2. HALCYON DAYS
Ellie Goulding released her album ‘Halcyon Days’ in 2013 and ever since this release,
Ellie has become one of the most successful female artists in todays age. The reason
for this isn’t just because of her brilliant singing, but also how she presents herself to
the public eye and how she advertises herself and her album in a professional and eye
catching way.
I was looking at Ellie Goulding’s Digipak for ideas on what we could do to make our
own digipak look even better. In this analysis I will be discussing the different ways as
to why Goulding was so successful with her digipak for her album and why.
4. THE FRONT COVER.
Goulding’s genre of Pop and Dance which is similar to ours is reflected in her album
artwork on the digipak. On the front cover her hair is spread across her face as if she
was moving around and dancing in a club which compliments the dance genre
further. The gradient purple effect which is used also makes it look like that Ellie is in a
Club which could be what she was trying to portray and was successful. The front
cover straight away tells the audience what sort of music this may be and also what
sort of artist that she is which follows the codes and conventions of a pop artist with
Voyeurism. Like most female pop artists in todays age, it is a competition to look the
most sexiest in music videos as this also entices people to continue listening and
watching their music/music videos. With her seductive facial expressions and hair flick,
she is following voyeurism in her artwork to persuade more people to buy the album.
5. CLOSE UP SHOTS
Although part of her face is covered on the digipac, you can still see whom the artist
is. This is because this is not her first album out meaning that she is already well
known in the public eye and does not need to get her entire face out as her identity is
already known by millions. Close Ups are used a lot in Digipacs as it is another way of
voyeurism as they usually use make up and things simular on the artist to make her
stand out and look amazing and beautiful so people will want to buy it. This is a very
stereotypical view however is commonly used in todays society still as it is very easy to
judge a book by its cover in the music industry. The album name which is ‘Halcyon
Days’ is also smaller than ‘Ellie Goulding’ showing that she knows that people will only
need to see her name to buy it. It could also connote that she wants to be recognized
by her name and not by the album title.
6. COLOUR SCHEME
The colour scheme of purple and the gradient effect has been done throughout the
duration of the digipak showing consistency and making an obvious link throughout. I
think that the colour of purple makes the album feel mysterious and different to other
album covers which are usually bright and colorful to get peoples attention however,
this choice of colour is successful because it is so different and creative. Purple also
connotes power and strength which could relate to some of the songs which are in
the album and gives the audience an insight of what Goulding’s album could be like.
The link of purple gradient throughout also gives it a complete look and stands out as
it flows right around the digipac. Even the CD is all black with her name and album
cover written in purple following the color scheme.
7. HOW WILL THIS HELP ME WITH MY
OWN DIGIPAK.
From looking at this digipac from Ellie Gouldings 2013 album I can see that a color
scheme is very important as it helps complete the look and gives it a professional
finish. Minimal images worked well for Goulding and when images are used, they are
well executed, simple and not over complicated meaning that it doesn't’ make it look
to busy.
