
added too much of a 3D effect then the letters would look out of
proportion and strange, to avoid this I made sure the 3D effect was only around 1/5 of the
total width of the letter. After adding the blue liquid onto the letters I applied a bevel effect
to it so the edges of the liquid became darker, this gives the illusion that the liquid is down
inside the letter and has a shadow casted onto it. This looks more professional than just
leaving the blue a solid colour. The texture I added onto the letters also makes the logo look
more professional as its the sort of subtle detail you would find in a professional graphic.
On the poster I spent around 20 minutes trying to get the glow effect right
since I wanted it to be darker in the centre and then fade out to a more
gradual effect. To achieve this I duplicated the layer with the logo on and
then changed the glow effect so the spread wasnt as far. This level of detail
is what youd find in a professional piece of work, just like with the logo its
these little bits of detail that bring the quality of the graphics up. Another
reason I think the poster looks professional is because of the very bright text on the dark
background, this means its easy to read from a distance but also makes the poster stand
out because of how bright the text is.
For the CD cover I made sure to include all of the legal
information youd find on a real CD, this included the
barcode and the legal information talking about copyright. I
also included a age rating as an extra measure. I think the
CD cover is also professional looking since the front cover is
very simplistic and only contains features that make it interesting for passers-by to look at.
On the back Is where all of the information is located, this Is because the person has to pick
up the CD to then look at this information rather than just being able to quickly read it from
the front cover. As the person has to pick the CD up to look at this information they are
instantly more likely to purchase it.

Content & style:

The content of all my graphics is very minimal. For the logo there isnt any content as its
just a logo but for the other graphics I only added information if I had to so they arent
cluttered with text. On the Poster there is very little information, just the tour locations and
dates along with the email address on the bottom of the poster. Having very little
information like this makes it more appealing for someone to read as they know it wont

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take very long. The CD cover follows the same process. On the front cover there is simply
the background image and the logo as there was no need for any addition information,
adding too much to the front cover of a CD can make it look cluttered and un-appealing. On
the back there is just the songs on the album and the legal information as once again ther
was no need for anything more.
The style of all the assets I created had a sort of si-fi
based style because of the bright blue on a dark
background. The logo has a bright blue glow just like
this tron logo which is classed as a si-fi film. For other pieces of text such as the information
found on the CD and poster I just have normal blue text with a subtle glow effect applied to
it so it matches the logo. The background on all the assets is relatively dark so the glowing
blue text stands out nicely from it. Ive chose to go with this style and colour choice because
you dont see it very often so my logo, poster and CD cover will stand out from all of the
others. Having a dark background with bright text over the top is also very easy to read and
looks excellent when done correctly.

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