Digipak and Poster Analysis

1. Digipak and Poster
Analysis

2. Digipak 1 - ‘Forever’ by Cranes
(1993)

3. The font has an
ancient/vintage style that
enhances the classical
look of the album and its
golden colour scheme.
This is because the black
bold letters create a visible
contrast against the warm,
gold/metallic tones.
The band’s name is
written in bold capitals and
has been placed in the
centre of the image, which
helps to draw the viewer
in, and could perhaps
connote the band’s
dominance within their
experimental genres such
as dream-pop, ambient
music, shoegazing, etc.
The text underneath reveals
the album title, but it is much
less prominent as the font is
smaller and written in lower
case. This could suggest that
the band want the focus to be
on their name, and the
unique sounds they produce
from this musical identity.
The album artwork features
Greek statues and gold/metallic
sculptures which are
unconventional choices for an
album cover, thus generating
interest for the viewer. The gold
and bronze colour schemes,
combined with the Greek
sculptures/statues, signify a
classical period of time. This is
furthered with the warm, golden
textures that have lavish
connotations of wealth and
purity. This could suggest that
the band have a rich, pure
sound that won’t age over time.

4. This is the back of the
digipak. As we can see,
the golden colour scheme
continues throughout the
album. This ensures the
appearance remains eye-
catching as the warm
tones are very vibrant.
The track list is written in a
small, bright font, which
does match the gold
colour scheme but makes
it harder for the viewer to
read the song titles. This
could possibly be the
band’s way of directing
the viewer’s focus on the
album artwork and the
music they produce as a
band.
The small print text at the
bottom once again suits the
warm colour scheme. Note
that there are no website or
social media links as this
album was released in 1993,
prior to the digital revolution
that would occur in later
years.

5. Digipak 2 - ‘Hvarf/Heim’ by
Sigur Rós (2007)

6. The band’s signature
and album title is
scrawled in the corner.
This could suggest
that Sigur Rós view
themselves as musical
artists who use sound
as their creative outlet.
The album artwork
displays a
blurry/dreamy/hazy
photograph of a
frosty pine forest.
The soft, northern
light helps to further
this winter ambience.
The low, cool colour hues/tones in
the sky make the photo much
more calming and scenic, since no
bright/vibrant/startling colours
have been used. This could refer
to the bands atmospheric style of
music, since lyrics are rarely used
and therefore the main emphasis
is on the mood/texture/atmosphere
created by the background
sounds. This is because Sigur Rós
are a dream-pop/ambient music
group that create many different
ethereal soundscapes and tones.
The grainy flecks of
dust/dirt/fingerprints
on the album’s surface
could suggest that this
is an old, discarded
photograph.

7. Here is the full digipak sleeve which also showcases
the back of the album as well. The back cover has a
sepia filter/tone to it and has lots of dust/dirt marks,
which again promotes the idea that this could be an
old, discarded photograph.
The album spine continues the
photograph from the front cover.
There is a link to the band’s website
featured on the back, which allows
viewers/listeners to interact with the band
digitally and find out more about them.

8. Digipak 3 - ‘Depression Cherry’
by Beach House (2015)

9. This is the digipak for ‘Depression Cherry’ by
American dream pop duo Beach House. The only
colours shown on the album are the dark red hues
which have connotations of love and emotion. This
relates to the dream pop genre, as it is able to elicit
many different feelings and emotions through its
ambient, experimental structure.
There are no
images shown
on the album,
which suggests
that the band
want the focus
to be on their
music. This is
reinforced
through the
small, lower
case font that
reveals the
album’s title and
songs, but does
not distract from
the prominence
of the colour.
There are no barcodes or website links, which again suggests the focus
is on the music. This seems to be commonplace amongst many dream
pop artists as the genre allows them to produce many experimental
sounds due to the variety of genre’s that make up the dream-pop
genre, such as shoegazing, ambient rock, alternative rock, art rock, etc.

10. Poster Analysis 1 – Tour Poster
#1 for Sigur Rós

12. Poster Analysis 2 – Tour Poster
#2 for Sigur Rós

14. Poster Analysis 3 – Tour Poster
for The Cure

16. In conclusion, the digipaks and print adverts I have analysed
have allowed me to gain an insight into the variety of visual
elements that can be manipulated to create eye-catching
images such as these. For example, things like colour
schemes, fonts, sizes, images, settings, are all elements that
I will consider when making my own digipak and poster.
Conclusion