2. Jack Johnson – In Between Dreams
The front cover of the Jack Johnson
album, follows a theme commonly seen
within the Indie genre. The artist is not
featured on the front cover, instead artwork
is used which connotes that the artist is not
conforming to the mainstream style of
packaging. The simple sans serif text, and
image of a tree portray to the audience that
the main focus of the album is on the
music, rather than promoting the artist
through extravagant imagery. It creates a
simplistic vibe, with links to nature and the
outside world, which may be of interest to
the indie target audience.
By using yellow as the predominant colour
for this album, it connotes a sense of
happiness and relaxation. This portrays the
style of music that is likely to be found on the
album, which is common throughout the
majority of Jack Johnson’s previous work.
The blacked out image is a stark contrast to
the yellow background, this makes the image
stand out and be recognisable which is
commonly used for advertising purposes.
3. On the back of the album, the
same sans serif text is
used, with nothing other than
the song list on the cover. This
again connotes the idea of
simplicity in the album, and
that the artist and the record
label are not trying to promote
anything other than the artists
music with this album.
Once again, by using the stark
yellow background, this
promotes a sense of happiness
from the album, but also
enables the black text to
contrast. This makes the album
look very polished and
professional.
A simplistic image of the tree
stump carries on the theme
from the main image on the
front of the album, creating a
sense of continuity and brand
identity. This will often be
demanded by record
companies to ensure that their
artist is recognisable by certain
aspects of their album.
4. On the inside of the pack we see the only image of the artist. From what we can see the
artist is wearing causal clothing, and is not wearing any form of stage make-up. He is
slightly hidden, with the guitar being the forefront of the image. This continues the idea
of the album being more about the music, than the artist. This will also be an appealing
aspect to the indie genre, as they themselves are generally not interested in extravagant
clothing or make-up, this form of style used for the album, reflects the relaxed, casual
style of the target audience.
The colour scheme is very simplistic also, with neutral shades being used. This is
commonly seen through indie genres, as nature makes an appearance regularly as this
can be an interest for the target audience. By using a leaf as the main image for inside
the pack this continues with the theme from the front of nature and simplicity.
5. Muse – The Resistance
On the front cover of this
album, there is also no
photographic images of the band.
Instead illustrative images are used.
The image is rather confusing to
work out, and does not connote
much at first glance. So therefore, it
is perceived that the band is looking
for listeners to look deeper into the
meaning of the music. This along
the same lines of Jack Johnson, the
music is more important than
promoting the image of the band in
this case. This could also portray
the fact that the band are so well
established that they no longer
need to promote their image as a
band, they are able to use
alternative ways to illustrate their
album work.
The use of artwork on the front
cover will be appealing to the indie
target audience as the arts are often
a common interest for them.
6. The back cover of the image shows a
slightly blurred, greyscale image of the
band. They are not dressed in extravagant
show clothes, nor are they wearing any
stage make-up. This connotes the common
theme of the package not being centred
around the artist’s appearance. The
environment in which the band members
are in on this photograph, does not
represent high glamour as many artists do
in other genres such as R&B.
By using the multi-coloured text for the
track list, it immediately stands
out, drawing the viewers attention straight
to it. The sans serif font links in with the
casual clothes that the band are
wearing, and the atmosphere being given
off from the images, creating continuity
within the pack.
7. The theme from the back cover is continued through onto the middle of the digipak, by using the grey scale
images of the band members in run down areas. At first glance it is not clear what the message is from these
images, but the artistic angles of the shots, links in with the artistic vibe commonly promoted through the indie
genre. The images do not conform to mainstream ideas. For many digipaks/albums artists have a photo
shoot, with very staged make-up and outfits. However these images are snapshots of moments that the band
have been through, which conforms to the common theme within the indie genre, of little/no extravagance
within their work.
