The document provides an in-depth analysis of the album artwork, layout, color scheme, images and text used in the Arctic Monkeys' "AM" album digipack. It analyzes how the black and white color scheme and toned-down, simplistic images create a classy, mysterious atmosphere fitting the band's classic rock genre. The front cover images of the suited band members looking away from the camera further this serious, self-reliant image. Frequency lines used on the front cover and CD cleverly reference the album title "AM". Overall, the organized layout and focus on music over distracting elements encourages the audience to focus on the music.

1. Colour scheme- This Arctic Monkeys digipack lacks colour.
It is made up from black and white images as well as a
black background with white texts or shapes. Due to this
the album cover as well as inside and back cover look
classier. This can be said to signify the ‘classic rock’ genre
that the bands music falls under. This is their 5th album and
typically from the studio albums released before (shown on
the right), their album artwork and colour scheme isn’t
bright or colourful but toned down and simplistic with only
one (picture or text) dominating the design.
Main Images- All four members of Arctic
Monkeys are in this image. They’re wearing
suits that make them look smart and classy.
This corresponds well with the organised
layout of the album as well as the classy use of
the black and white colour scheme. In
addition, none of the men are looking directly
into the camera lens creating a mysterious
atmosphere. Their facial expressions lack
emotion and therefore highlight the
stereotype of a dominant, self-relying man.
This idea can be further supported with the
use of shadows which adds to the serious and
almost ‘ominous’ atmosphere. For the front
cover as well as CD design, they have used
frequency lines which has been described as a
‘characteristic of an amplitude modulated
(AM) signal’ which is a technique used for
electronic communication. This is a clever idea
since the title of this 5th studio album is ‘AM’
allowing the audience to decide if that stands
for ‘Arctic Monkeys’ or ‘Amplitude
Modulation’. Once again, the uncertainty and
lack of a definite answer empathies the
mystery.
CD- The CD follows the same pattern as
illustrated on the front cover of the
album/digipack. This promotes
continuity and allows the audience to
feel familiar with the music when
listening to it. Keeping the CD artwork
simple allows the audience to focus on
the music instead of being distracted by
the CD itself. Focusing on the music can
be seen as a repeating feature here.
Layout- The layout of the digipack is very
organised. The spacing is equal making the
digipack not look crowded and
overwhelming. The ratio of images to text is
not equal since the only text featured in the
digipack is located on the back cover. This
isn't an uncommon feature for Arctic
Monkeys. The white lines used for the wave
make up for the lack of text used.
Text/Fonts- The only text available on the
whole digipack is the back cover where the
name of the band ‘Arctic Monkeys’ is
displayed along with the track list of the
album. The band name text increases in size
giving off the impression similar to the sound
logo (shown below) as the sound waves
increase. In addition, the letters curve up
suggesting that this was done intentionally to
fit in with the waves (shown below) that are
featured on the CD and front cover. All of this
relates back to music.
The font of the band name is wavy and
irregular which contrasts with the simplistic
and organised lay out of all the other images
and shapes on the digipack. This shows that
the nature of the band isn’t strict. The font
used for the track list is a simple, sans-serif
font that can be recognised by anyone as it is
commonly used digitally. Once again, this
follows the simplicity and familiarity of the
whole digipack.

2. Colour scheme- The colours used for the ‘Blur’ digipack are very
bright and bold. They are a continuing feature used in the digipack
as you can find them on the front and back cover of the album as
well as on the inner part of the CD. The four bright, main colours
used are- yellow, blue, green and pink, accompanied by a white
‘filing’ colour for text. The bright colours most probably have the
intention to attract the audience when looking at the album. In
addition, since colours are featured on the front cover and help
determine the difference between each of the members of the
band. It is clearly meant for the colours to clash. They even out
their boldness by using white as the font of the writing. The back
cover is similar. The band went against using the four colours
usually associated as the ‘main’ colours- blue, green, yellow and
red. Instead they replaces red with pink.
Layout- Although the digipack
gives off a very busy atmosphere
due to the big images and many
bright colours used, the layout of
it is very organised. The shapes
used are mostly coloured
rectangles which fill up a lot of
space giving the illusion of a
full/busy layout. The rectangular
theme gives the digipack a neat
finish. It is even continued in the
inner part of the CD. A mixture of
the bright colours accompanied
with the rectangular shapes
creates a sharp and ‘in-your-face’
look that you can’t miss. Most
probably this was done as a way
of attracting the audience when
the album is on the shelf or
when it’s an option for
livestreaming/downloading.
CD- The CD is extremely simple,
it is left completely blank
allowing the aluminium surface
to dominate the whole design of
the CD. The only detail,
distinguishing it as a Blur CD, is
the four colours that are used
throughout the digipack located
on the inner part of the CD.
Although there is no way of
knowing why Blur chose to have
these four specific colours on
the digipack, they match
perfectly with the usual
aluminium shine and reflection
on a CD. In addition, lack of
design on a CD allows for the
audience/listeners to focus
solely on the music without any
distractions.
Text/ Fonts- The ‘blur’ text on
the front cover establishes who
the band are. To help this, the
font used is the typical blur logo
(shown below). The font used on
the back cover for the track list is
a simple sans-serif font used on
most albums for the track list,
Blur have decided to not
personalise that part of the
album.
Main Images- The main images on the front cover are the only ones on the
whole digipack and therefore are significant. They are headshots of all four band
members, this is important since this digipack comes from the ‘Blur: The Best Of’
album so it is important to show off the band. However, the images are not
photographs but instead artwork that looks as though it was made digitally.
Although the headshots only have dots for eyes and nose, it is evident that their
facial expressions are serious. All members of Blur are also looking directly into
the camera lens making the album more personal to the audience since you feel
as though the members are looking at you. Through this, they are almost
breaking the ‘fourth wall’ between themselves and the audience/listeners. This
must play a part in attracting the audience to buy the album. Intertextuality
plays a part in this front cover since it bears some similarity to the 1982 Queen
album ‘Hot Space’ (shown on the right).

3. Colour scheme- The colour scheme is largely black and white. The front cover, back cover and
all the background of the remaining panels are all white. This creates a very classy and
simplistic look that allows the audience to focus on the details of the images, that are also very
simple and lack complexity. The one differing part of the digipack is the black CD, most
probably the most important aspect of a digipack since it stores the music. As a result, you
cannot miss it. The digipack also includes colours such as red (for the clothes of some of the
band members in the window of the front cover) or blue in the reflection of the windows. This
is done very subtly using pastel shades that do not overwhelm the audience yet add a more
aesthetically pleasing finish to the digipack.
Layout- The layout of the digipack is very
organised and minimalistic. Mostly it
includes pictures that take up the whole
panel/side. The minimalistic nature of
the digipack can be seen by the use of
the all white panel with a small pattern
located in the centre. Proving that the
digipack is organised are the almost
symmetrical photographs and the writing
that is positioned centrally to the given
side/panel.
CD- The colours of the CD are inverted
and stand out from the remaining
sides/panels of the digipack. The font
and size of writing used on the CD is
identical to the font and size used on the
front cover of the album. It has no
specific pattern yet it is very clear that
the CD is from the Mumford and Sons
‘Sigh No More’ album because of the
writing on the disk. There are signs of
continuity and familiarity since the CD
includes a pattern that is included on the
opposite white panel of the digipack.
Main Images- The main image is a long
shot of one house in what looks like a row
full of houses. Judging from the awning on
the side houses, this is a row of shops and
cafes/restaurants. Presumably the four
characters in the window of the shop are
the four band members of ‘Mumford and
Sons’. In the image they are acting as
models as they are positioned in a usual
place of a mannequin. Their clothing
resembles the folk rock music that they
preform. In addition, in the picture they are
all holding or are stood with instruments
(guitars- both acoustic and electric, a cello
and an accordion). Once again, this
perfectly mirrors their music styles and
automatically tells the audience who may
not be familiar with the band, what style of
music they play. Furthermore, showing
continuity, in the picture included on the
inner panel of the digipack (shown below)
one of the members is playing the trumpet.
Continuity is also presented on the album
through the use of windows, they make a
reoccurring appearance. The picture on the
back cover presents just a window, the
same one used in the picture from the
inner part of the digipack (once again,
shown below).
Text/Fonts- Most of the space in the digipack is
taken up by images and therefore there is minimal
space for text. On the front cover as well as the
CD, the band name is displayed in a font that has
been used on a number of their albums . The font
used for the track list on the back cover is a serif
font. This is typically more aesthetically pleasing
than a sans-serif font. This corresponds with the
‘&’ sign they use for their band name which is
seen fancier and prettier than a usual ampersand.