Research into Digipaks and adverts for Digipaks

Research into Digipaks

Digipaks are often used as substitutes for CD cases for, in many cases, special edition copies of albums or singles. Digipaks are made from different material to normal CD cases and, as such, are a lot rarer.

Digipaks fold out in to either four or six panels which may increase their cost. Because of the increase in cost Digipaks aren’t used anywhere near as much as CDs and they are a lot harder to market. However, some bands utilise them for purposes such as a special album or as a marketing tool. A limited edition run of digipaks may sell incredibly quickly compared to normal CD packaging.

The digipak for the album ‘The Place We Ran From’ folds out in to four panels and lyrics are included within the packaging. The front cover is only a part of the whole photo which is a very interesting style and, although only one disc is in the Digipak, the extra space still works well. The example of the six-panelled one above highlights how useful they can be when extra discs are used and this special acoustic set of Oasis songs is mirrored by the unique packaging.

The 'drawn-on' font is very reminiscent of country and indie music. This gritty nature and dark, naturalistic colours also represents the mishmash of genres very well. The dark brown, yellows and the worn out look gives the album cover and digipak a real sense of character and, as it's a unique choice, it may help it stand out on the shelves to its prospective audience.

The packaging for Rihanna’s album ‘Loud’ is influenced by her artistic tastes. The wider shot of the woman draped over the inside of the album is a complete opposite to the title. I think this works better than the other Digipak I analysed due to there being a more obvious reason for the Digipak (2 discs, special artwork) so it certainly makes the Digipak feel more special.

Because this is a pop song special attention has gone in to the design. Bright, garish colours are the norm in pop videos and there isn't anything different here. Although the picture isn't too clear the font is very minimalistic and washed out. This lack of colour looks very good on the clear, crisp red and it also has to be taken in to account that red is a connotation for love and Rihanna is often associated with the colour red.

When I create my own Digipak I should take in to account that Digipaks normally use more than one disc so I should plump for a 4-disc panel with lyrics possibly on the reverse of the cover. A colour scheme must be striking throughout and the design should probably be minimalistic, judging by the two covers.

Research into Digipak Adverts:

Digipak advert analysis:

Digipaks, as has been mentioned, are special versions of CDs so their adverts need to match this in scope and scale as well as design. The first digipak advert I am going to look at is the advert for the single Loud by Rihanna:

Because this single is part of the pop genre then it is a necessity that bright colours help the advert jump off of the page but one could delve deeper and use Laura Mulvey’sGaze Theory to suggest this is a very male-driven advert with Rihanna being draped in red- obviously a connotation for love and lust. The R in the top corner is an example of brand identification, Rihanna’s brand is now bigger than ever and having something as simple as that on a poster helps fans identify it. The choice of image may sell records on its own which is an incredibly deceptive, yet effective, form of advertisement.

The picture dominating two-thirds of the advert is also a clever move but the minimalistic font helps because it is an opposite to the outlandish top half and the choice of wording (i.e. ‘highly anticipated) puts thoughts in the reader’s head that, without any form of prior knowledge, it is still going to be a good song or successful.

Overall, I think this is a perfect example of an advert for a digipak. The singer is shown clearly on the poster and the phrase sex sells certain springs to mind when looking at it so it is clearly a good advert. The composition is also well laid out with the font and text being clear enough but not diverting attention away from the ‘brand’ as it were.

It has to be taken in to account that this isn’t a professionally-designed advertisement but it is still very effective in both its idea and execution. The ‘windows’ theme is very cleverly designed and, once again, the singer is shown clearly dressed in what would clearly be identified as someone from the ‘indie’ genre. The grid layout works fantastically well though there are a few issues I have with the advert.

The bottom left-hand corner uses pictures that aren’t of a high quality when compared to the rest of the advert which is a shame and the font isn’t clear enough. The black, whilst it may be a hallmark of the indie genre, certainly doesn’t work on this rather vibrant piece. I do, however, like the quote from NME as it adds a degree of authenticity to the advert, as does the tour dates although it is unlikely that they would feature on an advert for a single. Other than that everything you would expect from an advert is here.

The layout would be my favourite part of the advert as it is a very clever idea although you could argue it doesn’t look like something from the indie genre as it has more of a country vibe with the setting of the picture. Overall, for a student-made advert, I think it is a very good piece with a lot of clever ideas that advertises the single well and includes several conventions from the indie genre.