Analysing digipaks

I will be analysing three digipaks, one of which is by an artist similar to the one I am using.

MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

Front:

The image on the front is a medium close up of the band. The lighting is relatively dark, and the colours in the background suggest that it is sunset. It is relatively uncommon for indie bands to have pictures of themselves on the front, so this challenges the conventions of the genre. The font is in the centre of the cover, and draws the eye in. It is an unconventional font, and creates interest and an image. Unusually, the title of the album is not featured anywhere on the digipak, but only on the CD.

Centre:

Again, inside the image is a close up the band members, in black and white. This is also unconventional for indie bands, as mentioned before. The main focus is on the two band members, rather than the text on the right hand side, which is very small and insignificant. The text is in relation to production, recording, and thank yous, and is in a minute sans-serif font. The font is very average, and conventional.

Back:

The back also features an image of the band members, but this time they are surrounded by other characters. All the people featured in the image are looking away from the camera, and are all dressed in unconventional clothing. The text is again in a minute sans-serif font, and this time is both above and below the image. The text at the top details the tracks on the CD, and the text at the bottom tells the user about bonus content. Some of the text at the bottom is in blue or pink, rather than the rest which is in white. This adds colour to a relatively dark image.

This digipak would appeal to it's target audience, as it is quite unusual and entropic, suiting the style of indie rock fans.


Biffy Clyro - Only Revolutions

Front: 

The image on the front is very abstract. It is not of the band, but two people stood in a field with large flags attached to them, flying in the wind, and a table on fire. None of this really makes any sense, and doesn't have any relevence to any of the songs. It is quite entropic to not have a picture of the band members on a CD cover in general, but this happens more frequently in the rock genre. You cannot really see the people in the image, they are a very small part of the picture. The font is sans serif, and is relatively small, with the band name underlinded, and the album title underneath. The contrast between the grey of the sky and and the dark blue of the text helps it to stand out despite it's small size and normal font.

Centre:

Inside are separate images on both panes. On the left side, there is a green flag, and on the right there is a blue flag. The background to these flags is grey, presumably the sky, and this makes the flags stand out even more. This is all that is in the middle, and these images tie together the front and the back of the digipak.

Back:

The back is a continuation of the image on the front. This side has a green flag on the left side, and just a shot of the field in the rest. The font and colour of the text on the back is the same as on the front, and again it stands out against the grey sky. This contains the track listing. The text at the bottom is white, so that it stands out from the grass that it is placed over. The text at the bottom contains information about who produced, recorded and mixed the album, information about the copyright, the record label, and links to the band's website. This is information that I will include in my digipak.

I think that this CD cover will appeal to it's target audience, as it isn't the sort of thing that you see over and over. It's a very original, simple design, and contains all the information that they will need.


Caro Emerald - Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor

Front:

The front of this CD is an image of the artist herself. A red filter had been put on the image so it blends in with the rest of the front cover. She is facing away from the camera, and towards the text. The text is sans serif, except for the artists first name, Caro. It is a mixture of white and orange, both of which stand out from the red background. In small writing at the top is the name of the record label she is signed to. The front is not a redundant pop album cover.

Centre:

The left hand panel is a plain red panel, which holds
 the booklet for the album, which has the front of the album but with the colours inverted on it. The centre panel is again a plain red panel, as the CD is held on this panel, and that again uses the colours from the front cover, but inverted. The right hand panel has several images on it, and it seems as though negatives from a film camera have been printed onto it like a contact sheet. All the images are of the artist sat on the same chair as on the front. This links all of the digipak together.

Back:

The back of the digipak is red again. It uses white writing, with orange numbers to detail the track number, and how long the song is. The information included on the back is the record label, who produced, mixed and recorded the abum, when it was made and copyright information, just like the previous albums. There are no images on the back, which makes it clean and easy to read.




Overall, i think that this is a relitavely redundant album for a pop artist, and it suits the target audience as there are images of the artist, and the vintage feel of her music is reflected in the way she dresses and the use of negatives.