3 Digipak AnalysisSinatra, Presley and Fitzgerald

Elvis Presley - Digipak

Ella Fitzgerald - Digipak

Frank Sinatra - Digipak

Key Conventions Each release has a common theme of presenting their artists in conjunction

with their most classic iconography and features images of them at the height of their success, recalling nostalgia for the audience, engaging them emotionally. Sinatra has his suit and trademark smile, Fitzgerald is before a microphone, bathed in the spotlight and Elvis wears his open-chest costume and the close-up focuses on his iconic expression.

Design elements such as colour palette are consistent throughout the various panels and they all adhere to the standard layout of a digipak.

There are also commonalities amongst the supplemental materials such as the inclusion of writings from or about the artist, to add that personalized touch that makes them more relatable to their fans. Both the Elvis and Fitzgerald releases include this element. Certain written touches emphasize this such as the Sinatra release being titled “The Real… Frank Sinatra”, making it seem like a more insightful and personal artefact for the audience, warranting the more deluxe pricing and release format. The images all have common threads such as costuming, location and the persona of the artist.

Establishing Genre Once again, iconography is key is establishing genre though,

overall, less emphasis is placed on conveying this since the artists are already synonymous with the genre and the marketing is deliberately targeting fans with a degree of knowledge about the artist. The genre is secondary to the personas being sold.

Certain elements (such as the iconography mentioned previously) are prominently featured and the use of sepia on the Elvis and Sinatra releases not only visually connects to the time period of their heyday but also renders them like statues, figures frozen in time to preserve their legacy, allowing the viewer to look at them with reverence and also reflect on their history, making for a very evocative set of images.

Target Audience The primary audience for these releases is

established fans so the focus is very much on hitting the well- known beats they expect while also creating more a bridge between them and their favourite artists. The images are generally in close-up (though Fitzgerald is shown in a medium shot, it positions the viewer in the audience, immersing them in the time and place of the height of her prowess), creating a sense of identification in combination with the recognizable icons they have a pre-existing affinity for.

Influence Over My Products

The primary take-away from this latest research task is that I need to personalise my product to connect my imaginary artist to their equally imaginary existing fan base. I need to balance my artist’s position as an icon (using classic iconographic elements and grand staging) with him as a person (being more voyeuristic and intimate), giving my audience a new perspective with which to see him. I will directly echo certain images (the close-up of Elvis, Fitzgerald at the mic, before the crowd) in order to capture that instantly identifiable, historic moment. The visual language used should subliminally create those points of reference for my audience and link my artist to real-life figures in music.