I have always looked at what design is printed onto the CD's themselves and have found a collection that interest me from over the years. That's the unfortunate thing about digitally downloading everything, that you don't actually get it to admire or collect anymore. These two Stereophonics albums interest me due to how different they are but their need for colour and pattern to stand out are the same.
Others are designed with an image in mind that represents the band or what the album's about perhaps. Either way, the need for their brand name or any form of text is not vital. Obviously, it will be on the CD cover somewhere, but I chose to look at the discs themselves to research into various other materials that designs are printed on.
However, my favourite are the ones that solely use typography to design their CD. The Fratellis is such a lovely 'F' :)
Mike McVicar, a recent graduate, designed a desktop supply kit for graphic designers. But it's not what's inside that interests me; I love the choice of stock and type that links all the packaging together but the simple colours separate each section successfully and tastefully and definitely reach out to the target audience.
I bought these books for my holidays but I realised I didn't read the back covers of half of them before I even bought them. Why? Because I bought them solely down to the typeface on the covers. They're specifically directed towards women and I think, as do others I have asked, that the titles have a relaxed, easy-read, feminine, gossipy, holiday feel to them. I chose to include these in my design for print research because I think it's a clever way to promote a book in that genre and draw in your chosen audience. Simply going into Waterstones or WHSmith shows there are hundreds alike and nowadays I find it quite sad that a lot of people are like me and go for a satisfying front cover instead of alphabetically searching for their favourite author. However, clearly it works as I can't help but love all the stories as well as the typefaces!
