A Level Digipak Research
- 1. DIGIPAK RESEARCH THIS PRESENTATION CONSISTS OF THE RESEARCH STEPS I TOOK WHEN SEARCHING FOR INSPIRATION FOR MY DIGIPAK - LAURA VAABEL
- 3. BOB MARLEY – FREEDOM SONGS • This digipak is consistent with the colour scheme that it uses, the text is gold throughout the whole of the digipak. This is representational of the artist and their Rastafarian religion because the gold signifies the natural wealth and beauty of sunlight. The green symbolises the lush greenery of the African continent along with the red being the blood shed of the African people. Green and red are present in the artist’s clothing and on the underline of the album name. To reinforce my artist’s star image, I may incorporate a consistent theme that may hint at their background and their inspiration for their music. • Something else I noticed about this digipak was the repetition of the same image onto 3 sides of the digipak. This is not something I would like to emulate in my own digipak as I feel it removes the originality of it and makes it seem repetitive. In my own digipak, I have decided that I will ensure that I alter the images I use in the pack, none of them will be repeated. • The double exposure effect that is evident on the back of the digipak is something that I would like to incorporate in my own digipak. It subtly hints at the artist’s personality whilst incorporating the information that it needs to. The effect is also quite aesthetically pleasing and so this is another reason for my will to include the effect on my digipak.
- 5. MAROON 5 – HANDS ALL OVER • The aspect of this digipak that I like the most is the continuity of it. On the front cover, a girl is shown on a bed, on the back cover, it shows a band poster hanging above the same bed, further across from the girl and at a different angle. Showing a different angle to an image is an idea I am most intrigued by and would like to include in my digipak, if it is possible. It acts as a 360degree perspective on the scene. • Having the girl with her hair flying around her and a body removed from the image (we know this because there’s an extra pair of arms on her body) gives the ethos of the image a different feel. The fact that we can’t see the other person in this image gives the band a original and different presentation. It is an unusual form of star imagery. Having the artist in the portrait on the back cover of the digipak develops a sense of a collective personality as a band because they are all in the same portrait and in the greyscale. • The text on the cover of this album is also something I admire due to the way in which it has been positioned. It is on the plain white wall and is not clustering the artwork in any way, it is clearly legible and does not take over the whole of the artwork. • On the actual CD, however, there is a scene of an overcast sky on a beach setting in black and white. In my opinion, this is not consistent and in keeping with the rest of the digipak. Hence forth, I will ensure that all the images on my own digipak relate somehow. Although the font colour and type is consistent and fitting with the rest of the digipak, the actual image is irrelevant to the remainder of the digipak.
- 7. RIHANNA – A GIRL LIKE ME • What I like most about this digipak is the consistence in the colour theme. The orange shade is repeated on each side of the digipak to reinforce this album’s representation of the artist. Keeping a consistent colour scheme is something I intend to do in my own digipak because it will make it appear more professional and in keeping with the artist’s star image. • As we see the front of the artist on the front cover and the back of them on the back cover, the consistency is further emulated here. This surround vision of the artist adds to the idea of a star image being represented in this music video. The fact that we see her in this way makes the audience feel more inclusive in her work. Having a surround vision of a scene is an idea that I may include in my product because it gives the audience more of an insight into the artist’s star image. It also abides by the photographic idea of the rule of thirds because it adds something interesting to each section of the digipak. • The positioning of the text on the back of the album artwork is in the prime place because it does not clutter the page, it is in a modest size that fits the allocated place it has and the colour of the font is fitting with the colour of the background image, it isn’t drowned out. The text on the front, however, is not optimum. In attempt to have the text over the artist’s fringe, the editor has left the beginning letters of the artist’s name and the album name on the background behind her, this ruins the consistency because it jumbles up the visibility of the text. Although the viewer can still read what it says, it is not the same contrast as the rest of the text on this cover.
- 9. OLLY MURS – RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME • The text that is used throughout this digipak is consistent and is used throughout the whole of it. Being a graffiti like font, it fits best with the pop genre that the artist sings in. I think this because it is bold and has been shown in other pop artist’s digipak’s like Coldplay’s ‘Viva La Vida’. I would like to use a font in my digipak that is fitting with my chosen genre for my music video. This kind of font would probably be thinner and more subtle, something that’s slim and aesthetically pleasing to relax the viewer. • Something else I like about this digipak is the sky blue background colour that has been chosen as the background colour for each side of the digipak. As I have already discussed, I would like to keep my colour scheme consistent and in fitting with my chosen genre of reggae. However, I do not like that it is simply a block colour that has been used as the background, this is overly simplistic and therefore doesn’t really hint at the artist’s personality/star image which is something I would like to do within my digipak. The fact that there is only one image of Mur’s on this digipak adds to this idea that his star image is not being conveyed in this digipak. Additionally, as a colour that has been chosen to be part of the colour scheme is blue, it could be thought of as a predominantly male colour if it is connotated, I would not wish to incidentally aim my digipak at a specific gender. Although my audience will most likely be primarily female, I do not wish to rule out the opportunity to draw in a larger audience for the artist. • Furthermore, I feel that having graffiti over the top of the background layer of graffiti on the back of the digipak appears basic and not exciting. It makes the track-list less legible, thus disengaging the audience. Personally, I would have applied the same technique that was used on the front of the digipak and simply merge in the track-list with the background layer of graffiti, but in a different colour to make it stand out further.
- 11. BRYAN ADAMS – SO FAR SO GOOD • Having a consistent theme to the digipak throughout the digipak is something that is very intriguing for its audience. Here we can see the producer of this digipak has kept the theme of cars and tyres. This enforces the themes of this artist’s music through their representations. A tyre could symbolise being worn out/burning, this could be related to emotional troubles in a relationship. • Having the front of the digipak being kept simplistic, it adds to the sense of mystery the audience may have surrounding the subtle hints regarding the ambiguous artist. The quadrant that is present on the cover of this album portrays four different shots of the artist surrounding the vehicle. Although this does not present the artist with much of a star image on this digipak, it makes him seem more mysterious and thus hooks the audience this way. • The fact that a tyre is of a similar shape to a CD fits nicely with the idea of having this image cover the place where the CD goes. It satisfies OCD by matching the shapes up and generally creates an aesthetically pleasing idea for the audience. This is an idea that I would like to be able to use as inspiration for my own product so I can include the idea within my own digipak.
- 13. UB40 • The slim font that is used throughout this digipak seems to be in keeping with other digipaks from this genre. It acts as a representative symbol for the genre because it is subtle but aesthetically pleasing. This is similar to how reggae music is subtle but, according to a popular opinion, is relaxing to listen to. The spacing between each letter of the artist’s name, and each word of the track-list, is unique to this artist so it gives individuality to the band, and helps them to develop their unique style in their star image. • Keeping an extra space for text as opposed to laying the text over a less cluttered part of the image seems to be an effective aspect to this digipak. This is because it keeps the album basic and doesn’t add complications of legibility to it. However, this may actually be making the digipak too simple because the font is already slim and not overpowering, it could be considered as not eye catching enough to attract its audience. A way in which this could be improved would be to enlarge the image of the artist and overlay the text over this in an area where there is less going on in the image (so the colour contrast means it is still legible). • Interestingly, the eight band members (that are photographed on the back side of the digipak) aren’t present on the front of this digipak, instead they are replaced by the same amount of old fashioned portraits. It could be an interpretation that they are showing themselves as being electronic shamans and have powers that make them change appearance in time, this would be very innovative and different, but it is unclear to the audience in hindsight. This doesn’t develop any form of star image for the band and could be perceived as old fashioned by an audience. It is seemingly irrelevant to the audience, genre and the band’s star image. Hence, using a brand new image is not something I would like to include within my digipak. A symbol may be something I will consider including, similarly to how Ed Sheeran uses mathematical symbols for each of his albums. I would combine this symbol (perhaps by overlaying it and then using a double exposure effect) with another image though, otherwise the artist of my music video (a newcomer to the industry) may struggle to develop a star image and therefore not become readily recognised like they should want to be if they want to attract an audience.
- 15. PROTOJE – ANCIENT FUTURE • This digipak is the most effective in my eyes because it is able to both enforce the star image of the artist by hinting at their personality on the cover (with the image of him leaning against the car) and the consistency of the cool blue and dusty yellow colour scheme. The colour scheme also hints at the origins of the reggae genre, Jamaica, as yellow (the rocks in the background) and green (the colour of his clothing and the highlight over the artist’s name) are both colours that can be depicted from the Jamaican flag. This is the kind of effective combination that I will attempt to emulate within my own digipak. • The thin font that has been chosen enforces the genre of his album, reggae. I will pick a font for my digipak that will fit within its genre but also add a unique style to the album to give the artist his own star image. On top of this, having the artist remaining casual throughout the digipak, wherever he is photographed, develops iconography. • The subtle outline of a form of symbol that inscribed on each side of the digipak is something else I would like to add to my own digipak because it adds to the originality of the design and gives the audience a mystery to ponder over regarding its meaning. • The surround scene has also been used in this digipak in a vaguely different manner, this technique almost acts like a timeline because he’s outside of the car on one panel and then inside it on another. This gives the artist his own sense of style but does not offer any kind of insight into him or his personality. His costume covers his eyes and hence adds a sense of ambiguity to his star image and his statement glasses.