Ancillary Task 1: Analysis of digipaks

 For our first ancillary task, we will design a digipak that will contain the artist's CD. I have analysed a few examples of existing digipaks from different artists, so that we can bear in mind the codes and conventions that will need to be considered when designing our own.

What is a Digipak?

 A digipak is a type of CD case, which includes a plastic CD tray glued inside a cardboard cover. Some digipaks can include the artists CD along with a DVD of the music videos from that album/tours from that album etc.

The first digipak is for Katy Perry's album "Teenage Dream". The design of the album definitely reflects the genre of pop because it's bright and colourful which is a common feature of most pop album covers because these are the colours that appeal to the target audience. It also reflects Katy Perry as an artist, as the album is fun and quirky, which is something that she represents through her songs and costumes. There is also a strong link between the design of this digipak and with her music video, 'California Gurls.' This makes it instantly recognisable as an album by Katy Perry and as an album that will contain that song. It also represents the theme of the whole album, as it's titled 'Teenage Dream' the 'candlyland' theme (i.e. clouds that's candyfloss and CD that looks like a sweet) show this dream-like world which all Teenagers would love to have. Katy Perry's image is very fun and out there, however, on this digipak she doesn't wear any costume, but still her image appeals to both genders. Females because they want to 'be her' and to a male audience because of how she dresses (e.g. limited clothes). The photographs are all of Katy Perry showing the audience who the album is by and making her the main focus because she's a solo artist. The cinematography is used effectivly as all the pictures are all direct address as she's looking straight into the camera, helping her to engage with the audience, especially with the close-up shots. The back of the digipak has a title menu of all the songs, this is helpful as people who may consider buying the product will want to know what they are buying; if there is a particular song they like, they are more likely to want to purchase the CD, as opposed to buying a CD of songs they don't know. The whole design of the digipak is visually very attractive and eyecatching and is more likely to stand out on a shelf because of the mise-en-scene used. The colours are bright and attractive, the images of Katy Perry are either a close-up or a medium shot and the whole theme used on the cover all appeal to her target audience- which are young children to teenagers- and represent the Pop genre.
 
The second digipak I have chosen to analyse is an album by The Arctic Monkeys. I have chosen this one as the genre is quite similar to ours. It may not stand out as much as the one by Katy Perry for example, but this is quite typical for indie-rock bands. Also, unlike Katy Perry, the Arctic Monkeys aren't a mainstream band so they're only appealing to a niche audience (their fans). So for people that are fans of the genre, they are more likely to be drawn to a digipak like this, rather than Katy Perry's. Like the Katy Perry album, the look of the digipak compliments the genre of the band. It's not colourful or overally staged, which is a common feature of indie bands, and on one part of the digipak it doesn't even have an image of the band. However, it still manages to show the typical representation of the Arctic Monkeys, which is that they have quite a rock'n'roll, grunge image. It uses dark, neutral grunge colours, with a very simple design. Like the Katy Perry digipak, this design has images of band, that suits their style and representation as a band. The cinematography used on this album cover, shows the band looking disinterrested in a long shot. They're not addressing the audience, unlike the Katy Perry images. Again, this is a typical feature of indie bands as they're shown to be much more down-to-earth and casual. This design also has a cardboard looking cover which works for the bands' gritty, indie and casual image. The digipak also has the font/logo that is used for all promotional work for The Arctic Monkeys, making instantly recognisable and familiar to the audience and keeps their brand as a band constant.

Another digipak we have chosen to analyse to Lady Gaga's "The Fame Monster". This was released with features from her first and second album.

The front image is the cover for her first album and the back image is from her second album, this informs the audience that this is a combination of the two CD's. Lady Gaga's music fits into a variety of genres such as Pop, Dance and Electronic. She also is know for her own fashions and her extreme, exaggerated styles. As you can see her fashion is portrayed in her digipak as the middle image is an image of her wearing an over-the-top head dress. When you open the digipak there is a booklet full of images of the artist, this sells to people, as her fans would like to have images and posters of her. The style of her digipak is quite dull as she has stuck to the dark colours, this reflect the title of the digipak as it is called 'Fame Monster'. However, this is quite unusual for an Pop album because usually the colours of a pop album are bright and attractive. The 'Monster' part suggest the dark theme. Also the text on the CD's reflect the dark style as the 'T's' are in the shape of an extended cross which, in the way she uses it, can be seen as quite dark.

 Typical elements of a digpak consist of the front panel usually being an image of the artist/band and the back panel usually a list of the songs on the CD. The inside panels are usually more images of the artist/band in images linked to the theme of the album, these allow the consumer to kind of connect with the album and gives a clear link to what the album/main song is about, Reflecting on our analysis of existing digipaks, there are a few points that we would need to consider when designing our own. Firstly, we need to think about the image and representation that our artist/band already has, and that this will  need to be reflected on our design, by use of images, colour, fonts and layout.
The digipak will also have to include photographs of the band/artist, most likely more than one- maybe 3 or 4, as a digipak has more pages than a standard CD/album so there will need to be more content to fill it. The photographs will have to typical of the band's image, considering costume/props/colours/location. It would also be a good idea to have a close-up to help the audience engage with the artist.
The back of the digipak should have a title list with all the songs that are included in the album, so that people are aware of what they're buying and whether or not they will like it.