Digipack analysis Phoebe Williams

Madeon

Adventure

English Rain

Birdy

Fire within

Gabrielle Aplin

Gabrielle Aplin- English rain deluxe edition

Digipack analysis Phoebe Williams

English rain deluxe edition

I am going to look at the deluxe edition of the digipak for Gabrielle Aplins English rain album as this is the edition she produced in the digipak format. The colours used on the digipak are what you would consider bright colours that have been toned down creating a dull effect. This reflects the album name of English rain as it represents the a cloudy sky on a grey rainy day making everything look dull. Furthermore by having the photo location as an English field it further adds to the album title.A feminine feel is created in the package through the splash of pastel colours on significant points of the digipak it also contrasts with the naturalistic grey white and black background, making the brighter colours connote happiness and fun juxtaposing what you initially think of a rainy English day. Continuation of the same colours across the whole digipak creates a peaceful calming feel reflecting her style of music but also links the whole album together, this is something that I really like and am considering for my own digipak. Having just the artist and umbrella in colour, really helps to grab the viewers attention as it focuses your attention to the center. By having the paint pallet style on the umbrella it further grabs the viewers attention because there's more than one colour making the cover more interesting as there's more to look at. In addition having the umbrella in color helps to once again link the album name to the imagery on the digipak as otherwise the audience may just simply overlook the connection of the umbrella being used on a rainy day and just see it as prop.

Deluxe album track listing

The image of the artist is un conventional of album covers as by having a along shot of the artist it is harder to recognise who it is this therefore takes away one of the biggest selling points for the album as the artist along with their name on the cover tends to grab the viewer to buy it. This is especially un conventional for this album as it was Gabrielle Aplins first album that made in the charts therefore you would think that she would want to be recognised to help promote herself. On the other hand she may want her music to be the way that she is recognied and therefore has gone for an indie style cover to reflect her music genre. As for the way the artist is represented she is given a very innocent look with the way she is up on the balls of her feet looking over her shoulder on the cover photo. This helps to reflect the artist personality and style of music by giving her a sweet look that goes with typical young indie folk artists.

Gabrielle Aplin- English rain deluxe edition continued

English rain standard edition

Digipack analysis Phoebe Williams

The power of love single cover

Panic cord single cover

Please don’t say you love me single cover

By taking on the simplistic creative look for the digipak it is conventional to the indie genre but also makes the audience focus on the album title especially as it is central to the cover and bold against the white background. The font used also matches the style of the artists music of indie folk as it takes on the look of a vintage type writer which Brings across the vintage style she includes in her music and music videos. Furthermore having it the middle of the cover is very conventional as this is the area of which the eye naturally looks first. Femininity is once again bought across on the digipak through the hand written style font for the album name and track listing. The use of this also gives the sense of the album having a more personal touch from the artist as she has hand wrote both this and her signature on the digipak booklet. I like the idea of the signature of the artist on the digipak booklet as it helps to connect the artist with her fans and makes it more personal. This font is also in italics connoting importance and emphasises the album name. Gabrielle Aplins name and album title fonts are carried over to her single CD covers, as shown in the images at the bottom of this slide, which creates an iconic style for the artist helping people to recognise that is a Gabrielle Aplin song just through the fonts used together. Furthermore each cover that she has produced is of her at an outside location making her image look very down to earth and reflect her English background.

Within the digipak there are two disks one with the standard tracks on then the other with the deluxe bonus tracks. These are slid into the two ends of the digipack with the booklet also being slid into one of the ends. The way that the design of the digipak is done allows for a continuous panorama type image to be used across all three panels. This is very effective for this digipak as is allows for the shadows of the balloons be seen across the digipak whereas you wouldn’t get this creativity if the picture was cropped into being just on one panel.

The artwork of the disks have been very cleverly designed as both the umbrella and balloons are round mimicking the round shape of the Disk its self. The colours are also the same pastel colours on the rest of the digipak also the props are the same creating continuality across the whole product. The way the tracks circle the parameter of the disk is very conventional as it is a good way of adding on the information without it being too prominent to the design and taking way the effect.

As for the back of the digipak on the middle panel track listing section has the continued front cover image with the barcode record label and the album artwork designers all within the grassland section of the image making it look neat due to being aliened and section off into the darker grey area.It is a typical indie convention for the album to have easy listening with numbers next to them as the songs tend to flow into each other and create story line across the album duration. This is why this album has track numbers next to each song.

Digipack analysis Phoebe Williams

Madeon – Adventure deluxe edition

I really like this digipack due to the extra sleeve it includes which adds to the design of the product. To the right is an image of the Madeon adventure deluxe edition digipak as you would see it on the shop stand. Here it has the extra sleeve on with a cut out of the artist logo, this is very creative as it allows for the lyric booklet cover behind it to show through. As for the image it was very cleverly though out as it takes forward the triangle design with the mountainous area also including natural triangular shapes. By having the sleeve it creates a very simplistic design as opposed to the more busy album cover. Therefore through having the sleeve it attracts people to look at the album due to its unique creative design but also helps people to realise that it is the deluxe version of the album. Because of the simplicity of the sleeve it doesn’t include the artist or album name therefore a sticker has been applied over the top of the cellophane wrapper which includes the artists logo name and then the name of the album underneath, as well as a few tracks on the album to help promote it. Including a sticker is something I would use if I decide to create and extra sleeve as I feel it is a great way of temporarily getting the necessary information across to the viewer but still looking simplistic.

The colours used on the cover create a very cool feel. This reflects the image on the cover of the outside mountainous region and morning sunrise as being outdoors in the morning is often seen as being very fresh and cold. These colours work very well together making a gradual change from the bottom to the top of the cover with a faded/ dissolved blend reflecting what a sun rise would do to a morning sky but with an added effect applied in order to create a more dramatic look. Instead of the colours contrasting against each other alternatively they compliment each other and the digipak as a whole through creating a nice relaxing and peaceful feel created with the continuation of the cool colour scheme. The Madeon logo name has been positioned to be on one of the darkest parts of the cover in order for the writing to stand out it isn’t however a pure brilliant white colour used on the writing but instead a more cream colour to match the sunset coming over the horizon.

The second track to the album adventure “You're On” with the

mountain in the center and water in the foreground represents being far from the desert and even perhaps in the city to show the escaping from the city to reach the desert which he was trying to capture through his

artwork.

“Pay No Mind” the fifth track on the album, shows the first step into the desert showing a setting sun through a canyon as though you’ve just reached the desert

island from the sea.

Finally the seventh track “Imperium” is represented as though they have made their way into the desert with a cantered red dune being featured on the cover. You can also see the

monument which is seen on the Adventure album cover in the

background of this cover suggesting that have nearly made it to the

centre of the desert.

Madeon – Singles to songs on the Adventure album

The artist designed all artwork himself, trying to capture ‘escaping a city to reach the desert’ this is why the Album name in Adventure and

the single covers he released for the songs which are also on the album are all showing progression of moving into the desert.

Each of these covers,as well as the Adventure album, contain hidden cryptic messages created by the artist which are decoded by the

Madeon alphabet to reveal what they say. This added feature creates a way of involving the buyer and

making it more than just a digipak to store the CDs.

Digipack analysis Phoebe Williams

Digipack analysis Phoebe Williams

Madeon – Adventure deluxe edition Continued

The colours continue across the digipak on all panels with the inside taking the purple brown, one of the darkest from the front cover, to create a more dark moody feel to the album. I have noticed all of the colours are uni sex with the blue shades and pinkish purples making a good balance in colours which will draw in both genders when viewing the album. The inside of the digipak is the plain purplish colour I personally don’t like this as id prefer my digipak to be creative to fit with the indie genre. I do however feel this design suits this digipak as due to the cover being busy in might start to look messy if the whole digipak took on that style.

Lots of symmetry is used in the digipak especially on the front cover. First of all the clouds are of similar shapes on either side of the artist stage name. This makes the album look equal and more aesthetically pleasing bringing order to the busy cover. The triangular and diamond logo is also symmetrical however I think the whole cover was based around this logo especially as the cover sleeve just has the logo on it. Lastly the mountains show symmetry with the way they decline is height the closer to the they get. This is also a clever way of drawing the eye into the middle of the album as otherwise the two people might

The disk to this digipak takes the same mountainous image from the album cover creating a continuous feel to the whole product Madeons unique cryptic language then loops the perimeter of the disk with a distinct line separating it from the record label and legal information. This separated information has also been placed in a circular manner however stops directly opposite where it starts right in the middle of the disk. I really like how the text loops the disk especially with the thin font as it doesn’t draw away the focus of the disk artwork.

have been overlooked which concludes the aim that the artist was trying to capture with escaping a city to reach the desert which I previously mentioned on the slide before.

As for the back of the digipak on the track listing panel all of the tracks, legal information, barcode and record label companies are positioned central to the square similarly to the Gabrielle Aplin track list. Moreover even the legal information has been sectioned off at the bottom part of the panel in the darker section just like the English rain digipak. This seems to be a reoccurring aspect to music albums therefore I will consider it for my own digipak.

Finally on the digipak track listing panel the image has been blurred with a diamond style pixelating effect. This again reflecting the mountain shapes and artist logo. The effect also has the impact of focusing the eye on the list rather than the background.

Madeon – logo possibilities for album covers

By having a logo is supplies endless possibilities of how you can incorporate it into the album artwork.

This is something I will look into creating as it also helps people to identify the artist or band with the iconic logo they create.

These album artwork pieces created by fans have inspired me to create a simple but memorable Logo which I can then use within the digipak I create.

Digipack analysis Phoebe Williams

Birdy – Fire Within

The image used of birdy on the front cover is a very casual look giving the impression, as a viewer, that she is a very down to earth artist. This mise en scene also reflects her music style as the lyrics used in the her songs are relatable to all people. For example the topic of the song skinny love could be seen as a kind of love that's easily broken and the song 1901 about two people who are aware that their relationship isn't working. Both of these song examples therefore relatable by everybody, explaining why she has chosen to style herself very casually with the outcome of not looking like the typical successful artist but instead an everyday person.

The focal picture with the blurred background helps to aim the attention on the artist. This is also helped by image being a close up of the artist positioned central to the cover as it there is no way around over looking the artist. The fact that there is direct eye contact between the viewer and the artist helps to grab the attention of the viewer as they will be drawn in with the artists gaze.

This cover design is unconventional in the way it has small lettering for both the artist and album name which are then positioned in the corners of the cover. This design thus defeating the usual purpose of grabbing the attention of the viewer but instead can be easily overlooked and ignored. It however is creative and reflects the indie pop/ folk genre.

The Sepia effect used throughout the product gives a vintage look also presented through the mise en scene clothing which birdy tends to style herself with. By creating the sepia effect on the images it has added to the idea of the images being old photos taken on a grainy washed out camera. I like the way it adds depth to the

A very plain background has been used for the track listing panel of the digipak with the tracks listed centrally. The reason that these two elements have been chosen is to focus the viewer on the music rather than the artist. This is conventional to indie genre albums as they tend to focus the promotion on the music through unique or simple designs rather than the artist/ image. .

Although being very natural looking and not dressing in a sexualised/ romantic way the male gaze theory is present in the facial expression of the artist with great focus on her mouth, in the way it is pouted and creating a slight smile creates an invitational look part of Marjorie ferguson’s facial expression theory. This however may be the most suitable expression to have as her music has a sad and subtle dark edge therefore a smile wouldn’t be accurate in the promotion of her music. Furthermore the eye make up makes her appear slightly troubled fitting well with the majority of her songs being about past experiences.

I like the idea of having the album name artist name and record label companies featured on the spine of the digipack as usually they are lined up on a shelf after being purchased and therefore this is the only part of the album you would see therefore it would e a good idea to have the information stated on the spine.

Unconventionally the barcode has been placed sideways on the edge of the back panel. Having it placed in this position goes against the neat central order which the rest of the information on the panel is laid out with. Some reasons this might have been done are to easily see where the barcode is and separating it from the other information.

Birdy – Fire Within digipak continued

Digipack analysis Phoebe Williams

I really like the contrast on the disk and digipak booklet with the disk being black with a thin white line and the booklet being white with a thin black line. This contrast in what are seen to be opposing colours is very effective but also continues the simplistic style of the product.

First and foremost I am very drawn to the idea of having a panoramic type image placed across the entire inside of the digipak however I would have my disk tray in the centre panel in order to make my product a traditional digipak style. I would have to keep a constant colour scheme like this example so that the entire package had a continuation flow and linked it all together. The way this image is softened with the blur across all the images creates a peaceful feel especially with the colours being very light and pure. Having a square image for the back panel which flips inwards is effective and is something I am considering to include for my digipak either by having an image of the whole band together in one square photo or by having each individual portrait photo with the artists name or band name underneath to create a more unique and indie feel to the product. An example is shown below.

Left inside panel and back side panel flipped inwards.

Front cover flipped inwards and inside right panel.

Middle image of inside panels/ panoramic photograph design.

Birdy – Fire Within digipak booklet

Digipack analysis Phoebe Williams

I have been inspired by the fire within booklet which comes with the digipak. It includes the song lyrics and accreditation to people involved but is designed in a stylish manner. It follows a simplistic design with the cover of the booklet being just the artists logo name and album title, while in the center of a thin lined box. This is a very effective design which reflects the simplicity of the whole digipak. By having a simplistic cover different to the album cover I feel it drawn the viewer into looking in the booklet. The colours are again continued into the booklet, these being the cream/ off whites with darker tones in the writing and photos as shown in the picture I took to the right.

The pictures vary in how they are presented on the square booklet pages. The majority take up a whole square side whereas other have large white borders and the middle booklet pages presenting an image across two booklet panels. I prefer the layout of the top image with birdy folding her arms as it looks neat with the image taking up the whole square panel. However I do like the idea of using an image across 2 panels when it comes to the center of the booklet. Alternatively I could place a removable poster here to make my booklet that little bit more unique and further fitting the indie genre.

All of the photos include the artist therefore if I was to create a booklet I would include the band members in the photos either as a group or on their own. The images also have an effect applied to them creating a vintage/ old photo look creating a more interesting booklet which also matches her vintage style dress sense.

As for the writing in the booklet each new song has the name at the top and then the lyrics directly underneath. I really like this simple layout as it creates a calm feel similar to the feeling her music has on people.