A digipak (or digital package) comprises the artwork for CD/DVD plastic case. The digipack is used to appeal the target audience enticing them to purchase the music.
I visted www.allcdcovers.com and analysed two digipak covers in order to help me plan and design the cover for my chosen Acrtic Monkey’s song ‘Bigger Boys and Stolen Sweethearts’ released off the album ‘I bet you look good on the Dance floor’
Kooks
Front:
Back:
CD:
Analysis
The front and rear cover feature a black and white image of the band rehearsing in a room with white walls. The connotation of the black and white colour scheme is simplicity and starkness, which is feature of the bands sound. The fourth member of the band featured in both images has reflection in the mirror on the wall making the shot interesting. The image on the front cover is in sharp focus while the shot of the rear side is slightly blurred. The band are concentrating on playing their instruments apparently oblivious to the camera. They are wearing casual clothing; T-shirts, jeans, hoodies (typical of their target audience). The title of the album is coloured red. Using a bright colour like red highlights the CD when stacked amongst others on a self. Track listings are in the top left hand corner of the rear cover and the bar code shown on the other side. To create consistency the same three colours decorate the CD.
Arctic Monkeys
Front:
The cover features a house at night. The lights are on illuminating funky psychedelic decoration. The title is coated in an off gold colour and it uses an Artic Monkeys trademark funky font. The house is ordinary connecting with the target audience. The Arctic Monkeys use gritty, witty and very graphic language in their songs, the type was language used by teenagers on council estates. The CD /DVD is printed in black and gold.
Back:
The rear image contains black and gold. There is a strong link between the CD/DVD digipack artwork and the title of the album ‘favourite worst nightmare’. The connotations of a black border round around the face on the CD is dripping blood with ties up with the nightmare theme.
Inside image:
The inside image is similar to the front cover however the decoration is more prominent. The connotation behind night time and psychedelic images is mind manifesting nightmares.
CD:
Flatplans
I produced three flats plans outlining ideas using conventions I learnt from analysing digipaks. In each of the flat plans the front cover is located in the top left, rear cover top right, inside cover bottom left and finally the CD bottom right.
A striking yellow font is used to contrast the blue and pink background thus differentiating itself from other CD’s on the shelf. The character found at the bottom left is the lead singer of Arctic Monkeys associating the band visually with the promotional pack. There is a broken heart over half the CD, the connotation behind this is lost love as seen in the music video and written in the lyrics of the song. The heart is red symbolising danger and love.
I experimented using greyscale to create my second flat plan. Black and white symbolises simplicity creating the ‘back to basics’ theme. The front cover consists of the three band members for easy recognition. A shot from the music video will be used for the inside image. The rear is the final place I expect the customer to look, an abandoned instrument signify that the shows over.
My final flat plan attempts to connect with the bands psychedelic roots. I have used contrasting colours to grab attention. The same colours can be seen throughout. A profile shot has been used for the inside image. I rejected this version as there is little connection to the music video and song.
Completed Digipak
Evaluation
During the production of my digipak I learnt a host of valuable skills. It was key to draw up a flat plan for the digipak in order to achieve my representation of the song and the band, that being my portrayal. This involved designing four panes including, front, rear, inside and CD on one page. In doing this task I applied my knowledge of semiotics (study of sings) and colour schemes to evoke different connotations and meanings. The digipak needed to appeal to my target audience and had to stand out in the music shops. I adopted the same font for the name of the band as this is essentially their brand and easily recognizable to their fan base. The flat plans enable me to overview the whole design process ensuring that the fonts, and colour scheme were consistent and importantly that their was a connection between each part of the digipak artwork to create an integrated .product. The flat plans saved time and money cutting down on visits to various locations and rejected footage.
I refreshed my digital photography skills paying particular attention to lighting, the mise en scene such as clothing / location and different types of camera shorts.
Adobe photoshop was used to produce my final product. This software offers a wide array of design options making the task of production easier and faster. I was able to cut and paste my images so move them about without fuss, cut and crop to improve the composition by removing unwanted bits and focusing on key areas. The software offered the chance to touch up areas to enhance the image and also the opportunity to experiment with different levels of brightness. I was also able to add different layers and special effects to make the design more interesting.
Digipack Questionnaire
I asked friends for feedback through Facebook:
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