digipak analysis of Humbug by Arctic Monkeys

1. The CD front cover usually features a main
image and the artists name. Often the
name of the album is featured on the cover
however, it is not in this particular example.
The main image on this album cover
features the band, which is also a common
convention of CD covers however, some
artists often choose not to feature
themselves on the cover.
The image is the band hiding around a
corner. Their hands over their faces further
this idea as it looks like they’ve done
something wrong so are hiding from police.
The clothes they’re wearing reflect ordinary
young men: hoodie and jeans however,
their long hair is conventional of the indie
rock genre and so is the denim jacket, and
maybe the green jacket too.
There are strange reflections and lighting which
could connote the idea of drugs and alcohol,
referring to seeing double and misjudgement or
confusion. The dark lighting and colours suggests
that they’re hiding and they’ve been dishonest.
The text has a chipped effect to continue the idea
of doing something wrong as it’s unconventional
and imperfect as writing. It also links to the
picture as the paint on the walls is old and
chipped to show they’re in a rough place.

2. The CD is designed to look like a pie with the bands initials embellished on it. This will appeal to
the audience as it’s different and interesting. It’s a fun twist on a CD design as they have made it
unique. It is conventional to the indie genre as it’s challenging conventions of most CD designs.
This has no link to the cover or the album content so is completely abstract which highlights the
band as wanting to come across as quirky and original.
There is no text referring to copyright or ownership which also challenges conventions of a CD.

3. Booklet

4. Digipak booklets often include lyrics,
images of the artist and
acknowledgments, all of which this
follows. The layout is plain and
simple and the colour matches the
rest of the inner panels and back
cover. Most of the pages are just
lyrics, there are some with images
and one page in the middle which is
all one whole image.
The booklet gives the audience a
better understanding of the songs as
there are lyrics and it creates more of
a connection between the band and
the audience as they have images
that you can only see if you have the
album.

5. The back cover is simplistic,
like the booklet. The font
used for the bands name is
messy and could link to their
name as monkeys are wild
and reckless, like the image of
themselves they’re trying to
portray.
The title of the album is
humbug which is a person or
object that behaves in a
deceptive or dishonest way.
This links to the front cover
image as they’re hiding, and
links to the text on the front
and back cover, which is
untidy and wild which could
represent dishonesty and
breaking rules.
This cover includes normal
conventions such as the list of
songs, record label, album
title, some kind of logo and
the bar code.
In small writing is the information about where the album was
made and websites for the production company and the artist.
This isn't the audiences interest so it’s small. The songs are
listed neatly in order of when they occur on the album, which is
a common convention of a back cover. The font matches the
font used on the front cover to show continuity. They text is not
exactly in line which continues the untidy theme.

6. The back cover is simplistic,
like the booklet. The font
used for the bands name is
messy and could link to their
name as monkeys are wild
and reckless, like the image of
themselves they’re trying to
portray.
The title of the album is
humbug which is a person or
object that behaves in a
deceptive or dishonest way.
This links to the front cover
image as they’re hiding, and
links to the text on the front
and back cover, which is
untidy and wild which could
represent dishonesty and
breaking rules.
This cover includes normal
conventions such as the list of
songs, record label, album
title, some kind of logo and
the bar code.
In small writing is the information about where the album was
made and websites for the production company and the artist.
This isn't the audiences interest so it’s small. The songs are
listed neatly in order of when they occur on the album, which is
a common convention of a back cover. The font matches the
font used on the front cover to show continuity. They text is not
exactly in line which continues the untidy theme.