Digipak analysis pt. 1!
- 2. Drake- Take Care Unlike most albums, Drake doesn’t have his name on the cover, this connotes an already known fame, he no longer needs to introduce himself to the world, they already know who he is. The album cover clearly has a colour scheme/house style, it’s consistent in the use of Gold, bronze/brass and black., these colours connote something classic., the use of the rusty colors show something timeless, which is most likely what Drake wants audiences to feel when listening to his music, that it’s timeless., this idea is also given by the old looking pieces of art on the wall, as art is something timeless and music is considered an art, Drake has coined onto the never-ending, ‘never growing up’ idea that many artists cling onto. The main image is a medium close up of Drake looking into his cup, his avoidance of eye contact into the camera gives a sense of vulnerability, he is captured sitting down, this coupled with the fact that his head is down implies that she’s thinking about something, the album name being ‘take care’ suggest a new approach to rap, a more soft and caring side. Drakes outfit is very simple, a plain black shirt with 4 gold chains, this is him subtly showing his wealth and possibility humility (by the lack of showcasing it to the camera and non direct eye contact) Front cover The typography used is consistent throughout the album, the title ‘Take Care’ stands out for it’s simplicity, it’s consistent with the minimalistic image, props and background used, this could represent Drake as in the rap world he is seen as a soft person however is still seen as a classic, the ‘take care’ font, is bold and italic so it stands out yet represents something of a higher class. The album cover allows the audience to focus on the visuals of the artist, which is consistent with the ideas being held by the rap genre, that the center of attention is the rap artist. This album cover also allows for the appeal of a new audience, Drakes audience is typically 16-25 year olds, however the colours, simplicity and visual matureness of drake (the abundance of chains, the expensive props and physical characteristics such as his beard) open up his target audience to an older audience. This visual matureness correlates with the colour scheme, as he is quite young , the visual maturity of drake portrays something timeless, as he is young yet stuck in something quite old. The simplicity of this album cover is commonly seen with Drakes album, this allows him to create an obvious style which can be easily identified and recognised by those in drakes target audience and outside.
- 3. The pictures inside of the digipak follow the colour schemes and the connotations of Drakes wealth. The images used in the digipak (this specifically) juxtapose the album name (take care) this is evident by him to be seen smoking a cigar, this doesn't’t follow the name of the album ‘take care’ as evidently he is not taking care of himself by risking his health care. The simplicity of the mainly black filling makes Drakes name and album name more prominent following the theme of simplicity which however is not followed through by his actual music which is a mixture of complex beats along with mundane melodies. The fact that Drakes name is just on the CD opposed to the front cover suggests that although Drake doesn't’t necessarily need to advertise himself, he still feels it’s necessary to somewhat identify his brand. Colour scheme As previously mentioned, the colour scheme features gold's, bronzes and black. These simple colours connote wealth, the minimalism of the colour scheme conveys something classic and simple. This picture also shows him looking away from the camera like the album cover, the background of the picture is the corner of a frame with some statues which is consistent with the album cover, and the theme of timelessness. A close up is used in this picture making the audience feel somewhat closer to drake and invading his personal space, the quality of the picture represents a something homely, like the image was taken at home in the spur of the moment with friends, making the audience feel like they have a personal connection /relationship with Drake
- 4. The back of the album is simple and only features the album track listing, executive produces, producers and the music companies that are affiliated with drake. The text used is a very simple sans serif font The side panels show the album title and artist name which is consistent to the front cover in regards to colour. The back is very simple which is evidently consistent with the album in general. It has a barcode, company acknowledgement and Back cover
- 5. One Direction- Take Me Home The main image is the group playing on a phone box, this represents the group as playful and carefree which is the idea the group wants to give, that they’re young and free, this correlates with the genre of music that they put out- pop, just the name in itself ‘pop’ connotes something vibrant and quite childish, as the group are quite young it’s natural that they would be portrayed as childish. (which is evident by them using the phone box as a climbing frame). The name of the band is boldly shown on the album cover with their band logo placed in the corner of the album, the album name is subtly placed underneath the band name, this is probably as it’s their first album and they want to promote themselves, it’s more essential that people know who they are rather than their album name, this also evident by the band logo ‘1D’ being at the corner so whenever someone see’s it they automatically associate it with the group. The album cover has a clear theme, everything British. As they are a British band the classic telephone box is a representation of Britain, the chaos that the band members are causing in front of the clear sunny British skies not only shows the band as mischievous and playful but represent Britain as youthful and slightly chaotic In the front cover the group members look very young, this is in order to attract a younger audience, a younger audience being 11-18 year olds, the simplicity of the album logo is easy to replicate so the younger audience can easily draw the album logo, this essentially means more advertisements as the more the logo is shown the more attention it will get. The album cover definitely follow the conventions of pop, as pop is catchy happy music the easily replicable band logo is easily remembered, thus catchy and the fact that the band members are being seen to have fun by climbing and smiling/laughing, thus happy. The album cover however does not have a clear color scheme however the bright colors do allow for it to attract to their target audience.
- 6. Back cover and track listing The cd is very simplistic,. Following the bands key colour of red and having a newspaper like strip whereby they’re heading plays along with their desire for stardom and all things British. The ‘1D’ logo is displayed twice on the cd, this shows their desire to make themselves a brand, this constant placement of the bands logo plays along with Richard Dyers star theory that 'pop stars' have a lasting significance, they have 'brand awareness' and are constructed, artificial images. This is evident by the boy group whom were constructed by the Xfactor to become pop stars The inside panels are pictures of the boy band posed and perfected to look like the ideal pop star, they’re all smiling/being shown to have a good time and once again the bands logo is seen on the image. The inside cover has childlike drawings in it, this could be to appeal to a younger audience or to simply highlight the fact that the boys are young which's follows the theme of the front cover; the band is young and playful. The back of the album where the track listing is placed is again quite bold, colourful and child-like the drawing of the starts highlights this. The listen is set out on note like form with font that looks hand writing, it doesn’t have red anywhere on, so it has diverted from the colour scheme, however it is very attractive to their young target audience as once again the drawings are easily replicable.