The document analyzes the cover designs and imagery of three CD albums: Rihanna's "Loud", M.I.A's "Arular", and Tinnshe's "Aquarius". For Rihanna's album, the use of bright red and an extreme close-up portray her as the center of attention and focus on love, romance, and seduction. M.I.A's album uses clashing bright colors and black and white images to represent her rebellious personality and focus on themes of war and violence. Tinnshe's album uses a blue, white, and black color scheme along with smoke and her gaze to portray her music as a way to express emotions while still feeling

1. CD DIGIPAK CASE
STUDIES
BY JUMANA YASMEEN

2. Case Study One (Rihanna-Loud)
The use of the colour red throughout the CD digipak connotes love, romance and seduction (linking with the
connotations of the roses) which represents that the CD is to be a focus for the male gaze, furthermore could
represent her genre of music as relating to love, the male gaze is also depicted through the image of her legs as
this would be perceived as seductive and vice versa with the back cover image. The image is off the front CD
cover is an extreme close-up (most of the shots are) and takes up all the front, this suggests that she is the
centre of attention and this something that has been done deliberately as the producers wanted to represent
her as an successful artist, she is also looking down with her lips parted and this suggests that she is trying to
look innocent and seductive at the same time which catches the audience eyes as this could be perceived as her
being a mysterious character, furthermore could depict that music is a very important aspect in her life. The font
is very simple yet it stands out from the bright colours this suggests that her type of music is very simplistic and
elegant with a touch of fun. The font is also spaced out which suggests that there is a lot of music to come and
also could represent that all her past experiences will be implemented in her songs. The use of the bold, bright
colours makes the CD very attractive to the eye as the colours compliment each other without diffusing into
each other. The album is called “Loud” and I feel that the producers of the CD have done very well to represent
this as they have thought carefully about the colours and fonts, the colour red is quite a “Loud” colour as it is
very bright and deep and also, the producers have decided to use big fonts which yet again depicts the use of
the album’s name “Loud”. Unlike, most album covers, there is no mention of her name on the front image
which suggests that yet again she’s a successful artist so the audience should already know her name. The
actual CD has a print of the rose and the symbol of the rose runs throughout the CD, this connotes that her
music is all about love, romance and seduction which all links to the theme of femininity. Also, the actual CD is
not off bright colours, it’s more light colours and this is juxtaposition against each other as it could be perceived
as Rihanna having a split personality; bubbly, fun, loud contrasted with sweet, gentle and caring and also allows
the CD to have a professional look and feel to it. The barcode is at the back as it is not attractive to the audience
so the producers have decided to put it at the back so that it is hidden. The spine includes her name and the
title of the album so that the consumers can easily see it.

3. Case Study Two (M.I.A- Arular)
There is a wide range of bright colours used on this CD, which could represent her rebelliousness, going
above boundaries. The colours tend to clash which represents the modern feel the producers were going
for which could represent her personality. The images of her are in black and white which could suggest
that her past experiences are what influences her songs, also could represent that she has a dark side to
her, it is a contrast between the bright colours, this connotes that she is a mysterious artist. Furthermore,
could represent that she is serious about what she is singing as black and white pictures are more
powerful than colour as the facial expression is the focus. On the front cover there are various flags which
could suggests that her song are to do with different countries, furthermore, her songs could be about her
roots and this links in with the Arabic writing. Instead of her image standing out the font “M.I.A” stands
out more, which is unusual however, it is apparent to see that it is an acronym and this acronym must be
significant, and have a wider meaning to it and could be what she sings about. The fonts (front and back)
remind me of the fonts used in video games that represent war and this is actually what the font could
represent as there is symbols of guns on this CD and this could suggest that violence is a theme in her
music and because of the pictures of the flags, this could represent that her music is about the wars in
those certain countries. The guns are shown against the green background which connotes that the wars
and violence is destroying the environment and the peace (hence why there are peace symbols). The
peace symbols are in black which represents that peace no longer has the right meaning and there will be
no such thing as peace anymore as the world is corrupt and this portrayed through the guns. There is
prints of symbols throughout the CD rather than images of the artist which suggests that she is trying to
raise awareness of war and violence and that her star persona is irrelevant as she is only trying to raise
awareness. The barcode is at the back as it is not attractive to the audience so the producers have decided
to put it at the back so that it is hidden. The spine includes her name and the title of the album so that the
consumers can easily see it. The initial “M.I.A” is in red which has negative connotations as it could connote
that due to the wars, there has been innocent lives taken and this also could represent that she has been
influenced by this as someone she knows that is special to her could have been involved in the war and
there was severe consequences.

4. Case study Three (Tinnshe- Aquarius)
There is clearly a three colour scheme (house style) which is blue (represents the colour “Aqua”),
white and black. The blue adds a pop of colour and this could connote that she sings about
serious concepts however, some of her songs are lively. The use of the projector for the
background is what makes the album look professional and lively which could suggest that her
songs are elegant yet fun. Also, the white smoke in the background could suggest that her
songs all her to “let off some steam” so she her songs could be her expressing her feeling,
emotions and thoughts through the lyrics and this is her escape. She is looking away in the
image which could represent that she is vulnerable, and also that she is anxious that her music
will not be liked. The font is very simplistic yet it stands out and this could connote her
personality as simple and gentle but is ready to be a successful artist and this links with the way
in which her hands are together which suggests that once she lets go off her vulnerability she
will showcase her potential. The actual CD cover is very simple with only the titles and has a
white background this could suggest that her music is a new beginning, fresh start for her hence
the title “Aqua”. The back cover has a black background and this connotes that her songs are
quite depressing and this links with the fact that her skin is showing which suggests that her
songs are really personal to her. Her skin bare could be a representation of being of focus to the
male gaze, alternatively, this is a contrast to the front and the back as she is fully clothed on the
front and this suggests that before her music career she was shy and timid whereas after starting
her music career she has grown to be more confident however it is ironic, that the background is
black which connotes that she still has a long way to go in feeling comfortable with the
audience. The focal point on the front cover is her eyes where there is bright lighting, this
depicts that there is a lot to her then meets the eye, she is still coming out of her shell, it also
suggests her innocence and vulnerability.