digi pak and magazine advertisement

1. Textual Analysis of ‘Real Texts’
5 Digi-Pak Covers & 5 print
magazines adverts
Charlotte Kelly

2. Album Covers

3. The Album title and name of the artist is the only typography used on the Album cover; it is simplistic yet effective. By only using 2 taglines it
could show that a lot of words are not needed to be said, that is enough to attract the audience, and therefore showing them as dauntless.
‘Linkin park’ is written in a large bold black text, but is also written in capitals which highlight’s its importance. It is bold and memorable; which
could reflect the band’s personality; resolute. The actual words ‘Minutes to Midnight’ , not only does it use alliteration, connote quite an
exciting feel, with the word midnight comes darkness, fear, rebellion. The font has quite sharp, harsh edges which creates quite a violent and
thrilling atmosphere.
The colour scheme follows
the simplistic/minimalistic
style of the Album cover. A
monochrome scheme is
used which again could
reflect the basic yet bold
style to the band. The black
silhouettes against the
white emptiness enhances
their bold and forward feel.
Similarly with the Artist
name. Black connotes
mystery and enigma,
contrasting to the white
which connotes purity. It
highlights their importance;
the band and the music are
the main focus.
The main image again follows
the covers simple style; 6 men in
black suits turning towards the
white emptiness. The image is
displayed in the rule of 3rds, the
2 men on one side, 3 men on the
other and the man in the centre.
This could highlight his
importance in the band. The fact
the men are in all black shows
them to be quite dark yet
exciting, rather mysterious. The
fact they’re looking out into
emptiness could be seen as
looking out into the unknown, or
midnight and gives intriguing and
exciting connotations. It is the
only image on the whole cover
which means it not cluttered and
allows the audience to identify
the product and it’s genre easily.
The tone of the CD Album cover is desolate, which connotes the feeling of it being ‘out of this world’ and therefore something new and
exciting. At the bottom of the cover it looks like a sand like texture, therefore making you thinking of a beach. The men are looking out to
sea, out onto the unknown which could reflect their music as being something new and never heard before. Again the rule of thirds is
used in terms of the placement of the image and text, at the top is text and at the bottom is the image. In the middle there is nothing,
which makes your eyes look to the others and therefore makes them stand out more.

4. This album stereotypically
follows a theme throughout
the cover; the same three
colours are used- black, white
and red. These colours are
often used in punk albums as
they connote themes such as
death, violence and hate, but
also romance. The idea of
romance is also seen through
the image of a heart, however
the heart is also a grenade
with blood draining from it
and therefore pinpoints the
theme of violence. This
image is dramatic and makes
you think, it could promote
the idea that love is a danger,
again highlighting this fierce
and crazy feel.
The main image is not of the
band which is stereotypical in
terms of album covers,
however punk musicians quite
often follow this style. A
grenade as the main image
could also give the idea that
the music will have a dramatic
and large effect, a long term
and memorable impact. The
white hand and red bomb on
the black background makes it
stand out so much more. The
white could reflect purity,
contrasting to the violence
reflected through black and
red. It could mean that this
music will change you, corrupt
your pureness and take you to
the dark side.
The only text on this album cover is the artist name and album title , also “presents” however this isn’t really relevant. Green day is written in a
large and bold font, also the fact it’s white on the black background and it’s in capitals it stands out so much more. It’s memorable and bold.
‘American idiot’ is written in the same font, however lower case and less bright but it still stands out. The same font is used for both, a bold yet
quite fragmented font. Again this is probably used to give it quite a rough yet violent feel. Again this memorable feel is highlighted in the title,
it’s adhering to the stereotype that Americans are not that intelligent, it could be seen as quite offensive and therefore a bold move. The
album cover follows the typical conventions, a main image, album title and artist name.
The cover is quite basic, there isn’t too much going in the background and therefore the main conventions; the title and artist are clearer. This
is a stereotypical idea used when designing album covers, keep the main image the eye catching thing. The framing is quite simple, the text on
the left and the image on the right. Again it highlights this simplistic feel.

5. The colour scheme of this Album cover is rather neutral; pastel blue’s, whites, greens and brown. This could reflect the genre of music; Lana’s
music is quite calming and tranquil, and therefore her album cover should reflect this. The background image looks like she’s in a garden, with
the clear blue sky and fence at the bottom. This sets quite a realistic tone, she’s outside with nature and therefore is quite down to earth. The
background is basic and not focused, not to take away from the main image but to compliment it.
The main image is
centred and in the
foreground; Lana’s
stance is quite regal and
confident, and
therefore it is a bold
and eye catching image.
Her clothes and make-
up are quite minimalist,
again reflecting this
idea of quite a down to
earth character. Her
album could be focused
on the music rather
than the money, and
other perks of fame.
You can see the outline
of her red bra under the
shirt, red connotes
quite a passionate tone
and therefore it adds a
vulgar tone to the
album.
The typography is simple yet
bold. The white ‘Lana Del Rey’
is large and in capitals to
enhance her as an artist, and
make it memorable. The text
follows the rule of thirds, on
the top third is the artist
name and bottom third the
album name. It makes the
album seem quite clear and
structured. The fact it’s in
white could mean the artist is
quite pure, and peaceful.
‘Born to die’ is smaller but
still in capitals, it follows the
typical conventions of a music
magazine where the Artist
name is always larger than
the album name. This was
Lana del Rey’s first album and
therefore it is necessary for
her name to stand out. It’s in
blue and has a more busy
background therefore doesn’t
stand out as much. ‘Born to
die’ is quite melancholy ,
which again could reflect the
music style.
The camera angle is front on with a slight tilt, a direct mode of address, which again could reflect
the basic and open feel to the music. The fact it’s slightly tilted shows us looking up to Lana Del
Ray, giving a prestigious tone. Her head overlaps the artist name which could show she is of more
importance than the text. The peaceful and quite dream like feel to the image reflects her genre of
music; psychedelic. The clouds reflect this idea of hallucinations.

6. The colour scheme for this album cover is quite dark and gloomy; blacks, greys and yellows. The colour black reflects danger, loneliness and the
unknown. It gives a detached feel, and therefore the audience don’t know what to expect from the music. Eminem's music is often quite
melancholy and relates to real life situations, and therefore this is reflected through the album cover as it has quite harsh and rough lines. This
rough, fragmented look could reflect the harshness of life and therefore gives a realistic tone.
The main image is
Eminem sitting on the
floor, his arms are
closed and he looks like
he’s thinking in depth.
Again his music could
be quite personal and
emotional, or he could
be quite broken.
Eminem often raps
about his personal
experiences and
therefore it is more
intimate. Eminem is
centred and therefore
shows him to be of
importance, the door is
slightly to the left to
give quite a distorted
feel and again could
show the broken and
dark side to the music.
Again, the image looks
quite dirty which could
show the reality of life.
The only text on the Album
cover is the Artist name and
Album name, this follows the
typical conventions of Digi
Pak covers where the text on
the cover is minimal. The
framing is quite centred, the
person and the text are A-
line. The text for the artist
name is bold, in capitals; it
has a scratched overlay which
fits with the rest of the cover.
The ‘E’ is the opposite way
round, so that the name looks
the same both ways. This is
quite a eye catching and
memorable effect. The album
name ‘cleanin’ out my closet’
reflects the main image. This
connotes the idea of starting
a new life, starting over and
therefore the music could be
new.
The rest of the background is just black darkness; the unknown, which could attract the audience due to its mystery. He looks
isolated, maybe trapped, and therefore again highlights the harshness of life. He isn’t wearing a top or shoes, he only has baggy
rough trousers which could show his audience is everyone, he does not address one audience.

7. The colour scheme for
this album cover is quite
bright and enthusiastic;
yellow black and white.
The colour yellow
connotes ideas of
happiness, brightness
and excitement. This
reflect Bruno Mars songs
as his music is quite
upbeat and exciting. The
white compliments the
yellow, white connotes
ideas of purity, and the
black stands out against
the lighter colours. A
large amount of yellow
and white is used is
because it’s bright and
therefore eye catching.
Little amounts of black is
used to catch the readers
eye to the more
important subjects.
There is a limited amount of
text on this album cover,
again the Artists name is
larger than the Album name
as it’s more importance and
it’s to get the Artist more
well known. The text is quite
bold and uses capitals to
make it stand out, the Album
name is smaller and is in
lower case. It uses black font
and therefore catches your
eye. ‘Doo-wops & hooligans’,
doo- wops is an African
American genre of music and
therefore is said to reflect his
music style. Bruno mars has
quite upbeat and jazz style
music, and therefore by
literally using the genre of
music in the album name the
audience is able to
understand what they’re
going to get. Also ‘doo-wops
& hooligans’ gives quite a
childish and fun feel,
therefore relating to a certain
audience. ‘Hooligans’ gives it
quite an exciting feel,
hooligans are out there and
do not care, and therefore it
makes the album seem quite
rebellious.
The main image is Bruno Mars walking into the distance, the white swirl is both the rocket’s steam and a
road. This could be seen as Bruno Mars walking on the road to Mars, his second name. He often uses his
second name in imagery to make his music seem unique and ‘out of this world.’ I can identify that it is
Bruno Mars due to the hat he is wearing, his hat is memorable and therefore makes his album more
personal. The rest of the road is clear, following the typical conventions of album covers to not make
them over crowded.
The framing of this album is quite structured, the road/smoke is centred and therefore gives the album
a professional look. Also the writing is on the far right, again following the rule of thirds.

8. Magazine Adverts

9. The artist name is the largest
piece of text on the Advert, this a
typical convention of a music
advert as to make the Artist more
memorable and recognisable. The
fact it’s white, in capitals, and has
a 3d effect again makes it stand
out compared to the other
elements on this magazine
advert. The album name “The Boy
who knew too much”, has
childlike connotations, ‘boy.’ The
main image is a montage of
images including a boy who has
his head in a book, a way to
portray his inner feelings. The font
of the Artist name is quite
futuristic, thinking in an
unconventional way.
This Magazine Advert follows a
similar theme to the Album cover,
this continuous use of the theme
makes Mika’s work both
memorable and recognisable. The
use of vibrant colour makes it
stand out, also the space theme
in the corner and bright sense to
the advert makes it feel ‘out of
this world’, and therefore unique.
The white font against the
colourful background is dramatic .
It also includes an image of the
artist; again to make him
memorable.
A Cartoon style is a typical theme
of Mika, it has bright colours and
a ‘pop art’ theme. As the genre of
music that Mika produces is
considered indie pop. By
continuously using this cartoon
theme it makes his work more
recognisable. This print
advertisement highlights how
Mika is an artist who stayed true
to his genre of pop with most of
his songs being self reflective
whilst still bringing joy, this is
reflected in the imagery. The
space theme, thinking out of this
world, yet the bright and colourful
imagery in the middle still
showing the joy.
As an audience you’re drawn to
the bold colours, the framing is
quite jolted and random which
adds to an exciting feel to the
advert. The design is unusual
which could reflect the unique
style to his music, quite alternate
going against the stereotypical
ideas of his genre. Unlike Album
covers, Adverts typically include
other text than just the album
name and artist name. It also
includes the release date and
names of typical songs, the
magazine advert is more
informative.

10. This Magazine advert follows a
basic colour scheme; black and
white. Black brings
connotations of danger and
excitement, also darkness.
White is quite the opposite, it
brings connotations of
pureness and peace. The
contrast in ideas adds a unique
and exciting feel to the advert.
Also by using white text against
the black background makes it
bold and stand out, a simplistic
style theme is a typical music
Advert convention to make it
simple yet bold. The text on
this advertisement is clear
because it’s large, in capitals
and has a clear font. In
particular ‘Kasabian’, again the
Artist’s name is used as the
main advertisement tool which
catches the audiences eye. A
simplistic style of
advertisement is also typical of
the rock genre. The
advertisement is basic so
information is portrayed
quickly and clearly.
Information included is things
like their website
“Kasabian.co.uk”, it is simple
and if the audience wants
further reading they will know
where to go. A common
recurrence in magazine
advertisement is the bands
most popular or well known
songs are included to tempt
people to buy the digipak. This
method attracts a wider
audience because by including
the biggest song, people will
want to buy the whole album
and it will make their other
songs more well known.
Kasabian’s debut album sticks to
the rock genre’s typical colour
scheme; black and white, the
magazine advertisement follows
this to show consistency. The
advertisement/ art work is the
same as the Digi cover. In the
bottom of this advertisement it
tells the audience how to access
the new music, it states it’s
available online.
The main image doesn’t show the actual artists which again is typical of the rock genre. They often use a cartoon image rather
than a photograph. It gives a mysterious feel to their identity. The actual image is quite mysterious, it takes you a few looks to
work out that it’s a face. As the colour scheme is so simple this image adds a confusing sense to the Advertisement/Album, it
makes the audience think of what type of album it’s going to be. The image is centred and overlaps ‘Kasabian’ which highlights
its importance.

11. The images of each band
member suggests that each
member is an artist of their
own, and all have something to
add to the band. It’s more
typical to have the band
together in one photo to
suggest their union, however
the band are edited over the
lead singer in this photo which
highlights their equality and
shows they work as a unit.
Each member holds a musical
instrument, this helps to make
the band look more authentic
and pinpoints the idea they are
their for the music. The images
are all mid shots which again
shows this equality between
the band members. It allows us
to see their props and
costumes which eludes the
genre; folk music. The images
are all faded, in the style of
polaroid images, this helps
enforce the folk genre. The use
of the setting in the images;
nature, also appeals to a the
folk genre. They look quite like
Instagram images which
appeals to a younger audience,
also it adds to their indie style.
The quote “NME” indicates to
any over lookers that music
made is a good standard. The
three song titles across the
bottom enable the audience
to recognise their most
popular and well known
songs. This is a typical
convention of music
Advertisement. This is
beneficial for the group as
their loyal fans of these songs
will therefore go on to buy the
album and listen to their other
music. It allows the word of
their music to spread further
meaning their popularity will
potentially grow.
The same colour font is used
throughout, the black and
white colour scheme allows
the writing to stand out and
again follows a simplistic style.
Various different typography
styles are used, the artists
name is the largest a typical
convention to highlight their
importance. The album name
‘sigh no more’ however is
smaller in size. The artists
name is prioritised over the
album name which is a typical
promotion style.

12. Jessie J is dressed in black; has
black nails, has black eye make-
up, hair and lipstick. This could
suggest she is quite dark and
mysterious, but could also portray
her as quite violent and out there.
The darkness could suggest her
songs cover quite serious
issues/topics. This is highlighted
in her Album Name “who you
are”, she does not care if it’s out
there she is being true to who she
is. Her stance and facial
expression is quite violent but
exciting, her nails look quite like
claws which again highlights the
tough feel.
Her name and Album name are
positioned in the centre of the
advert so the audiences attention is
immediately drawn to this. Her
name is in a bold, gold font which is
bigger than the rest. Her name is
the most important of the album
and therefore is used as the main
promotion tactic. The fact it’s gold
indicates she is special, also maybe
quite ravish. Gold has the
connotations of wealth and
importance. A black, white and gold
colour scheme is simplistic yet it
works. The gold stands out against
the quite plain colour scheme. Her
name and album name are printed
over the top of a picture- it draws
maximum attention to this
information as most people will look
at pictures before text.
Information is given about
another artist that features
on the album, it is designed
to appeals to fans of that
artist and therefore they are
more likely to buy the
album. A well known song is
used to promote the album-
aimed at fans of that
particular song who aren’t
really big fans on Jessie J, it
makes the more likely to
buy the album.
The website for the artist is
given- it allows fans to access
more information about Jessie J
and the album. Key information
is printed in white and gold over
the black background, this
makes it stand out so much
more. Not a lot of info is given-
it enables the audience to read
it quickly and clearly. They’re
more likely to read and take
notice of it, if it isn’t over
packed.

13. The name of the album is in big
font under the bands name, this
isn’t a typical convention of a
Magazine Advert as usually the
Artists name is quite clearly
larger. The font of the Artists
name is bold and clearer
however and therefore stands
out the most. Also the name of
the number of the tracks on the
CD. It makes it noticeable to fans,
also the white colouring and type
of font causes it stand out
against the background.
Information about what is
involved in the album, such as
DVD including extra features and
music videos and there is also
advertising for other products
that the band have out that fans
are able to get. Again this
Magazine advertisement is quite
dissimilar to typical adverts as
usually they follow a simplistic
tone and don’t over crowd it. A
lot of information is given. The
black, white and red colour
scheme is typical of this music
genre. It’s simple yet bold.
An image of the bands album cover
is on the bottom of the advert,
typically the advert follows the style
of the Album cover however this is
quite the opposite. Also in the punk
genre of music, cartoon style
images are used rather than
photographs. By including the
album cover it makes it more
noticeable to fans. The imagery on
the front shows a hand gripping a
heart shaped grenade, this could
show the bands dark feel.
The large image of the lead singer
that scales the full height of the
album advert, becomes one of the
main features of the advert and the
main focus of attention for those
seeing it as a member of the band
is memorable to the fans. Also the
look and style of the singers make
up and hair pinpoints the genre,
quite punk rock.
Information about the
producers of the band and the
logo are included in smaller font
on the cover. The information if
small so it doesn’t draw away
from the rest of the advert.