An analysis of Lust for Life, Mutual Friends, and Hopeless Fountain Kingdom - By Rachel Barrett

1. EXISTING DIGIPAK ANALYSIS
An analysis of Lust for Life, Mutual Friends, and Hopeless
Fountain Kingdom, by Rachel Barrett

2. LUST FOR LIFE – LANA DEL REY
v The font on the album cover matches the font on the
back cover, both in colour and style: the bright red
colour and large size of the text on the cover makes
it stand out and pop, and the original font choice is
interesting and becomes a signature choice for Del
Rey, meaning audiences will associate it with her
whenever they see it
vThe off white borders around the images are featured
in all pages of the digipak: not only does it tie in with
her vintage aesthetic style, but it is also a thematic
factor which makes the whole design fit together
vDel Rey’s costume in the images are important to
note; the white flowy dress and flowers in her hair
link back to her vintage and feminine aesthetic style.
The costume is also the same in all images, and so
helps make the digipak feel together
v The editing done to the images is minimal: it appears
that the shadows and highlights have been adjusted,
and the saturation turned down to produce a washed
out effect.This adds a vintage feel to the images, and
ties in with her aesthetic style

3. MUTUAL FRIENDS – BOY
v The font which the band name and album name are in is a
simple sans serif font coloured in black and white, creating
a simplistic indie feel, and the placement and sizing of the
fonts is pleasing to the eye. The font on the back cover is a
similar font, and the track titles line the border around the
page.This is an original choice and adds elements of
interest to the back page, which is otherwise empty
v The positioning of the duo on the cover is very attractive
to an audience: their proximity to one another shows their
bond and close friendship, and their open body language
makes them appear inviting and friendly
v The yellowed border on the cover differs from the black
border on the back page and the white border on the
insert. I don’t like how this looks, as it makes the digipak
feel messy and not very together.
v The sepia filter added to the cover and black and white
filter on the inserts ties into the bands indie genre.This
coveys the sort of music which they produce. However, I
feel it would have looked better if they had the same filter
on all images, as the product lacks consistency and some
images look out of place

4. HOPELESS FOUNTAIN KINGDOM -
HALSEY
v The collage style edit of the front and back cover is an
original choice, and makes it difficult to take your eyes
away from them. In addition, the bold red and teal
colours also grab the attention of the audience, and tie
into Halsey’s alternative aesthetic style
v The font on this cover is very original and so becomes
something which Halsey’s audience can associate her
with.The placement means focus is on the image, but the
album title is still attention grabbing.The font on the
tracklist is a more simple font, and ensures attention is
focused on the cover
v Halsey’s costuming choices are also a key factor in the
albums success: the bright yellow costumes grab
attention and make her the main focus in the images. In
addition, the symbolism of the bee on her jacket and
rose on her face tie into the themes of the album, and
make the images all consistent and the digipak feel
together.The alternative costuming choices also convey
her genre of music
v In regards to the editing, the saturation has been
increased to make the colours bolder and more
attention grabbing.As well as this, a fade has been added
to the images on the front and back cover: this makes
them look more worn out and makes the collage styles
look more authentic and realistic

5. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, my group and I can take a number of
things from this piece of research…
vFont choice and colour is highly impactful, and has
a massive effect on not only the cover, but also the
tracklist
vBorders around images can be successful, but only
when they are consistent throughout the digipak
vSimilarly, filters and editing of images can also be
successful, but only when it is done consistently
vCostuming is very important as it dictates whether
or not the artist will be the main focus in the
images, and also is important for the conveyance of
genre and the artists aesthetic style: it can also be a
method of conveying themes
vAs our artist is a duo, it is important that they are
both featured equally in the digipak, and their
placement on the cover will be important to
convey their bond
I will use this information wisely when constructing
the moodboard for the digipak