Adele's second studio album 21 explores themes of heartbreak through soul music. Released in 2011, the album topped charts in over 30 countries and had three worldwide number-one singles. The album packaging utilizes conventions of the soul music genre like monochrome colors and close-ups of Adele's expressive face, while also including elements of pop music like a bright green color on the CD. These conventions are consistently represented across the vinyl, CD, and digital packaging to clearly identify the artist and emotion of the music.

1. Adele 21

2. Background
• 21 is the second studio album by Adele.
• Released on 24 January 2011 in the UK
• Its name was the age of the singer during its production.
• The album explores themes of anger, revenge, heartbreak, self-
examination, and forgiveness.
• Adele began writing 21 in April 2009
• The album topped the charts in more than 30 countries and has
appeared in the Guinness World Records.
• The United Kingdom's best-selling album in the 21st century, it had
a 23-week at top of the UK Albums Chart and is the longest time for
a female solo artist.
• Rolling in the Deep, Someone like You and Set Fire to the Rain
became worldwide number-ones.

3. Genre
The genre is Soul and this is shown
in the key conventions used.
Key conventions that have been
used:
• Monochrome effect on both the
image and the title.
• Having the main artist being the
main focus of the cover.
However having a attractive
female artist on the front
cover can also be a convention
of the pop genre.
Target audience
I think the target for this is for young adults and
adults as it is a sophisticated digipak which only
shows the main artist and clearly shows the
genre.

4. CD / Vinyl Cover
In the foreground is the artist, to
clearly state whose album it
is, with her eyes shut and this is a
key convention of soul music artists
being on the front with no special
effects and a plain background.
In the background is a grey clear
backdrop that allows the artist to
again be the main focus of the CD/
Vinyl cover. The text shows who
the artist is as well as the albums
name in a clear easy to read way
but does not take the focus off the
image of the artist.
The representation shows Adele in a
reflective mood which represents to
the audience that her songs will
reflect this. This also represents the
soul genre as the monochrome
setting and the way she is posed.
As the colours are in monochrome
it shows the genre of the music .
Although having 21 written in green
draws attention to the album
covers name.
It makes the artist look upset or
deep in thought.
Which connotes to what the music
is about.
The artist looks attractive and smart
on the cover as it has a close up of
her face.
Therefore you see the emotion of
the artist.

5. CD Back cover
and SpineIn the foreground is the artist
Again she has no special effects and
a plain background however it is a
darker image with her eyes open.
In the background is a black
backdrop that lets the artist merge
into the background to again be the
main focus of the CD/ Vinyl back
cover.
The text shows all of the tracks on
the CD and Vinyl, in the same font
as the title on the front cover.
The barcode and the record label
are shown in the foreground at the
bottom and show who has the
rights for the music and the
barcode shows it is a official music
record.
As the colours are in monochrome it shows the genre of
the music . However it has darker colours on the
background to take the primary focus away from the
artists face.
The representation shows Adele
staring, thus breaking the forth wall
and this again represents feeling
from the artists face however the
primary focus is the text.
Having the artist again on the back
reinforces the emotion which would
be on the songs as emotion is
portrayed on the artists face.
The artist looks attractive and smart
on the cover as it has a close up of
her face.
Therefore you see the emotion of
the artist again however this time
with her eyes open.

6. Inside CD Booklet & Disk
The inside cover is a repeat of the CD
front cover. Looking at the CD Disk
you can see the colour of the front
covers letters ‘21’ is repeated with a
while chalk like text across it with
the title of the album across it.
Having a green background and the
number 21 in the foreground
attracts your attention to the white
writing.
The bright green used on the disk makes it stand out but
use sophisticated and subtle colours, rather than the a
fluorescent green, associated with the pop genre, that
attract the audience to the disk.
Using the white writing Representation
The representation is the disk being
the primary focus as the colours
stand out, being the only colour on
the actual cd case; inside and out.
This means it could represent the
pop element that Adele portrays.
Connotation
The bright colours used on the disk
makes it stand out but use
sophisticated and subtle colours
that attract the audience to the disk
and let the audience identify whose
artists CD this is. Therefore this is a
key convention within the soul
music genre but shows the subtle
pop influence by using a bright
colour.
The denotation simply shows a
green CD Disk and a white 21
written on the front of it. However
the disks connotations present to
the audience the pop element that
is interwoven into the soul
conventions. So the subtle cover of
the booklet contrasts with the CD
cover thus leading it to be noticed
more.

7. Vinyl, Vinyl
Back Cover, and CD pocket
Looking at the vinyl and the CD pocket the
conventions shown in her CD is repeated in both
products thus her audience being able to identify
her products.
The only difference being the close up image on the
CD pocket that again shows the artist’s face and
emotions.

8. Reflection
Through this research I have learnt the key
conventions of artists products are repeated across
the forms of media used. I have also learnt that
throughout this the soul genre is shown with subtle
aspects of pop. This is what I will need to
incorporate in my own digipack to create a realistic
pack.
• Creating a digipack that implies to the audience
the genre through the use of
colours, representation and connotation is how I
must go about creating mine.