Digipak Analysis

1. DIGIPAK ANALYSIS
To begin inspiration and
research for creating my own
digipak.

2. BIRDY

3. BIRDY-FIRE WITHIN
The digipak for Birdy’s second studio album “Fire Within”
follows a very simple and effective colour design. The
colour is scheme is made up of monochrome of muted
greys, black and white. This colour scheme accurately
portrays the indie music genre as a monochrome colour
design is typical of the indie genre. This will attract the
target audience to the digiapk. The star/main image of
the front of the digipak is a close up shot of Birdy
creating direct address by looking directly at the camera
and therefore the audience. This allows the audience to
identify who Birdy is which will help to build up her
profile as artist. Using a close up shot with the
monochrome theme is very impacting and looks interesting
to audiences, this is a style I personally like. The
placement of the text of the artists name and album name
is at the top of the digipak, which is common of digipak
design. I really like how these texts are placed in both the
top corners as I feel this helps to balance the front side
and allows most of the attention and interest to fall on the
main image. I also like how the text on the front is not
massive, as I feel this allows the main image to be as
interesting as possible.
COLOUR
PALETTE

4. BIRDY-FIRE WITHIN
The same font is used on the front as the back, with the back following a typical layout
of digipak design, listing the songs on the album vertically down. The font used matches
the indie theme, of being quirky and unique as it is not a common font. This also allows
the font to be recognisable as the style of Birdy, which will build up her image as an
artist. I really like the design of having the barcode on the back of the digipak as I
feel having the barcode on the front would ruin the effect. The bar code being placed
in the corner also allows this detail to be more subtle, which I like. The back of the
digipak carries slightly less dramatic shades of colour than the front which also
balances the digipak. Similar to the front of the digipak the design is simple, minimal
and effective keeping a clean theme throughout the digipak.
The CD also fits to the simple and effective design of the rest of the digipak; the whole
CD is dark grey with the artist and album name re-written on the top of the CD. The
same font is used for this which creates continuity across the digipak. In smaller font at
the bottom of the CD is the legal and rights reserved information, which is a necessity
however is made smaller as this is less important and interesting information to most
audiences.
Overall this digipak design really utilises the monochrome colour scheme as well
presenting Birdy’s individual flair via aspects such as the font. Using a design that is
unique to the artist is an idea I really like and feel would look effective, and is a design
I would like to try to incorporate into my own digipak design.

5. LANA DEL
REY

6. LANA DEL REY -BORN TO DIE
The styling of the digipak for Lana Del Rey’s album
“Born To Die” follows a pastel and more colourful
design. While the colours are bright, they are not
overpowering and consist of mainly muted colours.
This allows for the digipak to not be too hectic or
busy for audiences. The colours all complement each
other very well creating a sleek and professional
design which has a vintage feel. The main image of
the front cover is Lana looking directly at the camera
which creates direct address with the audience. Lana
is also dressed in a way that created a vintage feel.
By having the artist on the digipak audiences are
able to recognise them more, which builds up the
artists profile. The background is a basic scene which
allows for the audiences attention and empathise to
be drawn to Lana. On this digipak the artists name is
clearly displayed in bold text across the top of the
digipak. The text is in clear white and is only slightly
obstructed by the main image. By having the image
of Lana slightly go over the text shows the link
between the name of the artist and the artist. The
album title is in the same font however in a different
colour and slightly smaller. This indicates that for this
digipak the artist’s name is more of a selling point,
which is a style I will consider for my own didgipak.
COLOUR PALETTE

7. LANA DEL REY-BORN TO DIE
The back of digipak follows a less stereotypical design with the lines of the song titles
horizontally across, with two songs per a line. This is a little different to the common way
of structuring the back cover of a digipak, which is normally a vertical list of one song per
a line. I like this different design as this shows originality and flair. The same font is used
on back cover as the front which allows continuity to spread from one side of the digipak
to the other. Also unusually for the back side of a digipak a big bold text is used to list
the songs, leaving little blank space on the page. This paired with the muted pastel colours
continues to create the vintage effect and feel across the digipak. The boldness of the text
creates the effect of more old fashioned film titles which is a style I like and that also fits
to the indie genre. The bar code is also on the back of the digipak under the song listings
the bottom of the back cover. Finally under the barcode is the legal information in the
smallest text. The back cover follows a slightly more complex design, leaving less white
space and this is a design I find effective.
The CD design is slightly different to the design of the front and back of the digipak using
brighter colours of the red paired with the white of the CD. This creates a interesting
contrast on the CD, creating a vivid CD that audiences will like, as this quirkiness is typical
of the indie genre. Near the bottom of the CD is the logo’s of the legal information and I
like how this design has used logo’s rather than text for this as I feel this distracts less from
the design of the CD. Also different to other CD’s the album name is not written on the CD,
I am unsure on if I will mimic this as I feel having the album name on the CD is an
important feature.
Overall I really like this complete design, from the way the pastel colours work well to the
larger font for the back of the digipak. There are many aspects of this design that I will
take forward for my own digipak.

8. WALK THE MOON

9. WALK THE MOON-TALKING IS HARD
The digipak design for Walk The Moon’s album “Talking Is
Hard” uses bright colours and a simple design to attract
audiences. The front cover of the digipak has a backdrop of
pure vibrant yellow, with the four band members posed for
a photo in front. This leaves blank space on the front cover.
The band members are all wearing black trousers with white
tops, written across the tops is the name of the album split
into four. This is all the information shown on the front cover,
creating a very minimalistic design. The use of the colour
yellow helps to create this more basic design look
interesting and attractive to audiences, using a colour such
as yellow is also typically indie. I really like the use of a
block colour and will consider this for my own digipak. The
band members feature on the front cover of the digipak,
however not all them are creating direct address with the
audience and one of them has been edited to have the
yellow cross their face. Having the band members on the
front cover allows for them to build up their profile with
audiences and the editing work with each of their individual
style clearly demonstrates the indie genre. The front cover
dose not contain the band’s name in this case, which is very
different to most digipak’s and is a design I don’t feel I will
use as I feel this is important information that should be on
the front cover.
COLOUR PALETTE

10. WALK THE MOON-TALKING IS HARD
Unlike the front cover the back cover is less simplistic with more design added. The colour scheme
remains the same of yellow, black and white. These stand out colours bring attraction and interest to
the digipak. Unusually the band’s name is on the back of the digipak and this is written in the font
that is unique to the bands logo. The album name is then written underneath in the same font as
used for the album name on the front cover and then the song listings. The album name is the
biggest font on the back cover showing the importance of this information. The song listings are
written in a different clear and defined font in white, all in capitals. The songs are listed in two lists
which is less typical of a common digipak design, however the list layout is typical of digipaks. The
last row of information contains the barcode and the legal information, which is also written in white
however in much smaller font. All of this information is stated on the left hand side of the back
cover, with the right hand side being taken up by a design of yellow lines. This pop of colour adds
a vibrant feel to the back of the digipak helping to make the back look more interesting and vivid.
I like this idea of using a design, to help attract audiences to the back cover.
The CD is also in black, with the album name in the album name style font, taking up most of the CD
in a lime green colour. The CD is the only part of the digipak where the lime green colour is used
making the CD look interesting and helping the CD to stand out. The band name is also on the CD
along with the legal information. I really like how the album name is the main feature on the CD as I
believe this makes the CD look different and unique.
Overall I like the use of the block colour and the simple, effective three piece colour scheme. I also
like how the band members feature on the front cover, however I would include the band name on
the cover as well. This deign is linked over all aspects of the digipak and effectively shows the indie
genre.